Daily Inspiration: Meet Kalen Kelly

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kalen Kelly

Hi Kalen, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I began my career as a professional singer in 2014 and through the years I have had the immense pleasure of performing all over the world, including as a signed recording artist with Walt Disney Records (I was an original member of Disney’s official a cappella group, DCappella). I always had a passion for singing, but growing up in North Florida, I was unaware of all of the possibilities and opportunities for singers without somehow becoming a MEGA famous pop star. I began my singing career in shows at Universal Studios in Orlando and branched out from there into private and corporate events, background singing and more, ultimately landing the recording contract in 2018. Navigating the performing world as a very young twenty something taught me so much about myself and the world and business. When I went on tour with Disney in 2019, I began using my socials to document the experience and throughout the pandemic dabbled in social media content creation. I began working as a social media manager for brands and artists in 2023 as I continued to grow my own socials, and am proud of be a multi-hyphenate creative!

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?
The business side of creative careers is always challenging; convincing someone that art is worth the investment can feel arbitrary and reductive, but I’ve learned a LOT about the business side during the past 11 years and I’m always striving to be more confident in my value as a creative. Being on tour with DCappella in another country for over 2 months in 2022 was very challenging; I had just moved to LA with my husband and our dogs, and leaving them for 10 weeks ended up being one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I became very depressed and I’m grateful that I had one of my dearest friends with me in the group to keep me active and support me in whatever way I needed. Then, our contract with the record label was ended early and I found myself in LA with very few connections and no prospects for work. I had lived here for less than a year and had been working or on tour for most of it, so I was wholly unprepared to lose that income. Definitely wouldn’t say it’s been a smooth road but the good outweighs the bad, I promise!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Like I mentioned, I’m definitely a multi-hyphenate creative but I’d say my specialty is singing, specifically live performance. I regularly sing in a private events band and actually have a new Disney tribute show opening soon called DCOM Live! However, in any given week I might be performing for an event, creative directing an artist’s video shoot, assistant directing a theme park show, attending an influencer event or just hanging out with my friends at Disneyland and making fun videos. I’m taking the content creation side of my endeavors more seriously this year and am always trying to find new ways to blend all the different facets of my creative life online! I’d say I’m proud of a lot of things; the 5 years I spent with DCappella will always be a huge life highlight and dream job. I’m also proud of the fact that I took a leap and moved across the country (from Orlando to LA) and have somehow figured it out, even having lost multiple jobs and clients. I think something that sets me apart is a commitment I made to myself the first day I clocked in a for a singing job at Universal Studios in 2014— I was at a venue with a lot of seasoned performers, and many of them were cranky and jaded. I promised myself that day I would never become jaded towards performing because it is truly a gift for not only the audience but for ME. I have held on to that promise and can honestly say I still get so excited every time I have a chance to perform. As a content creator, this ultimately translated into my mission statement for myself and my community: “don’t put your inner child in timeout.”

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Let’s start with the most obvious dislike— traffic HAHA! I’m not someone who loves to drive anyway, and I get pretty carsick so traffic will always be the bane of my existence in any city. What I like best? There are SO many things. Superficially I love the weather and the fact that there is always something new to do or discover. On a little deeper level, I have especially loved watching movies on the lawn at Hollywood Forever Cemetery and exploring all of the history the city has to offer, from old Hollywood to places like The Getty Museum. On a much deeper level, I love how passionate and intentional people are about their lives and careers here. I see people on a daily basis striving to improve themselves and the lives of others around them and it’s very inspiring. Also, although the job market is TOUGH (as it is most places), it’s easy to be a multi-hyphenate here, especially as a creative. It’s normal to have a bunch of different jobs and I love that because that’s how I’ve been most of my career. Also dogs— there are so many dogs and I love them all.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kalenmkelly/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kalenmkelly
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kalenmkelly