Kady Zadora talks about “Stranger,” “Malibu,” and learning to survive a heartbreak
Photo Credit: Joao K
Kady Zadora grew up making music on the road with her mother. Although she started in pop, her frequent trips to Nashville led her to connect with the essence of Americana and classic country. Based in Los Angeles, the artist left behind polished production to focus on telling real stories through simple, direct songs.
Her debut album, “Stranger,” was born during the year and a half it took for a romantic relationship to end. Recorded live and in-studio, the project captures the fragile space between heartbreak and self-recognition. Through the honesty of her live-recorded songs, Kady transforms a difficult experience into a message of resilience that anyone can relate to.
The focus track, “Malibu,” lets the song convey the feeling of something slipping through your fingers in real time, which gives it strength, intimacy, and a certain sense of stillness, without needing to exaggerate the pain.
Alongside the album release, Zadora is also expanding the world of “Stranger” visually. A lyric video accompanies the rollout, giving listeners another way into the emotional landscape of the record, while the official video is set to arrive on May 28. Together, the album, the focus track, and the visual pieces present “Stranger” as an introduction to an artist who understands heartbreak not only as an ending but as a place where clarity, resilience, and identity begin to take shape.
In this interview, Kady talks about the process of writing from a place of pain, the challenge of recording live, and the story behind her focus track, "Malibu."
For those just discovering your musical universe, what were your first steps in music like, and at what point did you know you wanted to pursue it professionally?
My mom would take me on the road with her when I was a kid, and we would perform together, so it was instilled in me very young, I would say. Also, it’s probably the only thing I’m slightly good at, so it made sense to pursue it. :)
What drew you to Americana-country music, which also carries a strong tradition and history, and how do you feel your career has evolved from your beginnings in Los Angeles to where you are today?
I was always drawn to the sad songs growing up, the ones with the stories that stayed with you. I did pop music for a bit initially, but it never really touched that aching place in my heart. Traveling back and forth to Nashville opened up a whole new world for me. I fell in love with the honesty and simplicity of folk and classic country music. Being from Los Angeles, I think I used to feel like everything had to be polished. Now I’m a lot more drawn to making music that feels timeless.
Let's talk about your debut album, “Stranger.” How would you describe the essence of this record, and what does it mean to you to formally present yourself with this production?
“Stranger” is about a heartbreak, which, fortunately or unfortunately for me, turned out to be a pretty great source material. It’s a very personal record, but I wanted it to feel bigger than just my own story, because who hasn’t had their heart broken? At its core, it’s about loss, longing, and trying to find your footing again after someone changes your life and then disappears from it. Making this record felt like the first time I fully trusted my instincts as an artist, and I couldn’t be more proud of how it turned out.
There's a very powerful line of yours about the album: “It wasn’t that I didn’t know it was ending—I just wasn’t ready to accept it. This record is what happens in that gap between knowing and letting go.” Was it therapeutic to use music to navigate that space?
Absolutely, I felt like I was floating through a dark abyss, and the music gave me something to hang on to.
You've mentioned that the songs on this album were written chronologically over one and a half years. What was it like for you to relive that process of denial, acceptance, and emotional clarity as you composed?
Honestly, using the pain as a remedy and crafting it into something beautiful is a profound way to heal your heart from a soul-crushing experience.
One of the riskiest and bravest decisions of the project is that it was recorded entirely live. What was that experience like, and why did you decide to do it that way?
It was harrowing, and fun, and terrifying. We had some of the most talented guys play on this album, and most of the time I wanted to lock myself in a closet and die because I was afraid to suck, but that’s also part of my process in the studio anyway. I wanted the record to feel authentic, and recording it live felt like the most natural way to get there.
Let's talk about “Malibu,” the focus track. It captures a relationship fading without ever being directly addressed. What was it like to write in that space of unspoken emotion?
It was liberating because it became less about the words and more about the emotional experience of the track, if that makes sense. So much of that relationship lived in what wasn’t being said, in the tension and the silence and the slow drifting apart. Writing from that space allowed me to lean more into the feeling of it all instead of trying to neatly explain everything.
Recording such an emotionally charged album, were there moments in the studio where the honesty of the lyrics felt almost too raw to perform live?
I don’t remember. I think I blacked out for most of the time. :)
Now that “Stranger” is ready to be shared with the world, what is the main message or feeling you hope people take away from listening to this journey from beginning to end?
I hope people feel a little less alone in whatever heartbreak or confusion they’re carrying. At the end of the day, this record is really about loving deeply, losing gracefully, and realizing you can survive things you were sure would destroy you.