Kehlani


Kehlani Ashley Parrish is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. They initially started as a member of the teen pop group PopLyfe in 2011 as contestant on America's Got Talent. After leaving the group, Parrish self-released the mixtapes Cloud 19 and You Should Be Here, both of which were critical acclaimed and received gold certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America, while the latter marked their first entry on the US Billboard 200 and was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.
Kehlani signed with Atlantic Records to release their debut studio album, SweetSexySavage, which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, while their second, It Was Good Until It Wasn't, peaked at number two. Their third album, Blue Water Road, peaked at number 13 on the chart and was met with critical acclaim, while their fourth, Crash, peaked at number 25. Their 2025 single, "Folded", peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.

Early life

Kehlani Ashley Parrish was born on April 24, 1995, in Oakland, California. She was adopted and raised by her aunt when her mother, who had a drug addiction, served time in jail. Kehlani's father, who also had a drug addiction, died when she was a toddler. During her teenage years, she attended the Oakland School for the Arts, where she initially practiced dance, particularly ballet and modern dance.
Early in their life, Kehlani aspired to train as a dancer at the Juilliard School, but they had a knee injury in junior high, which led them to turn their attention towards singing. While living with their aunt, Kehlani was exposed almost exclusively to R&B and neo soul artists, such as Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, whom today they describe as some of their early musical influences. When they were 14, Kehlani was recruited to join a local pop cover band, PopLyfe.

Career

2009–2013: Beginnings with PopLyfe

Kehlani's singing career effectively began when they started out as a member and lead vocalist for the group called PopLyfe. The band's music was produced by former Tony! Toni! Tone! member D'Wayne Wiggins. Within two years, the group performed throughout the Bay Area and other cities. In 2011, they auditioned for the sixth season of America's Got Talent, and eventually finished in fourth place. During their final appearance, judge Piers Morgan told Kehlani, "You've got real talent, but I don't think you need the group."
After the end of America's Got Talent, Kehlani left PopLyfe, because of several managerial and contractual disputes. Over six months, they avoided doing anything music related to avoid being sued by the group's management. In 2012 and 2013, Kehlani was effectively homeless, moving from house to house and often sleeping on couches. During their senior year of high school, they moved to Los Angeles, California, with no legal guardian. In 2013, Nick Cannon, who had been the host of America's Got Talent during PopLyfe's run, called Kehlani to ask about being in a rap group. They agreed at first and went to Los Angeles, but, ultimately didn't like the direction of the group and moved back to Oakland. To help with money and food, they decided to begin stealing iPhones to sell, and items from grocery stores for a short time. Months later, Kehlani released their first solo track on SoundCloud, called "ANTISUMMERLUV". Cannon called back after hearing the song and he bought them an apartment in LA, along with studio time.

2014–2017: ''SweetSexySavage''

In 2014, the studio time culminated in the release of their first mixtape, called Cloud 19. The mixtape features guest appearances from Kyle Dion. Cannon also sent them to New York City to work with record producer Jahaan Sweet. The mixtape ranked at twenty-eighth on Complex's list of the "50 Best Albums of 2014," and was also listed among Pitchfork's "Overlooked Mixtapes 2014." A song they released in late 2014, "Till the Morning" was placed by Billboard as one of the "Emerging Picks of the Week" on November 7, 2014. In 2015, Kehlani opened for American rapper G-Eazy on the second leg of his From the Bay to the Universe tour.
On April 28, 2015, they released their second mixtape You Should Be Here. Billboard called it the "year's first great R&B album", when it debuted at number five on Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The project features guest appearances from fellow American rapper Chance the Rapper and American singer BJ the Chicago Kid. A week after the release, they announced that they had signed a deal to Atlantic Records. In support of the mixtape, they embarked on the You Should Be Here tour, which sold out every North American date and select European dates. Throughout 2015, they also received individual plaudits: Complex called their one of the "15 Artists to Watch Out for in 2015" and Rolling Stone named them one of the "10 New Artists You Need to Know". You Should Be Here also earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album. In March 2016, Kehlani guest featured on English singer Zayn's single "Wrong" from his debut solo studio album Mind of Mine. Their song "Gangsta" was featured on the soundtrack for the August 2016 hit movie Suicide Squad, which gave them and their music some beneficial recognition, as it reached number 41 on the Hot 100.
On November 26, 2016, Kehlani revealed the title of their debut studio album SweetSexySavage, which was released on Atlantic Records on January 27, 2017. In December 2017, Kehlani guest featured on American rapper Eminem's single "Nowhere Fast" from his ninth studio album Revival. Kehlani's third annual Tsunami Christmas tour concluded in Santa Ana, California on December 18, 2017.

20182023: ''It Was Good Until It Wasn't'' and ''Blue Water Road''

Kehlani served as an opening act on American singer Demi Lovato's Tell Me You Love Me World Tour in North America, which started on February 26, 2018, and concluded on April 2. They then opened on American singer Halsey's Hopeless Fountain Kingdom World Tour on the Oceania leg during April 2018. In March 2018, Kehlani guest featured on American singer Charlie Puth's single "Done for Me" from his second studio album, Voicenotes. In April 2018, they guest-featured on American rapper Cardi B's single "Ring" from her debut studio album, Invasion of Privacy. The song peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Kehlani's first song to enter the top 40 of the chart.
On February 22, 2019, their third commercial mixtape While We Wait was released by Atlantic Records and debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 and sold 34,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It was supported by the singles "Nights Like This" featuring Ty Dolla Sign, "Nunya" featuring Dom Kennedy, and "Butterfly".
On September 27, 2019, Kehlani and Russian-German DJ Zedd released the collaborative single "Good Thing." Kehlani and American singer Teyana Taylor's then released the single "Morning" in November of that year.
On January 28, 2020, Kehlani guest-featured on singer Justin Bieber's promotional single "Get Me" from his fifth studio album, Changes. They were also set to be a supporting act alongside American rapper and singer Jaden Smith for Bieber's Changes Tour, which was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour was pushed back to 2022 and renamed the Justice World Tour to support both Changes and its successor, Bieber's sixth studio album, Justice, although Kehlani was dropped as an opening act. Kehlani released their second studio album, It Was Good Until It Wasn't on May 8, 2020. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, based on 83,000 album-equivalent units earned.
In September 2020, Kehlani recorded songs for the deluxe version of It Was Good Until It Wasn't. However, after the session they decided that the songs would fit better on a separate project, and began working on their third studio album, Blue Water Road. On September 14, 2021, Kehlani revealed the teaser for Blue Water Road, and announced that the album will be released later that year. The album's lead single "Altar" was released on September 15. The second single, "Little Story", was released on February 24, 2022. On March 30, Kehlani released "Up at Night", featuring Justin Bieber, as the third single from the album, while the album was confirmed for an April 29 release.
To support the album, Kehlani embarked on the Blue Water Road Trip tour in the US and Europe from July to December 2022. The tour had opening acts Rico Nasty and Destin Conrad. In 2023, Kehlani was the headliner for concert performances at the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game and the 2023 MLS All-Star Game.

2024present: ''Crash'' and ''While We Wait 2''

On April 4, 2024, Kehlani released the lead single "After Hours" ahead of their next album. Kehlani affirmed their support for Palestine, expressing their stance in their music video "Next 2 U". The video, which premiered on May 31, 2024, began with a poem by Palestinian-American writer Hala Alyan and the demonstration chant "Long Live the Intifada", an allusion to the 1987 uprising against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In the music video's outro, Kehlani vocalized a personally penned message dedicated to the Palestinian children who were killed in the Gaza war. Kehlani's fourth album, Crash, was released on June 21, 2024, and featured collaborations with Jill Scott, Omah Lay and Young Miko. Their fourth mixtape, While We Wait 2, was released on August 28, 2024. It included 14 songs with features from Lucky Daye, kwn, Vince Staples, FLO, Destin Conrad, Lil' Mo, and DIXSON. Kehlani states that the album only took two weeks to record and was done all at home. The cover art nods to the original While We Wait album cover, featuring them staring at themself in the mirror with a floral wallpaper in the background. They also collaborated with GloRilla on a Christmas-themed trap song, which was released on December 13, 2024.
On June 11, 2025, Kehlani released the single "Folded"; the song went on to peak at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, and won Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. On October 24, 2025, they released the "Folded Homage Pack" digitally, which included remixes featuring singers Brandy, JoJo, Mario, Ne-Yo, Tank, and Toni Braxton. On November 7, 2025, they released the single "Out the Window", releasing the official music video on November 27, 2025.