Kansas City based musician NIKKA has been making melodies, humming tunes and writing music for years. Now she is putting her music out for the world to hear with a brand new single “Showed Up Drunk” on her debut EP, Better Never.
“‘Showed Up Drunk’ is a fun, pop-punk tale of what can happen when you have a little too much liquid courage in your system,” she said.
Her new six song EP is ordered to tell the story of falling in love with someone, only to have to deal with the aftermath of it ending. It starts with “Would You Like To Dance,” which is about meeting someone you have an unexpected connection with.
“Showed Up Drunk” shows up as track 3 and finds our singer showing up at their now ex’s house drunk while the break up is still fresh. The EP finishes with “Fatal Dance,” which is written about the relationship still affecting them years later.
“I wanted to tell the story of how a relationship starts, ends, and the scars that stay with you from it.”
NIKKA was born in Eastern Europe and, due to conflict in the region, moved with her family to the United States in 2001. She attributes her love of music and singing to helping her learn to speak English quickly.
“When I finished Kindergarten, they actually (kindly) kicked me out of ESOL because they said I didn’t need any more help with my English. Even now, most people can’t ever tell that I’m from another country,” NIKKA said. “I think the reason I quickly learned to speak the language so well is because of music. When you sing in a new language, you learn nuances and enunciations that a book can’t easily teach you.”
NIKKA grew up enjoying rock music, and said punk is still one of her favorite genres that bleeds over into her sound. She added that she is a fan of house music and R&B, as well.
“I am a byproduct of the music that I love,” NIKKA said.
NIKKA had always dreamt of doing something with her singing, but her family urged her to go to school, get a degree, and start a career. She did that, and now she is ready to fulfill her dream as a singer.
“I was always coming up with random melodies, but I’d quickly forget them cause of the social pressure to not belt out singing in public places. But then, during the 2020 lockdowns, I went from traveling for work and being in the office, to being stuck inside alone with my dog all day,” NIKKA said referring to the pandemic. “There was no social pressure to stay quiet anymore, so I started creating full fleshed hook and song ideas.”
NIKKA saved the songs as voice memos and knew someday she would do something with them. After moving to Kansas City for a job, NIKKA sought out producers on Google and found Danny X, who told her to come in to talk about what she had going on. When she showed up it was a little spot down a set of stairs behind an unmarked door. She admitted she wasn’t sure what she got herself into, but right away she knew it turned out to be the perfect fit.
“He opened the door and the studio ended up being really cool. He showed me some of the stuff he produced and immediately I heard R&B influences, rock music, and just generally great production that I loved,” she said. “Before I left, I was like, ‘we’re going to work together! How do we get started?’”
Since then she has been working with Danny X to bring her music to life, and now thousands of listeners have been tuning in.
“I would love for fans to come on this journey with me,” NIKKA said. “I would love to have a relationship with the people who enjoy my music.”
Be sure to check out NIKKA’s music on all major platforms.
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