Today we sat down with songwriter artist and producer Kayla Diamond who is one of the youngest female label presidents and producers in all of Canada.
She has collaborated on works with Alex Schulz, Vanillaz, and Anevo among others and has gained over 60 million cross-platform streams between all of it.
For her production and writing with Dom Vallie's See You When I See You which earned a 2025 Juno award nomination for rap album of the year and has secured placements and TV shows like NBC's The Voice, Netflix's My Little Pony, the ultimatum, and the trailer for The Korean hit series Love Alarm.
Among all these accolades, her debut single "Carnival Hearts" charted in the top 30 on the Canadian Billboards.
So, you can say she's got her hands in many musical pots and is one of the leading women in the industry.
With such a massive repertoire, history, and business sense, we wanted to have a chat with Kayla to talk about how all this came to be.
We are very curious about how someone gets so far from just the love of music alone.
Finding out what paths she took to get where she is is very interesting and our interview with her answers a lot of our questions.
Check out our interview with the unstoppable Kayla Diamond!
Buzz Slayers: Hey Kayla and thanks for taking some time to talk! I'd love to talk about how this all began for you musically. You are one of the most influential women in music as someone who has had successful releases as an artist, produced artists like Amarrii, and are the founder of Kolossal Records!
My question is, when did you really fall in love with music?
I definitely started to realize this was a passion when I was around 10 and would
spend hours at the piano trying to figure out how to play my favorite songs by
ear. Around that time, I also got hold of the Bob Dylan album Highway 61
Revisited, which was the first album I ever listened to front to back! I remember
coming home from school and jumping around my room to that album haha
Buzz Slayers: Who is in your headphones right now?
Ooof this is hard because there is so much I listen to, especially for prod
references. Right now, though I’m kind of obsessed with Tate (need I even say a
last name?), anything by Fletcher and also one song I cannot stop bumping is
Diet Pepsi by Addison Rae.
Buzz Slayers: Did you start to see things in a certain light after landing TV placement on major shows?
I think it’s the coolest thing to have songs I’ve written be part of shows I love. It’s
a real blessing and I feel so humbled. I’ve always seen sync as a very important
part of the industry and has sometimes even launched artists’ careers into icon
status (i.e. Phantom Planet, Natasha Beddingfield etc.) I’m always grateful for
opportunities like that.
Buzz Slayers: What kind of advice would you give to someone trying to put together a successful label?
The most important part of starting your own label is having a very specific vision and understanding who to collaborate with to bring that to life. Choosing the right partners (maybe even different ones for each artist) is key, and being able to change and pivot when needed to is crucial. Look at the industry and identify where it falls short, then come up with solutions that your company will aim to rectify. While many people like to “wait and see”, my approach is to leap and take risks and fail faster in order to succeed faster. If you’re not open to taking risks then you might not see results! And finally, be very picky about who you choose to sign. Trust your gut and look for artists that believe in themselves and are willing to put in the work.
Buzz Slayers: You had to have worked hard to get where you are! How important is networking for you?
Networking is where it all starts! This is a small industry- reputation, character,
and how you treat people is the most important. My favorite part of all of this is
being able to collaborate and meet new industry professionals so that we can lift
each other up and learn from one another.
Buzz Slayers: Did you ever expect to have over 60 million worldwide streams through your collaborations?
Honestly, it’s wild to see! I’m really grateful for the opportunities to bring artists’
visions to life and I can’t believe it’s now close to 80mil!
Buzz Slayers: Are you always working on new releases for yourself or the label?
The only new releases that would be for myself would be topline collaborations
with major producer DJ’s, which I have recently been doing a lot more of. I can’t
see myself resurrecting my solo artist career with everything I have going right
now, but I never say never! My main focus is on producing all the artists I work
with and Kolossal.
Buzz Slayers: Do you put time aside for yourself to write?
Over the last couple of years, I’ve found myself putting a lot of my own
experiences into sessions for other artists so it comes naturally on the daily. It’s
the most therapeutic thing for me.
Buzz Slayers: You have such a wonderful story and to get where you are, you must have a genuine love for music! Is there anything you'd like to add in terms of expressing anything to fans of your stuff or music, you have worked closely with?
I think just how grateful I am to be able to do this for a living- to tell stories
through beautiful words and voices. I understand how hard this business can be
and that I’m in a very privileged position and I never take that for granted.
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