KIA – “I Won’t Complain” [Song Review]

Los Angeles-based ‘soul writer’ KIA, a Dutch singer, recently released her single, “I Won’t Complain,” a track lifted from her forthcoming EP, Retrospect.

“I Won’t Complain” follows on the heels of KIA’s Christmas single, “Share Xmas Love,” and her debut live album, Tomorrow’s Mind. In addition to her solo projects, KIA’s gift for songwriting and her luscious vocals appeared on the soundtrack of Netflix’s movie Fearless, Kevin Hart’s The Man from Toronto, Netflix’s The Claus Family 3, Hulu’s The Devil Conspiracy, and Help! I Shrunk My Friends, a German film.

KIA received both the NAMM President’s Innovation Award and the Ultimate Music Awards for Best Single-Pop of the Year and Best Female Artist of the Year. She was a top finalist at the IMSTA Songwriting Competition and the UK Songwriting Competition and won an honorable mention at the International Songwriting Competition (ISC). She recently won the weekly John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

Her sound merges elements of alternative R&B with enticing neo-soul, highlighted by her soulful vocals, at once sensuously appealing and emotionally evocative.

“I Won’t Complain” opens on swirling colors, rolling into a delicious mid-tempo rhythm topped by KIA’s warm, voluptuous timbres, imbuing the lyrics with silky textures and lush nuances. Radiant vocal harmonies infuse the melody with glowing surfaces, adding dimension to the song. A reverb-laden guitar offers a dreamy, swaying solo.

KISA, photo by Snoopz Visuals

The outro blends KIA’s seductive voice, plush harmonies, and the reverb guitar into a drifting, luxurious nexus of yummy, intertwining elegance.

With her smoldering voice riding over rich harmonics, KIA delivers an ooh-la-la confection of sumptuous R&B and redolent neo-soul.

Run Time: 2:55
Release Date: October 19, 2023
Record Label: Independent