Leah Kate Delivers Smashing New Club Banger ‘Boyfriend’

Having a viral moment is one thing American singer-songwriter Leah Kate is familiar with. Her 2020 single “Fuck Up the Friendship” which also featured on last year’s three-track EP, Used To This, blew up this year after she posted a video explaining the lyrics to the song. “People started making videos to it, and I sparked my own TikTok moment alone,” she says. Kate teamed up with Alexis Ohanian (co-founder of Reddit and music start-up indify) to further market the song. With the track currently sitting at a cool 16 million streams on Spotify alone, Kate says, “As an independent artist, my mind was definitely blown.”

The Los Angeles-bred artist’s family worked in radio and she tells us that there was always plenty of music around her growing up. When she turned five she began singing and by the time she became a teenager she started writing music. Kate recalls watching commercials on television as a kid and seeing pop icon Christina Aguilera and saying to herself, “Yep that will be me one day!” She adds, “Music was always in my blood and at heart my ultimate dream from before I can remember.”

Last week, Kate dropped her latest offering, the head-bopping and dancey “Boyfriend.” According to the artist, the track is the newest installment to a chronological story going back to “Fuck Up the Friendship” and the rest of the tracks on Used To This. “I was thinking about the day I wrote the song and how I don’t have as many bad date stories to write songs about,” she says with a laugh. Lyrically, the vocalist drew inspiration from her own experiences. She says, “Every other guy I was ever involved with came running back once I started dating someone. I was just like this is almost too good, I need to write a song turning all of them down.” Kate recorded “Boyfriend” at her bedroom studio while Australia-based Louis Schoorl produced it. “He [Schoorl] is amazing and we do all my songs together over Zoom.”

Being an independent artist has in a way given Kate the sort of freedom to be in control of everything she does. “I’ll never be the type of artist who lets someone else decide for me. From press pics to backup dancers to what a show is going to look like, I like to make the decisions and make sure it’s all perfect.” The musician counts her mistakes as a blessing which has allowed her to learn what works best. She says, “I don’t mind the business stuff so it’s fun for me.”

During the lockdown, Kate found herself writing what she describes as her “best songs.” The musician tells us that, the experience of having to connect with people digitally has helped her grow as an artist. “I am grateful for these times even though they are very uncertain.” With tons of listeners based in India according to her stats, Kate is keen on touring these parts someday. For now though on what to expect from her in the near future, she says, “New songs, merch, content and hopefully a (U.S.) tour in the fall.”

Watch the lyric video for “Boyfriend” below and stream the song on Spotify.