Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Kel Adore is in full bloom with her new EP Wildflower, a body of work that radiates honesty, cinematic depth, and emotional resonance. Known for her unique blend of electro-indie pop and heartfelt storytelling, Kel crafts songs that feel like a close friend speaking directly to you, saying the thing you couldn’t quite put into words yourself.

The title Wildflower came to her only after the songs were complete. At first, she considered naming the project Late Bloomer after its lead single, but a lyric from “Different Lately,” “Wildflower’s getting older,” struck a deeper chord. “It hit me that a wildflower embodies who I’ve become,” she says. “It grows freely in unexpected places, and that feels like my story. I used to prune myself to fit into a manicured garden, but this EP is about reconciling who I was with who I’ve become and giving myself permission to bloom wildly as I am.”

The project first took root about a year and a half ago when Kel wrote Late Bloomer with her friend Wallace Tallman. She tucked the song away for a while, but it lingered, calling her back to explore the theme more deeply. Writing with a handful of close collaborators, she began to unpack what it means to grow into someone unexpected and to make peace with that transformation. The result is her most cohesive and personal body of work to date.

Sonically, Wildflower builds on Kel’s pop foundations while pulling from organic, acoustic textures. “It still lives in pop,” she explains, “but it’s rooted in acoustic sounds with my signature synth sparkle that gives it a cinematic edge.” As executive producer, she made sure that even with multiple collaborators, the project remained unified, “one universe that’s completely me.”

Some songs came quickly while others evolved over years. Late Bloomer flowed out in a single session, while R.I.P., a song that started as a demo two and a half years ago, took multiple reimaginings before it landed as the soaring anthem on the EP. The cinematic strings in its final chorus were inspired by Moby’s “Extreme Ways,” and Kel credits that addition as the moment the track finally felt complete. The vocal intimacy of “Different Lately,” meanwhile, drew from the production style on Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s I Said I Love You First, which she admired for its raw, ASMR-like vulnerability.

At the core of Wildflower are themes of growth, resilience, and renewal. “It’s about honoring the versions of ourselves that no longer fit and finding the courage to bloom into who we’re becoming,” Kel says. “Even when it feels uncomfortable, there’s beauty in the messy, unexpected, and wild parts of life.” Every lyric carries meaning for her, but one line from “Different Lately” stands out: “The thread is still unwinding.” “That lyric cut straight to the heart of what I was feeling, the idea that life is a tapestry being woven, and I’m still learning which threads are truly my own,” she says.

Kel hopes listeners feel seen and a little lighter after hearing the EP from start to finish. “There’s so much going on in the world,” she says. “If I can carve out a space where people feel safe, loved, and free to be themselves, that means everything.” For her, success isn’t measured by numbers but by connection, by knowing the songs have landed in someone’s heart.

Musically, Kel found inspiration in the acoustic warmth of Shania Twain, Myles Smith, and Vance Joy, as well as the inventive synth work of Jon Bellion and Griff. The result is a sound that’s both timeless and modern, polished yet raw. Living in Los Angeles also shaped the EP’s themes. “LA is a city of reinvention,” she says. “You’re constantly surrounded by people chasing new dreams. That energy of transformation is the heartbeat of this EP.”

She also drew inspiration from nature, finding poetry in the wildflowers along the ocean cliffs and the pink sunsets over the city. “The wildflowers here are stubbornly beautiful,” she says. “They grow in the cracks, in unexpected places, and that’s exactly what this project represents.”

With Wildflower, Kel Adore feels she’s entering a new chapter. “It feels like the doorway to the artist I’m becoming,” she says. “I’ve been planting seeds for years, and now I finally feel like I’m in full bloom.” Looking ahead, she plans to expand the Wildflower universe through visuals, performances, and more storytelling. She’s also hinted at revisiting her Christmas EP in new ways.

If she had to describe Wildflower in three words, she’d choose honest, cinematic, and blooming. It’s an EP that doesn’t just sound beautiful, it feels alive, messy, and real, much like the artist herself.

Wildflower is currently streaming everywhere, and it’s the kind of project that deserves to be heard from start to finish.

‍Connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keladoremusic/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5r4xWyWmjeaCrELUy0AfAc

Website: https://www.keladore.com/

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