Daily Inspiration: Meet Kennedy Benson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kennedy Benson

Kennedy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Born and raised in Los Angeles, I’ve sung ever since I can remember, there’s a recording of me singing “Beat It” by Michael Jackson at 2 years old, it may not have been the right lyrics but the notes were there haha. I was always afraid of singing in front of people, including my family. I didn’t sing in front of my family (that did not include my household) until I went into high school. I didn’t do any competitions, musicals, or vocal lessons as a child other than one jingle for a dentist commercial in Dubai. I still haven’t done any of those things. I felt like it was time for me to start showing my talent to the world so I auditioned for an arts high school in Los Angeles. My childhood best friend had gone there for 2 years already so I felt comfortable enough. I’m not a super outgoing person. It’s hard for me to express myself and I think singing has helped a lot with that. I auditioned for Music – Vocals and got in! My freshman year I got a solo for the first time in choir, which was also new to me and was very exciting since it’s an art school, and everyone can sing. My high school has helped a lot with my performing confidence. I had been wanting to create a social media account for my singing forever but was scared to until one day during my freshman year, I just decided to do it. I had been posting for about a year my sophomore year and wasn’t getting much attention, which was okay but I felt like maybe I was doing something wrong. In November of my sophomore year, I went viral for the first time. I went from a few hundred followers to about 11,000 in just two weeks, which was insane. Everything was happening so fast. I was getting offers to be a part of singing competition shows, and A&Rs were asking about me, it was very exciting. In 2021, I was diagnosed with Lupus, which was very strange for me since as a child I rarely got sick. I was hospitalized for about 4-5 months, most of it I don’t remember due to my body shutting down. I went through a lot during that time. Had to relearn how to walk due to laying in bed for months, had 90% of my kidney function not working, went through chemotherapy, and seizures for the first time ever due to brain swelling, and since it was right after quarantine, hospitals still weren’t patients have visitors so I didn’t see my older sister for months. That really killed my spirit, I didn’t sing for a long time and my high school brought that back in me. Now, I just started my junior year of high school, I’ve recorded a few songs with some incredible people and working on trying to release my first song as soon as I can. I have gained over 30,000 followers on both Instagram and TikTok and am almost at 2,000 subscribers on YouTube. I love what I do. I love singing and reading all of the incredibly supportive comments. My fans are what keep me going. I think my story just proves how strong I am and although it can be difficult at times, I’m so grateful to still be on this Earth, sharing my gift with whoever will listen.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has definitely not been a smooth road, as I mentioned before, I was diagnosed with lupus. It definitely affects my day-to-day life and my anxiety. I’ve always been a pretty anxious person but since I was fully conscious for one of my seizures, the PTSD has affected my life in big ways. I had my first panic attack in 2022, which was very scary for me, I quickly learned that panic attacks and seizures feel the exact same in your body except for the shaking and paralyzation. So every time I had a weird feeling in my body, I would go into a straight panic. Due to that, mental health is extra, extra important to me. Some days my body is pretty weak, so weak that I cant stand, walk, or climb stairs which makes going to school hard sometimes because it’s a pretty big campus. I wouldn’t say I’ve necessarily had any struggles with singing. Of course, there’s the hate on social media but it’s pretty rare which is honestly pretty surprising and I’m incredibly thankful for that.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I sing. At school, at home, at the studio, on social media. I love all music. I mainly post covers with a few originals sprinkled in there. I mainly sing R&B and pop (ish). Honestly whatever genre/song that I’m enjoying at the moment or if someone, like a fan or anyone who comments, requests a specific song. Right now, I’ve been in the studio working on some music with great people. I started about 3-4 months ago. It’s very exciting for me since it’s the first time I’ve been in the studio for my own music and I love it. I feel at home in the studio. Hopefully, but unlikely something of mine will be out by the end of the year. If not, there will definitely be something out next year. I’m known for my riffs and runs while I sing. I’m most proud of how far I’ve come with my health and how afraid I was of singing in front of people or in general. Even though it’s through a screen, I am reaching millions across the world, which is insane to think about and now I’m singing in front of hundreds for school. I have performed at the Hollywood Bowl with my schools vocal jazz ensemble for the Annual Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival, which was incredible. The stage is so alive and a little scary because they don’t tell you (the performer) when they’re going to spin the stage around so you’re just anticipating it and its big jolt . I feel like I am different from others because I am authentic. I can relate to many different groups, (being black, a teenager, a woman, LGBTQ, being “sick” as a child, having an autoimmune disease/a chronic illness, has struggled with mental health) I can relate to pretty much every group and I am authentic. I love sharing my story, (as you can probably tell) I love making people feel good, and like they can be themselves no matter what anyone says. I want to make people feel comfortable, inspired, and good, (about themselves and my music) I want people to FEEL when they listen to me. I want them to listen to my story through my music and feel like they can relate to at least one thing that I say.

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I mentioned my childhood friend earlier. She is basically my other sister at this point. When I was younger my mom had a daycare. She went to that daycare, when I was 2, and she was around 3 1/2 to 4 years old. We lived across the street from each other and would see each other every day. We quickly became best friends, I was her little baby (even though we were 18 months apart) I would put on my shoes at 2 or 3 and tell my mom, “Ok I’m going to her house now” thinking I was allowed to just walk across the very busy street as a toddler. Her family became my family very fast. My favorite memories with her would be having 7 day long sleepovers. I would ask to spend the night at her house for one night and the nights would just keep extending. My mom would walk across the street to say hi, bring me new clothes, and then go back home, leaving me there. Her mama loves driving. We would go on 3-hour road trips randomly and be in a different city and then back to her house the same night. She was and is my sister. Her mom is my mom. Her brother is my brother. I didn’t know it back then, but those were definitely the best times of my life. I appreciate them so much, they;ve been there through everything, always making me laugh when I needed it or a shoulder available to cry on. I love the support system that i have and my extra family. I will always be thankful for my mom’s daycare.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kennedymichellemusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558685850795
• Twitter: https://x.com/kennedymic77572
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC89ZAL1I3nyeivZ4qml54UQ
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kennedymichelle3
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kennedymichellemusic