Meet Korey Fells

Today we’d like to introduce you to Korey Fells.

Korey, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in Little Rock, AR. In my family, everyone learns how to swim and play the piano at either 4 or 5 years old. I went to state school in Little Rock and then left to attend Berklee College of Music. I then moved to LA about five years ago to pursue music. Since moving to LA, I’ve recorded at prestigious studios such as Capital Records and Westlake, performed on TV shows such as Jimmy Kimmel and Good Morning America, Toured with artists such as Alina Baraz and Sabrina Carpenter, and performed with artists such as Kanye West and Sam Smith.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Hell no. First, I was apart of a statistic that was supposed to be dead or in jail by the age of 18. I definitely had a lot of friends end up being that. Then, I had a lot of people, including family, that didn’t believe that what I wanted to do was possible. They thought that I should just stick with the money and go with my full scholarship at state school. But that didn’t stop me. I was one of the first in my family to make it out of a cycle that most of us were comfortable with. When I finally got to Berklee College of Music, I didn’t realize how hard it would be to pay bills at the same time as being in school. I only ate once a day and sometimes once every other day the first month that I lived there. I finally got a cool job and then had to also learn how to adapt to taking the train often and staying on top of my work while being tired from everything always.

My 2nd year, my laptop and iPad were stolen and then again, along with my hard drive, backup hard drive, in ears, and more in LA. Moving to LA, I also had roommate troubles. That forced me into a $2,400 hole of debt that almost caused me to give up music and move back home. After making it out of that hole, I knew that God had my back. Then Covid came. My income went from what it was to $0. I thought that for sure this was it. This would be the reason I quit music. But the loving people I had around me held me until I could get back on my feet. I am now transitioning into studio work and owning multiple businesses. I still love performing but the goal is to make it no longer for paying bills.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m primarily a keyboardist. I also produce, compose, arrange, MD, play five other instruments, and own a studio space.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, my first actual love was basketball. I played for school and AAU basketball and traveled the country doing it. That’s what I spent a good amount of time doing and playing piano became second. I didn’t grow a true relationship with the piano until about middle school. That’s when I also began competing.

In high school, I had to decide between music and sports because I was doing too much of both whiles also maintaining a 3.4 GPA and scoring a 24 on the ACT on my first try. I was playing basketball, football, and track while also being in the gospel choir, orchestra, band, jazz band, and played piano at my church. I guess I loved competing and trying to be the best I could be. That still hasn’t changed haha.

Contact Info:

• Email: koreyfells@gmail.com
• Website: Koreykeys.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/koreykeys
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/koreyfells
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/track/7uhsWLUYiAQHC60lkDDJNA?si=JWz6TM9rSTOEtuW21sxUAQ&dl_branch=1