Kalie Shorr Is Taking Her Power Back—And She’s Louder Than Ever

Written By: Toby Shapiro

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Kalie Shorr

From country singer to queer music star, Kalie Shorr is making strides in the music industry after a three year hiatus with the upcoming release of her EP “My Type (out July 11th). If you like early-2000s alt-rock artists like Avril Lavigne, Liz Phair, and Alanis Morissette, you don’t want to miss out on this EP. Kalie’s newest single, “My Type,”  was just released, beginning this new era in music.

After years of setbacks and finally finding a team that truly gets her, Kalie Shorr is back  and more honest than ever. We caught up with her to talk about stepping into this new chapter, reclaiming her artistry, and what it means to release music with a team that supports her.

GM: What inspired the timing of your single and EP release?

Kalie Shorr: I’m super excited because I had to take an unwilling hiatus for several years. I was stuck in a record deal, and I literally lost my team. I got dropped by my manager of nine years the same day I lost my record deal. I had never been on my own like that before. I had to get a job for the first time in eight years  I’d been working in music full-time.

I ended up working at a strip club because I didn’t have any other work. The last time I had a “real job” was in high school. That was the only job I could get. So I did that. I made a series called How I Got Unfamiliar because the day I was starting at the club, I was doing my makeup and I was like, “I’m so fucking mad I have to do this again.” Starting all over. That series ended up going super viral. I got new managers, 50,000 new followers, and everything changed. It was proof to me that being honest is the answer. As an artist, as a person  it changed the game for me.

I signed with a team that fully supported me being queer. I’d been in country music and my old team told me not to come out. I hadn’t even told my parents yet. So having a team that supports me, we picked this day to release the single  and then I found out I was going to play Pride. It came out the day before my performance here. That was an incredible moment.

I wrote the song in 2017. I was told if I wanted to release it, I should change the pronouns. I was like, “That’s not even my song then.” So I didn’t release it. But now, even though it’s coming out years later, I still identify with it. My type is still toxic. It’s still an important song for me. It just feels really special to get to play it and have it out. It really feels like I’m back on my bullshit  in the best way.

GM: What drew you to make the switch from country to what you’re doing now?

Kalie: Maren Morris played this weekend, and Brooke Eden too I’ve known them both for like 8 - 10 years. We all worked in country. It’s amazing to see them both out and proud now. Brooke has a wife and a baby. It was Maren’s first Pride since coming out. That’s just amazing.

Country music is slowly becoming more supportive, but I dealt with a lot of homophobia in Nashville. LA feels like a safe little bubble in comparison  like, I don’t feel overly perceived when I’m out with a girl. In Nashville, you’d get a guy coming up to you, guaranteed.

Maren said something similar about why she stepped away from country. When I told people I did country, they made assumptions that weren’t true because country right now is so associated with artists like Morgan Wallen. And I love country music, so I’m really happy artists like Chappell [Roan], Beyoncé, all these amazing people are reclaiming that narrative. Country was invented by Black people. And it’s always been queer. Gays love country. I wear Shania Twain inspired costumes!

But when I started doing the genre shift in 2021, I just didn’t feel like I wanted to be associated with that mainstream country image anymore, no matter how much I loved the genre. I’m not saying I’ll never do another country album but right now, I want my guitar to be loud and I want to fucking scream.

GM: What was the course of time you worked on this album? 

Kalie: Yeah. My last album Open Book  that did really well, like Best of 2019 lists, all that I wrote most of that in a 14-day period. But this one has been way more spread out. It’s songs that almost came out, or my old team didn’t like, or that I didn’t know how to finish until now.

The oldest song on here started in 2017 or 2018. “Just My Type,” I wrote in 2017. “Unkiss,” I started the day after I got cheated on. I rewrote it years later, when I could look at it more clearly. It came out totally different. That’s what I love about songwriting the way a song can evolve.

GM: How did it feel to finally perform your new single “My Type” ?

Kalie: Amazing. I tried it a few times with male pronouns and I fucking hated it. It just didn’t feel right. Now it does. And it feels really healing. “Just My Type” was the first thing I recorded after I moved to LA. My old team told me I couldn’t release it. But I recorded it anyway. And now I have. It’s like, right before Pride  it just feels so right.

GM: What can people expect from this next chapter?

Kalie: I’m excited to have a team that lets me run the show. My music has always been honest, I’ve never put out a song I didn’t believe in. But now I’m even more involved creatively. No one’s micromanaging what my videos look like. That’s all me.

I’ve gotten into production too. I co-produced some stuff before, but this is the first time I really dug in. I played like 11 instruments on this EP. I even engineered some of the tracks. I had one song I was stuck on, so I stayed up till 4 a.m. working in my room. I produced it myself. I was like, “Oh  it needed a Saran wrap sample and a voicemail from my ex.” That’s what it needed.

It’s been empowering. I used to hesitate to even call myself a producer. I think that’s something that happens to women  we doubt ourselves. But now I’m like, no. I am a producer. I’m doing this. And I’m confident in it.