Kellie Loder (born 1988) is an independent singer-songwriter from Newfoundland who plays drums, guitar and piano. They have released three albums: The Way in 2009, Imperfections & Directions in 2010 and Benefit of the Doubt in 2018. With a voice that St. John's-based newspaper The Telegram has described as "powerful yet serene and soulful", they received critical recognition from Canada, including a nomination at the Juno Awards.
Having written their first song at age 16 about a cousin who died in a traffic accident, Loder was studying nursing at the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland when they released The Way in August 2009. Later that year, Loder won a talent-search contest hosted by YC Newfoundland, a Christian youth conference. As part of the award, Loder was given time with music industry and production professionals who helped them with Imperfections & Directions, which was released at the 2010 YC Newfoundland. The album was nominated for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year at the 2012 Juno Awards. Loder is also a nominee of three MusicNL awards, including Gospel Artist of the Year in 2011.
Loder's music career is unusual in that they chose to begin it in Contemporary Christian music (CCM); most young musicians choose music genres such as country and pop, which are generally considered more likely to bring commercial success. Loder has asserted that they chose CCM because it gives purpose to their music; however, they later shifted their focus toward mainstream pop and rock music, stating that they still write music from a spiritual perspective but want to be accessible to a wider audience.
Loder has come out as queer and non-binary, and uses gender-neutral pronouns. They have recently come out as transgender.
Early life
Kellie Loder was born to Christina and Bob Loder in 1988, and was raised in Badger, a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. They consider their first introduction to music to have taken place before they were born; their mother frequently played Michael W. Smith songs through headphones while they were still in the womb. Loder claims to have "natural rhythm" and that they began emulating the drummer at their Pentecostal church by beating on a pew with pencils at the age of two. At age 10, Loder was placed in their church's drumming ensemble.
Loder's younger brother taught them three guitar chords when they were 14, and they received their first guitar later that year. They began writing songs at age 16. Their first song, which was about a cousin who had died in a traffic accident, used lyrics from a poem by one of their mutual friends. With encouragement from family, Loder concentrated on singing and songwriting, and performed this in addition to another song they subsequently wrote for a friend's graduation.
Loder was raised as a Christian by their parents, and became serious about their faith in 2007, when they "started to accept [their] gifts for what they were... and just assumed it was [from] God." After this experience, Loder began playing piano, and credited God with teaching them how to play. Loder favours the piano, considering it the most beautiful of the instruments they play. The first song they wrote after beginning the piano was "Giants", also for a graduating class; the song uses the story of Goliath as its theme, generalizing the story to apply to each individual's internal struggles. "Giants" eventually appeared on both The Way and Imperfections & Directions.
Music career
2008–2012
In 2008, while studying nursing at the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland through the Western Regional School of Nursing, Loder met Devin Robinson, a record producer. The meeting led to him producing Loder's first album, an independent release called The Way, which was recorded at Sweet Music Studios. Loder wrote all 11 songs on the album, which was released in August 2009. The initial run of the album sold out, and Loder subsequently went door-to-door in small Newfoundland communities selling a second run of the album. On their most lucrative day selling albums in this manner, they made $1,000. Loder later said that this manner of selling the album proved to be a good way to develop a fanbase; people invited them into their homes for meals, prayer, and discussions. Also that year, they won a talent-search contest hosted by YC Newfoundland, a Christian youth conference, where they performed "Giants".