Story by Eri Mizobe
Photos by Gun Kang
It was hard for Kina Grannis to imagine that the music she created in dark, secluded stairwells while studying at the University of Southern California (USC) would take her anywhere. But 2007 quickly changed everything when Grannis started a YouTube channel and entered the Doritos Crash the Superbowl contest. Grannis’ first video, which was her original song “Message From Your Heart,” was her winning entry in the contest. Ninety-seven million viewers watched Grannis’ sixty-second commercial, and she was consequently signed to a record label. As of 2009, Grannis has decided to continue her career as an independent artist. To date, she has four released CDs, including her newest album, appropriately titled “Stairwells.”
There was an air of excitement in the University of Oregon’s Prince Lucien Campbell Hall (PLC) last Thursday, May 12, as students and other Eugene community members waited for Grannis to walk down the stairs with her acoustic guitar. Grannis’ two sisters, Misa and Emi, performed as well; they accompanied Kina with vocal harmonies and additional musical instruments, including a glockenspiel. The Asian Pacific American Student Union (APASU) hosted the concert (Grannis is of half-Japanese and half-European descent).
“We knew she was really well known because she works with Wong Fu Productions [a popular Asian American filmmaking group] and her music is popular too,” says Helen Wong, current APASU staff member and future co-director. APASU has brought various guests to campus throughout the year, including Korean American singer-songwriter Clara Chung and Indian American comedian Hari Kondabolu.
Cheers, hoots, and smiles from audience members proved that Grannis’ UO concert was a success. “What class is usually held in [PLC 180]? When my sisters and I got here there was a supply and demand graph on the board for soybeans,” Grannis told the audience as she took a break from tuning her guitar to draw a soybean on the chalkboard. Much laughter followed.
“She was great live and the audience seemed to really get into it,” says Jesse Fukawa, current outreach coordinator and future co-director. “I’m happy she gave us a mix of songs on her album and some great covers.” Grannis performed her well-known original songs, including “Valentine,” “World in Front of Me,” and “The Goldfish Song.” She also surprised the audience with creative covers of hits, such as “Oops I Did it Again” by Britney Spears, and “Gangster’s Paradise” by Coolio, which Grannis explained was one of her favorite songs as a kid.
The audience was a balanced mixture of both old and new Grannis fans. “Usually it’s hard for me to really like artists I’ve never heard of before, but I loved her music as soon as I heard it,” says audience member and UO student Clarissa Camarillo. A long line formed at the end of the show for the meet and greet.
Grannis is currently on a world tour, covering cities along the West Coast, Europe, and eventually Southeast Asia. Two days before her UO concert, Grannis spoke with Ethos about her upcoming performance and ongoing tour.
Eri Mizobe: Most people know that your professional career started when you won the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Contest, but what inspired you to pursue a career in music?
Kina Grannis: I guess it was mainly that it was the only thing I could imagine myself doing, and really feeling fulfilled and happy with. Ever since I was little I loved singing, I loved playing instruments. Music was just something I was always doing. It wasn’t necessarily something I was counting on when I was doing college and stuff like that, but in the back of my mind I knew it was the only thing I really, really loved doing. So I guess I was very lucky that it worked out because I was thinking that otherwise, I have no idea what I’m going to do with music.
KG: I guess just finally getting to be there because I had a show in Eugene [back in the September] and it had to be cancelled. I’m excited to meet the people there finally and see the city. It should be really fun.
EM: What is your favorite accomplishment so far?
KG: Oh boy. I think it would have to be producing and releasing ‘Stairwells’ independently the first time. It was just such a big project that I did, and it took so long. It took about a year in the making, but it was such a learning experience. It was so hard but just really, really exciting to have done it and gotten it out to the world.
EM: What is one thing that most people don’t know about you?
KG: Let’s see. Um, I have two snakes—that’s one thing! And I love them. They’re really cute.
EM: You just released a newer version of your album, Stairwells. How would you describe your music and the album?
KG: Probably something like acoustic folk-pop. But as far as the music I write, I just try to write songs that are honest to me and relate to things I’ve gone through or things people I know have gone through. Just things that seem to affect me in a real way.
EM: Do you think your diverse ethnicity has influenced you in any way, such as your music, your personality, or your life experiences?
KG: I don’t know if it has affected my music, but it’s definitely a big part of just who I am. You know, growing up and getting exposed to many different cultures is something that I’ve always been very proud of.
EM: What has been your biggest challenge as a musician?
KG: I think it’s probably having to deal with criticism, especially you know, doing the YouTube thing and a lot of things online. I know that I do this because I love it and I love to share it with people, but there will always be people that just want to be mean or people who won’t like my music. It can be really difficult to see and hear that, and to be able to keep moving forward and to be confident, and happy about it. So that’s something I’ve struggled with a lot. But I definitely think I’m getting better at it and with kind of just remembering I do it because I love it. I remember how many people actually do support me in what I do.
EM: Going along with that, I have watched many of your videos on YouTube, and I was wondering if it’s scary for you to put up those videos.
KG: Well, it’s definitely gotten easier. At the beginning it was the most horrifying thing I could ever think of. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m actually gonna put this out there and everyone’s gonna hate it.’ [Laughs.] It’s gotten a lot easier now but there’s still a little part of me that every time I put up a video, I think what if this is the one where they finally hate it and they think I’m bad. So you can definitely kind of get worked up about it for nothing, but most of all, it’s just been fun getting to share things with people.
EM: What is your best advice for others?
KG: I guess my best advice for people trying to do music and getting out there would be first of all, to do it as much as possible, whether that’s play as much as possible, write as much as possible, or put up as many videos as possible. Because you’ll get better at holding your craft, you know? The other thing would be just being true to yourself and not trying to do music other people will like, but doing what really means something to you because that’s going to come across as genuine and powerful.
 
 

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Kina Grannis, From Stairwells to “Stairwells”