| Kaiit | |
| Birth Name: | Kaiit Bellamia Waup |
| Birth Date: | 29 October 1997 |
| Birth Place: | Papua New Guinea |
| Origin: | Melbourne, Australia |
| Genre: | Neo soul |
| Occupation: | Singer |
Kaiit is the performance name of Kaiit Bellamia Waup (born 29 October 1997, Papua New Guinea), who is a neo soul singer-songwriter based in Australia. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019, they won the inaugural Best Soul/R&B Release category for the single, "Miss Shiney" (2019).
Kaiit was born as Kaiit Bellamia Waup,[1] in 1997 in Papua New Guinea (PNG)[2] [3] to a Papua New Guinean father and Indigenous Australian mother of Gunditjmara and Torres Strait Islander heritage. The artist grew up in both PNG and Australia. Initially pursuing a career as a make-up artist, Kaiit turned to performing as a singer based in Melbourne.
Kaiit's first single, "Natural Woman", was issued in mid-2017. It is co-written by Kaiit with Michael Chan, Jack Hewitt, Michael Cooper and Mohamed Komba.[4] Sonny Thomas of Purple Sneakers praised the song, "Jam-packed with soul and seemingly effortless cool, she shines on her new single and film clip."[5] It is included on their five-track debut extended play, Live from Her Room, which was issued in September 2018.[6] Gloria Brancatisano of Beat rated it at 8.5 out-of 10, "Kaiit paints a picture of a woman who understands her worth, appreciating those who come into her life to improve it while carefully removing those who are toxic."
Another single, "OG Luv Kush Pt 2", from the EP had been issued in 2018, which is "an essay of reasons to leave a relationship and in spite of the listed problems, Kaiit shows her strength in character." The track was shared on social media by American singer, Jill Scott. At the APRA Music Awards of 2019 "OG Luv Kush Pt 2" was short-listed for Song of the Year. In that year the singer-songwriter undertook a European tour including a performance at England's The Great Escape Festival. In May 2019 the single, "Miss Shiney", was released. It won the inaugural Best Soul/R&B Release category at the ARIA Music Awards of 2019.[7] [8]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, the artist turned to crowdfunding to maintain their independence from major record labels. In August 2021 they launched a GoFundMe page to "recover [her] independence as an artist" and continue releasing new music.[9] They performed new material in February 2023 at Nocturnal x Midsumma held at Melbourne Museum.[10] In March 2024 the singer supported Zambian-born Sampa the Great at Supreme Court Gardens, Melbourne.[11] Kaiit performed new songs, "2000 n Somethin'" and "Dumb Sis Juice", by "Combining fluid jazz sounds with wavy, celestial vocals, Kaiit delivered a quirky, intimate performance that left listeners feeling giddy and euphoric."
Kaiit is non-binary,[12] and uses she/her, he/him, and they/them pronouns.[13] Her partner in life is fellow singer Adrian Eagle,[14] who was also nominated for Best Soul/R&B Release in 2019 for his single "AOK".
| Details | ||
| Live from Her Room |
|
|---|
| Year | Album | |
|---|---|---|
| "Natural Woman"[16] | 2017 | Live from Her Room |
| "2000 N Somethin"[17] | ||
| "OG Luv Kush p2"[18] | 2018 | Live from Her Room |
| "Miss Shiney"[19] | 2019 | |
| Year | Album | |
|---|---|---|
| "Warning" [20] | 2018 | Lab Experiments Vol. 2 |
The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters".[21] ! |-| 2019| "OG Luv Kush Pt 2" by Kaiit (Kaiit Waup / Michael Chan / Anthony Douglas / Mohamed Komba / Jaydean Miranda / Damian Smith)| Song of the Year| | [22] |-| 2020 | "Miss Shiney" by Kaiit (Kaiit Waup / Vincent Goodyer / Nicholas Martin)| Song of the Year| | [23] |-|}
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.|-| 2019| "Miss Shiney"| Best Soul/R&B Release| |-
The Music Victoria Awards, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005.[24] [25]
|-| rowspan="3"| 2018| herself| Best Hip Hop Act| |-| herself| Breakthrough Act| |-| herself| Archie Roach Award for Emerging Talent| |-| 2019| herself| Best Hip Hop Act| |-
The Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by Albert Music and APRA AMCOS. It commenced in 2009.[26]
|-| 2019[27] | "Miss Shiney"| Unpublished prize| |-