Personal Identity & the Art of Songwriting
Pop
•
46m
As part of the GRAMMY Museum’s celebration of Pride Month, singer-songwriters Kat Cunning, Shea Diamond, Carlie Hanson, and Tangina Stone speak with guest moderator Alexis Fish about personal identity and the art of songwriting.
Kat Cunning
With a traffic-stopping voice and powerful presence, non-binary singer/actor Kat Cunning adds soulful grace to anthemic alternative pop. An accomplished screen and stage talent, they appeared on Broadway as Emile in Les Liaison Dangereuses and in Cirque du Soleil in addition to acting alongside James Franco in HBO’s hit The Deuce. After releasing a couple of tracks independently, Kat signed to LAVA Records in late 2020 and released “Supernova (tigers blud)” which garnered praise from the likes of Variety, Alternative Press, American Songwriter, The Advocate, and others while amassing over 6 million streams. Their bold first track of the year, “Confident,” arrived early in March and was then followed by “Could Be Good” and most recently, “Boys.” In celebration of Pride Month, Kat's June 15 music video for "Boys" was made up of an entire cast and crew that identifies as either transgender or non-binary.
Shea Diamond
With a gritty mix of sounds that digs into everything from R&B, rock and hip-hop to blues, folk and gospel, Shea Diamond makes music that speaks to the universal experience while sharing from her very person alone. Shea has always had to fight to live her truth. As a black transgender woman, that’s just what she does every time she walks out into the world--representing herself and amplifying the voices and experiences of her community. But now after all of her struggle, this game-changing new singer-songwriter is living her dream, with an HBO theme song, performing for presidential candidates and notable super fans like Sam Smith and Demi Lovato singing her praises every chance they get.
Carlie Hanson
Carlie released her debut EP,JUNK, in June 2019. Before even turning 20, she had toured with Lauv, Troye Sivan, Yungblud and others in the US, Europe and Australia, signed a deal with Warner Records and released JUNK. Named a VEVO DSCVR artist, Carlie also has fans in superstars like Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato. She has passed 86 million total global streams with her music and last year, performed on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The first song from DestroyDestroyDestroyDestroy, “Side Effects,” has garnered over 17 million Spotify streams to date while track “Ego (feat. iann dior),” was dubbed by Billboard as “a pop-punk anthem of 2020.”V Magazine also echoed this in a recent feature and named Carlie “One To Watch.”
Tangina Stone
Highlighted as one Teen Vogue’s ‘Women Reshaping Music’, the Ohio-native and Brooklynite’s unique voice & brand of soul, rock, electronic and r&b has garnered her a global fan base and brought her to stages around the world from New York, to Toronto, Tokyo and London. As a queer, Black artist who’s a singer-songwriter, producer & composer – Tangina is reshaping what identity and spaces of expression feel like for Black women in music.
Alexis Fish
Alexis Fish is an LGBTQ Content Producer, Cultural Consultant, and Game Changer. She has worked at the forefront of LGBTQ media for more than 15 years as a media executive, producer, and director. As VP of Pride at Valence Media, she creates LGBTQ verticals across all the company’s brands, including Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter.