Interviewer: Your latest EP, Butterflies, arrived in September 2026, marking another milestone in your musical journey. What inspired this project, and what does it represent for you at this stage of your career?
Kelly Padrick: Butterflies represents another opportunity for me to explore my creativity and express different dimensions of my musical identity. The project brings together reflective emotions and a more hopeful outlook, allowing the songs to connect with listeners on a personal level. Working with producer Marc Copely also helped shape the EP into a cohesive collection. For me, this release is part of an ongoing journey of discovery, where I continue to develop my sound while remaining true to the emotions and experiences that inspire my songwriting.
Interviewer: You began writing songs at just five years old. Looking back, how has that early passion influenced the artist you have become today?
Kelly Padrick: Writing music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Beginning at such a young age gave me the freedom to explore my imagination and communicate feelings through words and melodies. Over the years, that early curiosity has grown into a deeper understanding of songwriting and musical expression. My experiences have helped me develop a style that brings together indie pop, country-pop, and dream pop, with atmospheric arrangements, airy harmonies, and lyrics that draw from real emotions. Although my approach has evolved, the desire to tell stories through music has always remained at the heart of what I do.
Interviewer: Your music combines several genres rather than staying within a single musical category. How do you approach this blend, and what do you hope listeners experience when they hear your songs?
Kelly Padrick: I enjoy exploring the space where different musical influences meet. Indie pop gives me room to experiment, country pop allows me to embrace a more direct and personal approach to storytelling, and dream pop offers an atmospheric quality that can make a song feel almost cinematic. I see these elements as complementary rather than separate. Ultimately, I want the music to create an emotional connection. Whether a song feels intimate, reflective, or uplifting, I hope listeners can discover something within it that resonates with their own lives.
Interviewer: Your songs have appeared in productions such as ABC’s Desperate Housewives, HBO’s VICE, and the Fox Searchlight film Trust the Man. What has it meant to have your music reach audiences through film and television?
Kelly Padrick: Having my music featured in film and television has been a meaningful part of my artistic journey. These platforms introduce songs to people who might not otherwise come across my work, creating opportunities for the music to reach beyond its original audience. I also appreciate the relationship between sound and visual storytelling. A song can contribute to the atmosphere of a scene, deepen an emotional moment, or add another layer to a character’s experience. Seeing music become part of a larger narrative reinforces how powerful it can be when different creative forms come together.
Interviewer: Visual storytelling appears to play an important role in your work. You have collaborated with filmmaker Patricia Chica on 11 music videos, including “Waiting for This” and the award-winning “Heavenly Ride.” How did this creative partnership develop?
Kelly Padrick: My collaboration with Patricia has allowed me to explore my music from a different perspective. Across our 11 music videos, we have developed a creative connection built around the idea that a song can inspire an entire visual world. Projects such as “Waiting for This” and “Heavenly Ride” have given us opportunities to translate musical ideas and emotions into imagery, atmosphere, and narrative. I value the way filmmaking can extend the meaning of a song without simply illustrating its lyrics. It allows the audience to experience the music through another artistic lens.
Interviewer: You and Patricia are preparing to work together again on the music video for “Shine,” with filming planned in Montreal for January 2027. What can you share about this upcoming project?
Kelly Padrick: “Shine” is an important part of my current musical chapter, and developing a video for it feels like a natural continuation of the work Patricia and I have done together. The planned Montreal shoot gives us another opportunity to explore how the song can be expressed visually. I am excited about the possibilities that come with taking a piece of music beyond the recording itself and building a cinematic experience around it. As with our previous collaborations, the goal is to create something that complements the song’s emotional character while giving viewers their own way to connect with it.
Interviewer: Your discography stretches back to Haze in 2005 and includes releases such as Carmine Street, Hello My Love, Soulmate, The Kind of Girl, Dear Love, and It’s Only Me / On the Line. When you consider this body of work, what changes stand out to you most?
Kelly Padrick: Each release represents a different point in my life and my development as a songwriter. From Haze through the albums that followed, I have continued to explore new ideas, refine my musical instincts, and discover different ways to communicate through songs. Projects such as Carmine Street and Hello My Love, followed by Soulmate, The Kind of Girl, Dear Love, and It’s Only Me / On the Line, form an important part of that progression. Looking back, I can see how my experiences have influenced both the subjects I write about and the ways I approach the music. I think an artist’s catalogue becomes a kind of personal record, capturing different emotions, perspectives, and stages of growth.
Interviewer: Alongside your albums, you have released other projects, including Fires, The Real Me, and the singles “I’ll Try” and “Shine.” How do individual songs and larger collections serve different purposes in your creative process?
Kelly Padrick: Every song begins with its own reason for existing. Sometimes an idea feels complete as a standalone single, while other material becomes part of a larger collection because the songs share a particular mood or creative direction. Individual releases allow me to focus on one story or emotion, whereas an album or EP gives me more room to develop a broader perspective. I enjoy having both possibilities available. They allow me to approach songwriting in different ways while continuing to experiment with sound, themes, and presentation.
Interviewer: With Butterflies bringing together music, emotion, and the possibility of further visual interpretation, how do you see your work developing in the years ahead?
Kelly Padrick: I want to continue creating work that feels authentic and gives me room to grow. Music remains my starting point, but I am equally interested in the ways it can connect with film and other visual forms. The upcoming “Shine” video is another opportunity to explore that relationship, and I look forward to seeing how the project develops. I do not want to limit myself to one approach or one definition of what my music should be. Continuing to learn, experiment, and discover new ways of expressing an idea is an important part of being an artist.
Interviewer: Finally, what would you like listeners to take away from Butterflies, and what message would you share with those discovering your music for the first time?
Kelly Padrick: I hope listeners find something personal in the songs, whether that is a feeling they recognize, a moment of reflection, or a sense of optimism. Music can meet people at different points in their lives, and everyone brings their own experiences to what they hear. With Butterflies, I wanted to continue exploring those emotional connections while allowing the music to feel uplifting as well as reflective. For anyone discovering my work, I would simply encourage them to listen with an open mind and find their own meaning in the songs.
As Kelly Padrick enters this latest phase of her career, Butterflies offers a fresh perspective on an artistic journey shaped by years of songwriting, musical exploration, and visual collaboration. From her early beginnings as a young songwriter to music featured on screen and an expanding partnership with filmmaker Patricia Chica, Padrick continues to explore the possibilities of combining sound, emotion, and cinematic expression. With the planned “Shine” video set to extend that creative journey into 2027, her latest work points toward an artist who remains committed to evolving while keeping storytelling at the center of her music.
