Last night on NBC’s The Sing-Off, judges Sara Bareilles, Shawn Stockman, and Ben Folds made a tough decision and eliminated Kinfolk9 from the competition. After making it past Round 1 with their performance of One Republic’s “Secrets,” Kinfolk9 vowed to take the judge’s critiques to heart and come back a new group in the next round…and that they did! Unfortunately, in a crop of highly talented groups, Kinfolk9 found themselves eliminated. Earlier today, YakkityYaks had the pleasure to chat with Jenilee Reyes from Kinfolk9. Read on to find out the story behind the name, plans for the future, some kinfolk “secrets” (like a special tie to which international superstar) and how their lives were changed by The Sing-Off.
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The Yak: First of all, we’re sorry to see you guys go. This season is full of talented groups; it’s such a hard decision to choose who should leave. Good job on “Price Tag” last night, your solo sounded great!
Jenilee, Kinfolk9: Aww, thank you!
The Yak: So tell us, how did the group form? Where did your name come from?
Jenilee, Kinfolk9: The group is formed through just my extended family and close friendships that I’ve had for many years. Kinfolk9 actually came from a show that we had from one of our friends that we sing with. One day we were opening up for an artist in New York, and he was up on stage cracking jokes and introducing us as his “kinfolk.” That’s how the name came about and it just stuck. The whole meaning behind kinfolk is that we’re family and at the end of the day that’s what we are. We’re family. We support each other with collaborations and act as a family, so that’s how the name came about.
The Yak: When was this?
Jenilee, Kinfolk9: This was me, Angelique and our friend Philip Lawrence who is now Bruno Mars’s songwriting partner. We did a show opening for Malcolm Jamal Warner years ago. Kinfolk became the name behind our band. Everybody in the group was an artist, but when everyone had a show … for example Philip had that show. We went and sang background for him and the band played for him. The same thing would happen for all of us. We were a collective group and shared everything. Angelique turned that same idea into a business – Greenroots - showcasing artists all over LA. It started with us jamming out in our living room.
The Yak: So whose idea was it to then audition for The Sing-Off?
Jenilee, Kinfolk9: It was actually mine. I was asked to put a group together to audition for the show for the first season. I brushed it off because it wasn’t the kind of singing I did. This season I was approached to form a group and I decided to call up my homies {laughs} and I invited them to my house to see if we could even sing together as a collective unit. We were so stoked and excited because we were stepping out of our comfort zone and learning how to sing a completely different way. That made us super exciting to move forward and audition.
The Yak: Do you have a personal moment from the show that you’ll take with you forever?
Jenilee, Kinfolk9: Absolutely! We had to put in a lot of extra hours of rehearsal, just because we were kinda the underdogs and had to learn more in so little time. We wanted to get in touch with the meaning of our first performance, “Secrets.” What happened during one of our first rehearsals is that Moi turned off the lights. We sat in a circle and were going to sing the song nine times. Every single time we would sing, one of us would each share a secret. By the end of it, we were all weeping, sobbing and hugging each other. We were close before but that bonded us all together for life – as musicians and friends. By the time we got to the last person, we couldn’t even sing. Everyone was touched. It was intense. We originally did it as a joke and were expecting to be funny with it. In the end, I personally shared some of the deepest darkest fears and secrets I had. It was very emotional and everyone then felt the same intention to share.
The Yak: That’s pretty powerful. Thanks. You mentioned that you were viewed as underdogs. Do you think that may have hurt you in the end?
Jenilee, Kinfolk9: You know, I don’t know if it really hurt us. We were very honest from the very beginning about our experience and who we are as a group. We worked hard to try and get to the level to where these groups were at already. Getting eliminated wasn’t because we didn’t work hard and make it to that point. We sang our hearts out and gave the best performance we could. We grew so much in just the week we had and we worked on the blend as the judges asked. At the end of the day, just singing “Let It Be” again was so emotional for me and makes me very proud to have been on the show with those in my group.
The Yak: As a viewer you could tell the transofmration of the group, so props on that! We know that the first few episodes aren’t live, so it must be hard to watch the elimination over. Is there anything in watching the show now that sticks out to you?
Jenilee, Kinfolk9: It’s funny because … you know … I was there when we taped. {laughs} But watching it last night you wouldn’t know. I was yelling and hollering at my TV and screaming out people’s names in support. I felt like I was doing it all over again for the first time. So, the entire experience stuck out to me, not one thing in particular.
The Yak: Our members were curious as to what’s next for Kinfolk9.
Jenilee, Kinfolk9: Well we’re definitely going to move on as a group. We have a lot of great things up our sleeves. We JUST recorded “Best Thing I Never Had” by Beyonce and just put out a video for it (check out the EXCLUSIVE performance below). We wanted to showcase all the girls in our group. Our next video will showcase all our guys. We just want to put out things to thank the fans for all their support. We want to give those who support us something to look forward to. We’re going to continue to do shows, put out good music and focus on our own solo careers.
The Yak: You had mentioned that you came from a different background starting up on the show. What do you think this show does for the world of a cappella?
Jenilee, Kinfolk9: Oh gosh, this show makes a cappella mainstream. With the groups they chose this season, they put a cappella more of in a popular world. A lot of my friends who never considered seeing the show are obviously watching to support our group and they’re now admitting to me how into a cappella they now are. It used to be regarded as part of the collegiate circle and nerdy, but the show shows it as music. That’s how we related to it. AT the end of the day, it’s music and we make music with our voices. It’s no different than if we were in the studio or on stage performing. It’s all music and The Sing-Off proved it.
The Yak: Is there a song in particular that you wanted to perform to help share your story?
Jenilee, Kinfolk9: Well, there were a lot we wanted to be able to sing. We wanted a hip-hop week and to do a Lauryn Hill song and show the great vocalists we have in the girls. We wanted to do a Bon Jovi song for “Guilty Pleasure” week. Moi would have definitely killed it. We’re still planning on doing these songs that we didn’t get to sing. We worked hard on them and will put them out for our fans.
The Yak: Great! Well we’ll help share that news because you’re a talent not to be missed. Before we go, we have a fun fact to ask about. Not many people might know this, but you were a Deal or No Deal model in the past, right?
Jenilee, Kinfolk9: {laughs} Yes! You know, I never had my own number. I was cast last minute as an alternate model. I was a different model for each episode. It was a great experience and I’m still friends with a lot of the girls that I worked with. It was a lot of fun and we could rock those hot dresses and keep some of them. I met my best friend in that whole experience and I’ll always remember it.
The Yak: Well, we appreciate your time. You will be missed but it was a pleasure to be exposed to Kinfolk9. Good luck in the future!
Jenilee, Kinfolk9: Thank you so much!
*To follow all things Kinfolk9, be sure to check their website for special video premieres! For now, enjoy their latest music video below!
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