Kelly Fraser


Per Wollen

Kelly Fraser was a pop singer originally from Sanikiluaq, NU that created pop/dance music in English and Inuktitut who first rose to prominence when her Inuktitut-language cover of Rihanna’s “Diamonds” went viral in 2013. Following the initial release of her first album Isuma in 2014, her sophomore album Sedna was released in 2017 and went on to be nominated for Indigenous Album of the Year at the 2018 Juno Awards and Best Pop Album at the 2018 Indigenous Music Awards. 

In her music, Fraser seamlessly mixed pop with traditional Inuit music through dancing, singing, rapping, drum-dancing and throat singing, often employing heavy-hitting lyrics about contemporary issues Inuit face and their resiliency. Her single “Fight for the Rights” was released in 2016 with the intention to encourage Nunavummiut to vote against the Municipal Land Referendum in Nunavut that would make it so municipal lands could be sold to individuals or companies [1].

Aside from land and cultural rights, Fraser was also a vocal advocate for mental health among Inuit youth. A motivational speaker who taught song writing, drum-dancing and how to write songs in Inuktitut to strengthen Inuit culture, she won a 2019 Indspire Award for her work. 

Fraser’s single “Rebound Girl” was #1 during the summer of 2019 on the Indigenous Music Countdown. The music video for this song features Fraser and Los Angeles actor and singer P.J. Vegas who plays the artists’s romantic interest and included a performance by dancers from the Aboriginal School of Dance of Winnipeg, MB.

About Kelly Fraser

Medium:

Music, Performance, Throat Singing

Artistic Community:

Sanikiluaq, NU

Date of Birth:

Artists may have multiple birth years listed as a result of when and where they were born. For example, an artist born in the early twentieth century in a camp outside of a community centre may not know/have known their exact date of birth and identified different years.

1993

Date of Death:

Artists may have multiple dates of death listed as a result of when and where they passed away. Similar to date of birth, an artist may have passed away outside of a community centre or in another community resulting in different dates being recorded.

2019
Publication

Watch Kelly Fraser's performance of 'Sedna', 2020

Achievement

Indspire Award - Youth Laureate, 2019

Discography

Sedna, 2017