Pop/R&B Singer Kelle Embraces the Scorned Woman Trope on her Song “Tampa”
Kelle grew up surrounded by music. Coming from a family of musicians, she found herself naturally drawn to music at a young age through stories of her father’s band in Australia and hearing the constant hum of his guitar through her early years. As a product of the late ’90s/early 2000s, Kelle takes inspiration from all that is pop culture.
Her song, “Tampa,” is emblematic of how Kelle processes pain. During a time in her life when she was experiencing a lot of different emotions, she frequently found herself in the place where anger and shame coincided, which, in turn, only fueled her anger further.
There is something to be said about the way women are viewed when they are justifiably angry, and the pressure to continue along the high road, in fear of being painted as crazy, bitter, or scorned. On “Tampa,” Kelle chooses to embrace the scorned woman trope, and provide her with support and empathy instead of shame. Through a narrative lens, we can dramatize these heavy feelings and find joy, humour, and celebration in their place.
The “Tampa” music video is a fun, glamorous expression of femininity, rage, and is inspired by campy 80’s slasher movies, early 2000s hot pink, and the fascination of the idea of women as murderers. The cast features Kelle, Lara Hamburg, Sara Hinding, Elisa Verrilli, Bennett Aitchison, and Madi Langon.
Watch the video for “Tampa” below and learn more about Kelle via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Absolutely! I’m Kelle, and I’m a pop singer/songwriter based in Toronto who specializes in turning pain into pink.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
I wrote Tampa in about 15 minutes during a time when all of my friends were going through breakups simultaneously. I wanted to dramatize the feelings of anger, shame, resentment, and pain and talk about those feelings through a narrative lens, which ended up coming to fruition as a glamorous group of scorned lovers who join forces to murder their evil ex-boyfriend. The release was accompanied by my first music video, which reflects this story in the most fabulous way possible. Tampa is all about campy, feminine rage, and celebrating that in a dramatic way.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
I pull inspiration from my own experiences, the experiences shared with me by people in my life, art, music, the mundane, glamour, tragedy, spectacle. Prolific artists like Prince have always inspired me to create and to engage with my surroundings, or lack thereof in order to write. I try to write from a very honest place, but I always like to dress it up a little bit. What’s the point in being sad if you can’t be adorned in feathers and diamonds all the while?
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
Not at the moment, but stay tuned.
What’s your goal for 2023?
My goal for 2023 is to release my debut E.P., The Feminine Principle, which I have been working on in collaboration with Boston-based Plaid Dog Studios since late 2021. Exploring themes of grief, rage, femininity, celebration, and the sense of mid-20’s futility so many of us experience, this E.P. is close to my heart, and I hope it grows close to yours as well.