New Zealand singer/songwriter Niko Walters announces a collaboration with rising RnB star Kiana Ledé on the smash single ‘Not My Neighbour’. Released originally in New Zealand, the bite-sized, RnB/Pop track has taken over the airwaves and the charts for the last 3 months, going PLATINUM and accumulating over four million streams in New Zealand alone, quickly becoming a laidback summer anthem!
‘Not My Neighbour’ began getting international attention early in the year, and Kiana Ledé caught wind of the single, jumping at the chance to put her indelible spin on the track, rewriting the 2nd verse and adding some new melodic flourishes that take it to another level.
This new version of the ‘Not My Neighbor’ will be released by powerhouse labels Republic Records (The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift) in the US, and Polydor (Florence + The Machine, James Blake, Ellie Goulding) in the UK.
Getting Kiana on the track was a no-brainer for Niko Walters. “Not My Neighbour is an unusual song that doesn’t really fit the style of everyone’s vocal and feel. Kiana has a super distinct way about her craft – from writing to singing to her overall style and energy. When she called me and played me the ideas for the song straight over the phone, they immediately hit hard and worked with the whole vibe of the song. It’s awesome and bizarre to have someone so talented, from a different country and culture, come in and put a fresh spin on something you’ve made”.
On working with Niko Walters from the other side of the world, Kiana delights that “it was joy to work with Niko on this song, I got to really tap into my alter-ego.” From the first words you hear coming from Kiana on the single, you can tell she had fun with this one.
About Niko Walters:
New Zealand artist Niko Walters has quietly been waiting for his moment. The younger brother of Matiu Walters (lead singer of New Zealand’s biggest band, SIX60), Niko is determined to carve out his own path in music, where ultimately, he wants to make “beautiful music over everything else”. Niko drip-fed his first songs in 2019, serving up a unique blend of RnB, Alternative-Pop that has managed to resonate with a fanbase early on, mainly due to his instantly identifiable vocal delivery. Following those releases, Niko went straight back into the studio to begin work on his debut album Escape, a collection of tracks that further taps into that self-prescribed “Escapism RnB”. Released in November 2020, the 8-track album took Niko Walters to another level in his home country, with critics praising that there is an “undeniable warmth and soul to his vocals which – offset by the sometimes spacious, sometimes gritty production that underpins the album – makes listening to Escape feel like nostalgia in the present”.
Niko Walters has his feet are firmly on the ground, now he’s beginning to hit his stride.
About Kiana Ledé:
Just who is Kiana Ledé? On the one hand, you know her as a fierce and fiery force in R&B responsible for bangers such as the platinum-certified “EX,” “Mad At Me” and “Chocolate” feat. Ari Lennox and has received over 1 billion streams globally and praise from Complex, Vibe, Billboard, ROLLACOASTER Magazine and more. But, who is she? “KIKI,” she answers. On her aptly titled full-length debut, she reveals every side of herself: the vulnerability, the vitality, the anger, the lust, the loyalty, the joy, the darkness, and the truth as evinced on song.
Long before all of this, the songstress “from South Phoenix with Black, Mexican, Native American, and White ancestry” grew up between divorced parents. She played classical instruments and competed in pageants-but popped wheelies on dirt bikes and got under the hood to fix a car or two. Eventually, an adventurous spirit carried her from Arizona to Los Angeles where she began a journey that comes full circle in 2020.
Kiana Ledé’s debut album KIKI notably bowed in the Top 5 of the Billboard Top R&B Albums Chart, Top 5 of the Apple Music R&B/Soul Albums Chart, Top 5 of the iTunes R&B/Soul Albums Chart and Top 10 of the Apple Music Overall Albums Chart. It has impressively gathered over 50 million streams in addition to receiving tastemaker praise from ELLE, Billboard, Highsnobiety, Vibe and many more.