New Music: Kirstin "Bad Weather"

Loving the new music video, "Bad Weather," from Kirstin Maldonado's debut EP, L•O•V•E. 

Going by the moniker 'kirstin' on this solo venture, the singer/songwriter thinks of the track as "the anthem for everyone."

“I always see people being really shitty on social media and just hate on each other whether it’s because of who they love or who they identify as or people being just so dumb or mean or hateful for no reason,” Maldonado recently told HuffPost.

Speaking as a Mexican-American LGBT ally whose Pentatonix band mates are queer pop artists Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying, she adds,  “It’s important to accept yourself and believe in who you are and not let all that hateful talk bring you down and ruin how special each person is.”

The video pairs cyber-bullying and messages of hate ("faggot," "slut," "why don't you die") against a backdrop of stormy, turbulent weather.

Maldonado says the song is a meditation on her own life experiences and perspective gained from watching how others treat her friends.

And speaking of friends, yes, she is still a member of 3-time Grammy Award winning group Pentatonix. Like Hoying and Grassi, who have their own side gig as SuperfruitAnd speaking of friends, yes, she is still a member of 3-time Grammy Award winning group Pentatonix. Like Hoying and Grassi, who have their own side gig as Superfruit, kirstin says her musical tastes are broader than the a cappella/pop sounds of Pentatonix.

“I love being able to fulfill such a huge and special part of myself with Pentatonix,” she says, “But there is still so much more to me that, honestly, people don’t get to see because we’re in a group.”

We see you, kirstin, and we definitely like what we see.

kirstin's R&B/pop debut EP L•O•V•E is available at all digital download outlets.

Watch "Bad Weather" below.

New Music: Kirstin "Break A Little" (Acoustic)

Kirstin Maldonado of triple Grammy Award-winning a cappella group Pentatonix shares this lovely acoustic version of her current single, "Break A Little," from her debut solo EP L O V E, now available on iTunes.

Maldonado goes by the single name Kirstin for her solo projects, and she also departs a bit from the sound of her hit singing group. Whereas Pentatonix creates in a millennial-inspired a cappella space, Kirstin's solo sound embraces a decidedly electronic-pop mode.

That said, while I really enjoy her EDM-pop inspired version of "Break A Little," (recently performed live on The Today Show) I was struck by the open, breezy acoustic version here.

The acoustic music video was shot at the Shadowland Foundation - a non-profit organization dedicated to educating children of all ages about wolves and their contribution to the environment.

Kirstin, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, (my hometown, by the way) began singing at just 8 years old, and hit the big time when she teamed up with her fellow Pentatonix members to compete to great acclaim on the 2011 season of The Sing-Off.

It was just last year she began spinning off to solo side-gigs which has now culminated in the release of L O V E.

The official music video can be found here.

New Music: Kirstin "Break A Little" (Madison Mars Remix)

As a member of the a cappella group Pentatonix Kirstin Maldonado has won 3 GRAMMY® Awards, and with her new EP - L O V E - moves into an exciting new chapter in her career, rebranding herself as kirstin and debuting the EP’s lead single, “Break a Little.”

The multi-platinum singer/songwriter's solo debut EP L O V E is available now for preorder and will be released on July 14th via RCA Records.

“I’m so proud of ‘Break A Little’,” Kirstin said in a statement. “I always wanted to write a sad song that sounds happy. I think everyone can relate to this emotion. It’s about longing for something. You’re attracted to a vice or person you know you shouldn’t come back to, but you can’t help it.”

Check out the Madison Mars remix of “Break a Little” below.

I think this remix actually serves the song better than the original ballad soundscape.