Casey Luong, born November 13th, 1994 known as Keshi is a self taught singer songwriter from Texas, who first made his appearance as a formal music artist in 2017. Formerly known as a lo-fi artist for his singles like “magnolia” or “just friends” Keshi’s music has come a long way since then. Earlier tracks experimenting more gentle vocals over acoustic-trap hybrid beats to a more established and complex style of music.
Prior to becoming a full time musician, Keshi formerly worked as an oncology nurse working long hours by day and making music by night. It wasn’t until a bad day at work where decided to quit his job and pursue his dream of music. That same week he signed to Island Records.
In 2018 he would release an ep titled “The Reaper” which would help him gain more traction. It was a new sound that he hadn’t put out before and a huge step in direction for his music. His song “2 soon” being one of his most distinctively different songs providing a more personal style and blends of melodies that evoke joy and melancholy.
The evolution in his music would continue throughout the years leading up to his debut album “Gabriel” in 2022 where he would showcase a newfound confidence in music with a more polished sound. The album would feature 12 tracks contributing to a cohesive narrative following themes of love, success, family, and personal growth. Following his albums release he would also embark on a year long world tour “Hell/Heaven Tour” and “Hell and Back Tour”
Keshi’s popularity would continue to grow reaching 9.4 monthly listeners and gaining over 3 billion streams across all platforms. He would go on to release his sophomore album titled
“Requiem” in 2024. Serving as an homage to his late friend and collaborator whom he mourned the loss of deeply and in turn influenced the creation of “Requiem”. The album features 13 tracks and delves into themes of loss, grief, and existential contemplation reflecting Keshi’s personal experiences and emotions. The album is a clear testament to his evolution as an artist showcasing his growth in themes and musical depth.
“Requiem” showcases Keshi’s versatility as a writer, producer, and performer. Blending elements of pop, R&B, and soul the album creates a soundscape that is both expansive and intimate with songs like “Say” and “Like That” offering a more upbeat and energetic vibe and tracks like “Dream” and “Bodies” centering on more emotionally heavy themes like vulnerability, longing, and conflict. He would also embark on a 2025 world tour this time the venues being arenas.
Americana glamour, melancholia, tragic love stories, fame and beauty—Born June 21st, 1985, Elizabeth Woolridge Grant—more famously known today as Lana Del Rey, is a globally renowned singer and songwriter who first made her appearance in the music scene in 2008, under the name: Lizzie Grant. She first started writing music around the age of 18 and signed with 5 Points Records in 2007 before releasing her first EP: Kill Kill in 2008. Lana’s music is widely known for its nostalgic and almost cinematic feel whilst simultaneously exploring melancholic themes of love, glamour and fame; her lyrics often telling some of Lana’s own stories and experiences through them, such as: This is What Makes Us Girls, Ultraviolence, Video Games, The Grants and many others.
Starting off as struggling artist, Lizzie Grant, she found herself wanting to create a new persona for herself, one that could better mirror the image she wanted to create for herself and her music—hence the name she is widely known for today: Lana Del Rey was born. The name “Lana” was taken with inspiration from the American actress and pin-up model: Lana Turner. Meanwhile, “Del Rey” was inspired by her adoration for the glamour and beauty of the Miami seaside. Her name directly connects to her 1950’s-1970’s Americana aesthetics that she is known so well for—which distincts her music from the other artists of her time. Throughout her career, Lana has incorporated various genres in her songs, including, but not limited to: Alternative Pop, Indie Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, Baroque Pop to create her own unique, Lana-esque sound!
Lana Del Rey’s first hit in her career was with her song: Video Games on her Born To Die album. From there she would experience her first Top 10 Hit with her song: Summertime Sadness which peaked at #6 on the Billboard Top 100; it was only going up for Lana that point on in her career, releasing multiple albums that ended up charting #1 in various regions, her first of which being her 2014 release: Ultraviolence. Some other notable charting album releases include her Lust for Life album, which was released in 2017 and was her second album to chart in first place on the Billboard 200; Her 2019 release, NFR which was nominated in the Grammys for Album of The Year; Blue Banisters, released in 2021, was added to the list of her works that charted #1 on Billboard Alternative Albums and even: Did you Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, which rapidly became the fastest album to sell in the UK back in 2023. Lana Del Rey has been nominated for over 120 awards throughout her career, 11 of those being Grammy Nominations. In total she has around 42 awards to her name, one of which she was the first woman to receive the Visionary Award in 2023 from the Billboard Women in Music Awards. She also has her very own star in Hollywood’s famously known Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021. Despite the amount of times she’s been nominated in the Grammys, she unfortunately has yet to receive a Grammy award. Even so, her career has been proven time and time again to be nothing short of utterly successful, becoming a household name in the world of music.
