Kaiit ProfileFresh off opening for Olivia Dean on her The Art of Loving arena tour across Australia and New Zealand, Kaiit has paid tribute to the British star on triple j’s Like a Version.
Presenting her own take on Dean’s A Couple Minutes, Kaiit was backed by a full band, including a brass section, double bass, guitars, drums, keys, and a sampling station, as she showcased her incredible vocal range and style.
Kaiit delivered smooth R&B lines, scatted, and moved from high to low vocals with ease, using their voice as an instrument.
“Number one, I wanted to mark the energy of this is the year that I supported Olivia Dean, you know?” Kaiit explained in an interview with triple j. “I feel like I wanted that energy very present in there. But also lyrically, I absolutely love the song.”
Kaiit added that, for them, A Couple Minutes has “got some beautiful reminders” about love, describing the song as “super beautiful.”
“To me, it’s expressing that feeling of unconditional love,” she continued. “Even if you love someone so much, and you both love each other, but it might not be the right moment or a couple minutes too late… but that unconditional-ness is still there, no matter what.”
Kaiit added that she wanted the cover to be a “pure reflection” of herself, which has a lot to do with the jazz, hip-hop and soul elements of the performance.
Along with covering A Couple Minutes, Kaiit performed their latest single, Lemon Squeezy, released earlier this month. Check out their Like A Version, Lemon Squeezy, and interview with triple j below.
In 2019, Kaiit won the ARIA Award for Best R&B/Soul Work for Miss Shiney, and last year, won the APRA Award for Most Performed R&B/Soul Work for their independently released single Space. In addition to those achievements, she’s opened for SZA, Snoh Aalegra and Chaka Khan.
