Our First Signs of Love feature is about that moment when you think you’ve found a new artist to love, and you simply can’t get enough. This week we shine the spotlight on Kendall Rucks.
Introducing Kendall Rucks
Kendall moved to Los Angeles at the age of 13 to pursue her talents as a singer and actress. She was briefly part of a teen singing group, but after it was disbanded she turned the majority of her focus to acting. It wasn’t until she turned 18 that she became more comfortable voicing her raw sensuality and femininity in her music. With help from her band, The Zodiac Mafia, which she met at the Musicians Institute, she explores darker themes others may be facing in order to create an accepting space.
Taking Inspiration From Fiona Apple
Musically, Kendall was heavily inspired by the unconventional road Fiona Apple took. Taking from Fiona, she remains steadfast in her unwillingness to compromise her sound and instead has created a genre of her own. This ideology came from years in the industry, where she felt she was unable to properly express herself because of her age and the maturity level of her lyrics.
Everybody’s Girl
Part Bardot part Courtney Love, it’s hard to take your eyes or ears off LA starlet, Kendall Rucks.
Don’t judge a book by its cover. On first viewing it could be easy to dismiss her new video as disposable, shiny pop, but you quickly realise this is an artist that has much more about her. Kendall sizzles with sass and smarts. Everybody’s Girl is an edgy piece of blues rock.
“Everybody’s Girl” tells the story of Kendall finding harmony in the eye of a storm of good and evil. Kendall’s ability to merge several genres created waves in L.A. and allowed her to play a sold-out show at The Viper Room, as well as Oktoberfest at The House of Blues.
Talking about the video Kendall explains “…it encompasses both the ‘ideal’ and also the ‘taboo’ desires a person carries within. It demonstrates the delicate dance of polar extremes and somehow finding the happiness that lies in between both. Above all, it stands for never settling for less than what you want.”
Opening with a visual of a seemingly picture-perfect life, Kendall appears in front of a red-doored suburban home depicting intermixing desires she so deeply wants. Her passion for this multifaceted life is awakened through her sultry vocals that infuse this unapologetic ballad. Frame by frame the video intertwines these desires until both worlds finally collide to create a perfectly imperfect realm.
Throughout this video and her upcoming releases, Kendall expresses many personal views, rooted in paganism, on equality and cultivating an accepting lifestyle. She wants it to be known that women are multi-dimensional beings with feelings that are vast and varied. The video shows that Kendall is not interested in settling for anything less than exactly what she wants both in love and life.
Discover More Kendall Rucks on RCM
Kendall Rucks recently performed a live session for the RCM Takeover Sessions ‘One Take Wonders’ where we invite our favourite new artists to takeover our Instagram TV and play two tracks live in one take. Kendall performs a live, acoustic version of ‘Everybody’s Girl’ followed by a sublime cover of Nirvana’s Heart Shaped Box. Watch it back here.
Hear Kendall Rucks on Episode 278 of the Lost On Radio Podcast.
