Cover story: Kreion releases video

jill.moon@hearst.com

ALTON — The next big voice is right here in River City.

Songwriter Briana Hightower, a k a Kreion, recently released her latest single, “FINE,” available on all digital platforms, including Apple and Spotify. She prides herself on her intuitive songwriting, but her voice is no joke.

Hightower, who works full time at Beverly Farm, decided to move from industry oversaturated Atlanta and come home to A-Town in 2019 to make her mark in songwriting, which is her passion, and music.

She’s been on the legendary stage at The Apollo, encouraged by her uncle to audition, winning first place in a first round.

“Oh my gosh, it was so scary,” she recalled about performing at The Apollo. “I met the nicest, most talented people backstage who were booed off the stage. I was dead last to go on.

“I did something I wasn’t supposed to do, which was connect to the audience. It made me calm, so I did it anyway. When I went back for the next round, they said I couldn’t do that this time. So I did the second round, but didn’t place.

She produces for other artists, too, not minding being in the background because her first love is songwriting, but she’s also performed among Grammy winning artists.

The Alton native grew up singing in the church, but she embraces all genres of music. Her acoustic version of “Jolene,” written by Dolly Parton, is a beautiful version of a classic country song.

“I’ve been singing my whole life, my whole family is in music,” she said. “It’s deeply rooted in church, for sure.”

Hightower has been doing doing her music professionally since she graduated in 2010 from Alton High School; her first digital album came out in 2012. And she hasn’t lost sight of her goals and hasn’t compromised.

“I’m not your average artist, not an average artist’s size, as far as executives are concerned,” she said. “They tell me to lose 40 pounds. I can’t sit around and listen for them to say that and won first place for my first acoustic EP on SoundCloud.”

With three herniated discs in her back, she dealt with terrible nerve pain during a time she had the opportunity to work with a label.

“I had so much studio time because I couldn’t do anything but be a hermit, so I stayed in the studio,” she recalled. “When I could walk again, I just went and did it, did what I wanted to do. And I thought the best place to do that is at home.

“There’s so many doing music in Atlanta, moving with opportunities,” she said. “I didn’t want to do that in my music anymore. I wanted nothing to have hold on it and enjoy being able to do what I want.”

In high school, she wrote songs with her longtime friend, with whom she now collaborates, Jay Love, a k a Bryant Lovett, along with Kyle Lovett and KK Klaynton, all of Alton. She worked with Bobby “Broady” Best, a St. Louis-based film director, on “FINE,” shooting in Alton, and Unix, a photographer, also in St. Louis.

“It’s a small team of three and I didn’t want that stop my dream,” she said. “They helped me understand I was a songwriter, put dreams into words and translate that to music and

Briana Hightower, a k a Kreion Unix | For The Edge song. They introduced me to that and I was hungry to learn more. I pick up a lot of things watching other people, producing, mixing, engineering, to allow me to grow. I do a little bit of everything.

“So I decided to come back here in 2019,” Hightower said. “Right after I moved back, Atlanta was a hot spot for COVID, so it was perfect timing.”

“FINE,” a song of empowerment, has an electro-infused dance sound, but not overly so.

“It’s about total empowerment, but not just about women, it’s a movement, that’s about self love,” she said.

Her music is also underscored by funk.

“I’m obsessed with funk music,” she said, who was “in so many bands,” including the Good Time Girls performing mostly ‘80s retro music. She’s influenced by Dionne Warwick and the Gap Band, among others.

Hightower would like to be able to create full time, own a studio and pursue artists development, which she said “isn’t a thing anymore.

“But I’ve done that in Atlanta,” she said. “I realized I have a gift for it ,working with people and finding their strength in music, confidence and songwriting, which is what I love doing. With the internet set up, you never know what can happen, so you can do what’s in your heart to do.”

Hightower also has been involved with a Netflix series and commercials, including for Intuit, which aired during the Grammys. Last year, she also worked with Australia-based producer Jus. Hailu to collaborate on an EP titled “More Love.”

“I’ve reached goals, but nothing of my own, that’s come out of my own,” she noted. “I want to be myself and thought to come home, where all my dreams started. The richest part of my experience is shooting videos around my own town. It’s been the best experience of my life.”

Hightower’s grandmother, Dorothy Willis, now retired, ran the Riverbend Community Food Pantry for several years.

Follow https://linktr.ee/heykreion for “FINE” and https://linktr.ee/ heykreion for all of Kreion’s latest releases.