'Love Is Dead", the debut album from Estonian pop princess, Kerli, entered the Top 200 Albums Chart this week at #126, #3 on the Heatseekers New Artist Chart, and #22 on the Digital Albums Chart.
The video for Kerli’s single “Walking On Air” has been getting a great reaction online. It is currently the #1 Music Video on AOL Music, and debuted with 107,334 views. To date the video has been streamed over 692,000 times on YouTube and last month it was ranked as the #18 Top Favorite Video (Music) on the site. Yahoo has announced their support for Kerli as well, by featuring her in the Yahoo! Music’s Who’s Next?: Critical Eye spotlight, beginning on July 23. Past “Who’s Next?” artists have included Amy Winehouse, My Chemical Romance, Feist, Sara Bareilles and more. Furthermore, Kerli has been selected as one of MSN’s “Artists To Watch.” To add to the online presence, “Walking On Air” officially impacted at the Top 40 radio format yesterday, and has already garnered early commitments from stations in top markets.
In addition, Kerli’s original brand of pop-goth has been getting raves in the press. People noted, “Certainly, her small Baltic country isn’t known as a music hotbed-but that may change with Kerli’s goth-pop debut.” The Los Angeles Times stated, “The first single, “Walking On Air” … showcases Kerli’s voice at its best.” Perhaps Artistdirect said it best: “Ultimately, Kerli's onto something that could be very significant for the disenfranchised, disillusioned 21st century youth.”
Kerli’s edgy musical savvy – drawing comparisons to Amy Lee of Evanescence and Bjork – grew at least partly from her upbringing in Estonia, which regained its independence from the USSR in 1991, when she was just four years old. A product of “tough love,” Kerli spent most of her childhood seeking to transcend her surroundings by immersing herself in the arts, studying vocals, ballet, acting, and classical piano. By the time she turned 14, she knew what her focus would be. “I was so sure that my life was going to be all about singing,” Kerli says, that “I quit everything else.”
Kerli is a fascinating, magnetic young presence, whose talents as a songwriter are progressing at an extraordinary pace. “I’m trying to create a world around my music,” she says. “And this world needs to be pure, real, honest and beautiful but still a little interesting, dark and definitely mysterious.”
Make sure to click here to check out the exclusive interview Music2Nite had with Kerli!
