Kiesa Rae Ellestad[4][5] (born January 16, 1989),[1][2] known professionally as Kiesza[6] (/ˈkaɪzə/ KY-zə), is a Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist from Calgary.

[9][10][11][12][13] In an interview with Metro, Kiesza claimed that she can trace her lineage to someone who fought alongside Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn, elaborating, "There's a lot of Scottish people in Canada.

[7] Shortly after, she was accepted to Selkirk College in Nelson, British Columbia, where she studied keyboard, voice, and guitar;[6][21] she graduated in 2009.

[16] Although she started as mainly a folk singer,[16] after attending Berklee and then living in New York, she moved to a more "uptempo sound",[16] for which she worked with producer Rami Samir Afuni.

[16][23] In 2012, Kiesza released her first single after starting work with Afuni in New York, a "disco-infused pop" song titled "Oops", about a couple that had unprotected sex.

[4][9][24] She labelled her style of music at the time as "SteamPop", described by AjanWrites as "a flaming brew of bold, boisterous pop filled with tongue-in-cheek lyrics".

[27][9][19] Idolator considered it unique for having a long take throughout the entire video, as Kiesza walked and danced through N 12th Street in Brooklyn, New York City.

[28] Kiesza reported to Rolling Stone that she had trouble making the video, partly because she broke a rib just before filming, and "couldn't move for an entire month afterward.

[31] Mike Bell of the Calgary Herald referred to her version of the song as a "jaw-droppingly gorgeous cover of Haddaway's 1993 dance smash What Is Love?

She co-wrote Gorgon City's "Go All Night", featuring Jennifer Hudson singing her lyrics, which was on the British duo's debut album, Sirens.

[8] After a two-year hiatus following the car crash,[37][38][39] Kiesza released a new single, "Sweet Love", and returned to touring in June 2019.

[42][43] In 2014, Kiesza was selected to be the face of a new line of fashion eyewear called "Color Block" by retailer Fendi, appearing in a promotional video shot by Ruth Hogben.