Vancouver’s Christina Kennedy Unveils New Single, “San Diego, CA”
 Vancouver’s Christina Kennedy has unveiled her latest single, “San Diego, CA.”
Drawing inspiration from a variety of musical genres such as all variations of pop, folk, r&b, and soul, Christina combines compelling lyrics, catchy melodies, and dynamic instrumentation to create a unique sound that is intimate, ambient, and yet purposeful. Trained vocally since she was 9 years old, she uses her three-octave range to focus on themes such as love, pain, and self-discovery. With melodic instrumentation, her new track takes the listener on a journey through the ups and downs of a relationship while exploring new beginnings and saying goodbye to something once familiar.
Watch the video for “San Diego, CA” below and learn more about Christina via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi, my name is Christina Kennedy. I am an 18-year-old multimedia artist from Vancouver, BC. A lot of my work includes making and releasing original music, self-directing short films, and music videos with the help of some of the best crew, and acting in various indie projects. I am in love with the process of creating a project from start to finish and seeing how the art grows and shape shifts in between.
I have been training vocally since I was 9 years old and writing songs since I was 13. Growing up I’ve always enjoyed figure skating, layered and insightful conversations, my Grandma’s homemade Chinese food, and going to super fun events and dancing!
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
“San Diego, CA” is a song inspired by a previous relationship and how I was feeling at the time. I definitely grew a lot because of that experience. The song speaks about loss, grief, longing, and love. Yes, this person did move to California. Recording this song was super special and I wanted to give this song a super ethereal and elevated, top-of-a-mountain feeling. My hope is to take the listener on a journey through the highs and lows of a relationship, exploring new beginnings and saying goodbye to something once familiar. The vocal layering in this song gives feelings of chaos, freedom, and everything in between.
“San Diego, CA”’s music video is very much inspired by Ashe and Finneas’ “Til Forever Falls Apart” music video. I loved the idea of incorporating forms of dance and that feeling of open free space was exactly what I was picturing for this song.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
Despite writing within the pop genre, I draw a lot of inspiration from indie folk, and artists such as Novo Amor, Carobae, Ben Howard, Lizzy McApline, and Bon Iver. I love incorporating ethereal and ambient soundscapes because they’re just super cool and really resonate with me. In a lyrical sense, I draw inspiration from stories and experiences in my own life or stories from the perspective of the people around me, or maybe a movie I’m inspired by at the time. Inspiration for lyrics are weird and they kinda just hit at random moments and continue to flow out.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
Not at the moment. I’ll hopefully be around doing some small shows in the Vancouver area. My goal is to make sure the audience is enjoying themselves first and foremost; I can’t have fun if they don’t have fun. I would love to perform at the Rickshaw Theater one day and hopefully expand to outdoor venues, especially during the summertime! That would be a blast 🙂
What’s your goal for 2023?
My goals are to release the first few songs from my upcoming EP this year, as well as continue directing indie films. This year, I hope to learn to take more breaks haha and prioritize my well-being to continue putting out quality work that I’m proud of. I hope my music expands to reach across Canada and finds its way to those who could find comfort in the lyrics.