Kaci Battaglia

Kaci Lyn Battaglia, also known mononymously as Kaci, is an American former singer, songwriter and dancer. She gained international recognition in 2001 with her hit single "Paradise", which reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, and followed it with further UK chart success in the early 2000s. Later in her career, Battaglia achieved additional prominence on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart with singles including "Crazy Possessive" and "Body Shots", both of which reached number one.

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Early life and career

Battaglia showed an interest in singing from an early age, frequently performing karaoke and singing at home. As her confidence grew, Battaglia began performing the national anthem in front of live audiences at sporting events, marking her first regular public appearances as a vocalist. By the age of eight, she had sung the national anthem before large crowds, including an appearance at Yankee Stadium in New York in front of an audience reported at 80,000 people.
Alongside singing, Battaglia pursued acting work during childhood. At the age of nine, she appeared in her first commercial for Walt Disney World and later had a leading child role in a Disney television Christmas special.
Battaglia was signed after her mother saw an advertisement in a newspaper seeking an 18–25-year-old male singer and sent a photograph and demo recording of her daughter. Despite not fitting the original brief, the demo attracted the attention of songwriter and producer Joel Diamond, who took her on as a recording artist and developed her early material. This led to her being recorded and subsequently signed to a recording contract, with Battaglia later recalling that her mother’s initiative had led to the opportunity.
Outside of performing, she expressed an interest in reading the Harry Potter series and caring for pets, including dogs, birds, and a cat, as noted in contemporary profiles during her early career.

Music career

At age 11, Battaglia independently released A Thousand Stars, an album that was produced by her mother, Donna. A portion of the proceeds from A Thousand Stars went to help a local housing project for the homeless. Battaglia began looking for a recording contract when she was eleven years old due to the success of her independent album. She caught the attention of record producer Joel Diamond after Battaglia's mother called and asked Diamond to audition her daughter. Diamond put up his own money to record her. After he was turned down by over 20 record labels with his demo, "Paradise" featuring Battaglia, Mike Curb called Diamond months after receiving the recording and told him that he wanted to sign Battaglia to Curb Records.
Her debut single "Paradise", a cover of the theme song originally sung by Phoebe Cates in the 1982 film Paradise, was released in 2001 and reached number 11 in the UK. Battaglia's Latin-flavoured second single "Tu Amor" was released in the UK in July of the same year, peaking at number 24. Her third single was a cover of Tony Romeo's "I Think I Love You", which became her only top 10 hit in the UK in February 2002. A follow-up single, "I'm Not Anybody's Girl", was released in 2002 and reached number 55 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached number 7 on the UK HMV Top 10 singles chart, according to contemporary newspaper listings. The song also appeared on the motion picture soundtrack for View from the Top. The album Paradise was later reissued in some territories under the title I'm Not Anybody’s Girl, featuring a largely similar track listing.
In 2003, Battaglia teamed up with Japanese photographer Seiichi Nomura and released a photo book entitled Kaci: I'm a Singer, published in Japan by Upfront Books / Wani Books on March 28, 2003.
The cover photograph from the book was also used for a Japanese reissue of her album Paradise, released shortly afterwards. The reissue featured updated artwork and included a DVD containing the official music videos for "Paradise", "Tu Amor", and "I Think I Love You", as well as a special video for "I'm Not Anybody's Girl" consisting of a slideshow of photographs by Seiichi Nomura set to the song. Additional photographs were included in the CD/DVD booklet.
In 2004, Battaglia co-wrote the song "Wrong" with Tiffany Arbuckle Lee, which was recorded by Kimberley Locke for her 2004 album One Love.
In the same year, Battaglia recorded "Txt Me", written by Leon Cave, which won the BBC Radio 2 "Search for a Songwriter" competition; the song was later issued as a promotional single on Curb Records.
In 2005, Battaglia's recording of "As If", written by Remee, Robbie Nevil, Joe Belmaati, and Mich Hansen, was featured on the compilation CD Line Dance Fever 16. She later recorded "I Will Learn to Love Again" for the film The Perfect Man.
She returned in 2007 with "I Can't Help Myself", a dance single released to radio. Her later singles "Crazy Possessive" and "Body Shots", featuring Ludacris, were included on her album Bring It On and both reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Bring It On was physically released in Japan in 2010; it was also released as a digital download.
In 2011, Battaglia co-wrote the song "Bless Myself" with Antonina Armato and Tim James. The song was recorded by Lucy Hale for the soundtrack of the film A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song.
In 2024, Curb Records released a digital compilation entitled Best of Kaci Battaglia, featuring a selection of her singles.

Personal life

On February 13, 2016, Kaci married Selleck Keene in Clearwater.

Discography

Other songs and promotional recordings

“New Day” – promotional recording, released on the promo CDr *Untitled*.

Albums

A Thousand Stars Paradise Bring It On

''Best of Kaci Battaglia''

Live performances and appearances

Performed her debut single "Paradise" on CBBC's *Live and Kicking* on 3 March 2001, as part of the UK promotion for the single.
Performed her debut single "Paradise" on BBC's *Top of the Pops* on 9 March 2001, hosted by Jamie Theakston, during the single's peak in the UK Singles Chart at #11.
Performed "Tu Amor" on CBBC's *Live and Kicking* on 7 July 2001.
Performed at 93.3 FLZ’s "The Big One" concert on August 25, 2001, at the Ice Palace in Tampa, Florida, alongside Smash Mouth, LFO, Jessica Simpson, Dream, Tonya Mitchell, Eden's Crush, and Willa Ford.
Opened for major pop acts including O-Town, the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, and toured extensively across the United States during the early 2000s.
Performed on Pepsi's Your Taste, Your Style, Your Night of Shopping 2002 mall tour in August 2002, a promotional tour across multiple U.S. states sponsored by Pepsi.
Performed “I’m Not Anybody’s Girl” at the Capital One Bowl Halftime Show on January 1, 2003, Orlando, Florida.
Performed at 93Q & Coors Light Balloon Fest, June 14, 2003, Syracuse, New York.
Performed at San Francisco Pride, June 2009.
Performed at Pride events in 2010, including Las Vegas Pride.

Promotional and broadcast appearances

Special “Paradise” video shown during the pre-game show of Super Bowl XXXV in January 2001; distinct from the standard official music video.
Attended the “Lizzie McGuire” movie premiere, April 26, 2003, Hollywood, California.
Promotional appearances in Japan, May 2003, including music performances and photo book events.
Appeared on children’s television programming, including music performances broadcast internationally.
AOL/Coke Launchpad top-rated artist, September–December 2002.
Appeared on youth-oriented television programming, including Nickelodeon's Slime Time Live, which she co-hosted and performed on multiple occasions.

Later Life

Following a successful recording career in the late 1990s and 2000s, Battaglia retired from the music industry in 2013 after several years of reduced public activity. Since then, she has lived largely outside of public attention and has chosen to maintain a private life away from the entertainment industry. According to publicly available biographical information, she resides in Florida.
Although no longer active as a recording artist, interest in her earlier work has continued, including the release of the digital compilation album Best of Kaci Battaglia in 2024, which revisited highlights from her music career.