Kimi Feature 

• Tyler Sorensen

It goes without saying that we want to put the pandemic behind us. The tumultuous time made us all stop and think, for better or worse. Singer/songwriter Kimi Huntsman has been writing and recording music for many years, but she experienced a wakeup call during the pandemic that made her want to take her music career to a new level, and start a new chapter in her musical journey.

Huntsman, who goes by just Kimi professionally, began expressing herself through original music starting in her early 20s. Scrolling through that work is like looking through a journal that's been written in over the course of several years; you can see a lot of growth and change over these long stretches of time. Some of it is fun to look back on, but others, not so much. "Some of them have gone on mute, or hidden because, oh my gosh," Huntsman laughed.

We all have those cringey moments from our youth that are better left kept in our memories. In general, though, the songs mark an important evolution in how Huntsman has come to express herself.

"I'll go back to a period in my life, and I hear a song I wrote, and I'm like, 'Oh, that's exactly how I was feeling, but I guess was ignoring it.' It's an interesting way to see my emotions out on paper," she said. "I also think I've just learned a lot about my voice and how I want to use it, and what I want to get across to people. A decade ago, I feel like I was writing more generic things, and now I'm making it a little more personal. I feel like I've learned that that does better, it relates with people better, and I like it better too."

R&B is where Huntsman feels most at home—the combination of soul, bluesy beats and smooth voices not only draw her in as a listener, but inspire her to create her own music of the same genre. Drawing influence from the likes of Aretha Franklin, SZA and Kehlani, Huntsman has created her own signature brand of addictive R&B.

"I like to make music I like to listen to," she said. "There's just so much emotion in the beat and in the lyrics, and I definitely like the emotional side of it."

You can also catch her doing a lot of hip-hop shows around town, mostly because the R&B scene isn't as big as it could be in SLC. "It's a weird genre right now, but it's my favorite," she said. "I can't get away from it, but that is why I do a lot of hip-hop shows. Usually if you like R&B, you like hip-hop. If you like hip-hop, you like R&B."

Huntsman was coasting along until the pandemic—for many of us, quarantine and the state of the world slapped some reality into our faces, and that much was true for the singer/songwriter. "The pandemic was huge for me. I feel like I got very comfortable with the life I was living before the pandemic, and I was okay not pursuing my dreams, as sad as that sounds," she said. "As we got towards the end of it, I was getting definitely stir-crazy, and all I could do was write, and all I wanted to do was perform. I think that made me realize I needed to, for my own happiness, still do it and get into it more."

Her most recent release, "Still Standing," is a product of that drive to focus on music and take these aspects of her life more seriously. The track was released in June, and will quench your thirst for R&B, if that's something you're thirsting for. If nothing else, it's a relatable and emotional track that makes you feel seen.

"The last two years of my life especially have been a complete change. Everything in my life has changed, basically," Huntsman explained of the song. "At the time, going through it, I didn't feel like it was going to be for the best, so now that I'm coming out and on the other side of all the changes, I went through all this hard stuff, and I'm still going through the daily things like bills, but trying to be positive. I'm still here, I'm still standing, still doing what I need to be doing to make myself happy, and I'm actually better off than I was before. So that one really just speaks on my life changes the last few years that have been crazy."

While she doesn't have specific dates to share at the moment for additional releases and shows, rest assured, they are coming. The music and performances that are coming are work that Huntsman has been pouring her heart into, so we're in for a treat.

Going forward, she hopes listeners hone in on the emotion in her music—and while doing that, hopefully it helps them feel less alone. "When people are listening to my music, I want them to know it's usually coming from a real raw place, or something that I've been through or have experienced," she said. "I want listeners to hear the raw emotion and the real feelings, and know that I'm just a normal human, just like everyone else that goes through these same things."

Head to Huntsman's Instagram, @kimiii_ut, to get all of her links, and be sure to stream "Still Standing" to have those beautiful R&B vibes rain over you.