SIMIEN — Artist Interview — Exposed Vocals SIMIEN /// ARTIST INTERVIEW /// SUGAR FEAT. AKON /// KONVICT KULTURE /// EXPOSED VOCALS /// SIMIEN /// ARTIST INTERVIEW /// SUGAR FEAT. AKON /// KONVICT KULTURE /// EXPOSED VOCALS ///SIMIEN
“Creative control is a bad word in the industry — to give it up is the ultimate long term death sentence.”
Electro-Pop / R&B Sister Trio Los Angeles Konvict Kulture IndependentThere’s a version of the music industry story where three sisters from Los Angeles get discovered, handed a deal, and slowly watch their vision get filtered through other people’s decisions. SIMIEN — Taédym, Jaiden, and Kamrein — decided that version wasn’t for them. They built their own studio, learned to engineer their own records, and showed up to sessions with living legends knowing exactly what they wanted. The result: a collaboration with Akon on his own Konvict Kulture label, a Victorian masquerade ball they co-directed, and a debut single that lands with the weight of a group that has been quietly getting ready for a very long time.
Their new single Sugar — out now — is the introduction. But the story runs much deeper than one song. We sat down with the sisters to talk about creative sovereignty, heritage, the Debbie Allen years, and why performing in front of 30,000 people felt like the moment everything clicked.
1M+TikTok Followers30KLive Audience, Kon Stage3Sisters, One Sound2026Sugar / Konvict KultureThe moment we knew that it was our path was the hunger to keep going after not making it on that show.
— SIMIENEV SIMIEN has been performing together since childhood. At what point did it shift from something you did as sisters to something you knew was your path?SIM As kids, our parents detected our unique harmonies. We always performed talent shows for our family and functions with tip jars around. We sang praise and worship in front of the church. Everything shifted when we approached our parents about being on Americas got talent auditions down town Los Angeles. We were told, “if we are serious about trying out” they would take us, however we were going to be responsible for filling out the entry form and bringing it to them. They knew we were serious when we did just that. Our parents followed through, we tried out but we did not make it past the first round. Our parents hired formal vocal instruction, Music theory classes, Instrument lessons, and our parents “old school Artist development” — it just clicked. The moment we knew that it was our path was the hunger to keep going after not making it on that show. All of our hard work and experiences had truly paid off, was when Kon invited us to perform in front of 30,000 people live!That rejection from America’s Got Talent reads now less like a setback and more like a catalyst — the moment a family pastime became a professional commitment. What followed was years of methodical preparation: vocal coaches, theory, instruments, development. By the time they stepped onto a stage in front of 30,000 people, they had already been building toward it for most of their lives.
EV Your sound pulls from Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra all the way to Aaliyah and Rihanna. How do you weave such a wide range of influences into something that feels cohesive and distinctly SIMIEN?SIM Coming from a large blended family, we have a very strong bond. Music was a super huge love language in our home. Our parents played a wide variety of music across multiple genres and as sisters, overtime we’ve created a unique formula which translates everything into a special work of art. Every tear, smile, heartbreak, musical note and celebration.
We all have our own signature style but collectively we can dibble dabble across the board to create something super unique, because we’re sisters. Jaiden is very melodic and is an incredible producer & song writer. Jaiden is the technology and mechanical hands on guru. She plays the bass guitar. Kamrein is very well versed between Song writing, producing and dj’ing. Kamrein also plays the electric guitar. Taèdym creates strong chorus and storylines as song writer. Taedym has an ear for every small detail to perfection. It is safe to say she is the perfectionist of us three.Three distinct roles, one unified output. The division of labor they describe isn’t just practical — it’s the architecture of how SIMIEN avoids the sound of any single influence dominating. Everyone brings a different instrument, a different instinct. The cohesion isn’t something they engineer; it’s something that exists because they grew up in the same house.
EV “Sugar” with Akon is a major moment. How did that collaboration come about and what was it like working with him in the studio?SIM Akon truly embraces our creative process freedom and always encourages us to be our authentic selves, to express freely in our artistry. Akon showed us a folder with beats at his studio and we picked four then we all collectively chose one then recorded Sugar. Creating and recording Sugar was so much fun. We all just vibed together well. As singer song writers, it just came so naturally and Akon added his verse and we all loved it!!No pressure, no compromise — just a folder of beats and the freedom to pick. The ease with which they describe creating Sugar says something about both their preparation and Akon’s approach to the session. When a collaboration like this works, it’s rarely because the circumstances were perfect; it’s because both parties arrived ready.
EV The Victorian masquerade ball concept for the video is a bold visual choice. Whose idea was that and how did the concept come together?SIM After we wrote Sugar the idea came together almost instantaneously. We created the storyboard, treatment and Pinterest boards together following a Bridgerton, Phantom of the Opera meets Game of Thrones atmosphere for Sugar. Collectively we wanted to capture a nostalgic, fresh, mystic with edginess that yearns for festive energy throughout the shoot. It was so much fun co-directing Sugar with Moon of Ikon Media.Creative control is a bad word in the industry — to give it up is the ultimate long term death sentence.
— SIMIENEV You write, arrange, produce, and engineer your own music from a home studio. What does that level of creative control mean to you as artists?SIM Creative control means everything. Our parents taught us early off to be self sustainable in the industry, especially making music. From taking business meetings as young executives, vocal lessons, music instruction and studying multiple studio disciplines along the way from extraordinary producers/engineers we knew ownership equity over monetary capital gain, is everything. Creative control is a bad word in the industry, to give it up is the ultimate long term death sentence. Most artist start off losing everything initially to gain a deal then gradually over the tenure of contract negotiations, obtain it back after years past.
To have a home studio as an independent artist is definitely a must have and truly a creative safe space. It’s nice when we have an idea at any time and can just lay down the recording, right then and there in our home. It just feels very intimate without all the restraints, distractions and egos at some studios which could leave the artist after long sessions unfulfilled, creatively destroyed without escape. We have experienced plenty of very tough studio sessions in our past that fueled our hunger to become totally self sustained musicians, building our own studio in time. Knowing what you want and how you want it, with knowledge adds value to any session with the right staff that is willing to collaborate. Professional respect given, professional respect returned. In short, learn the whole craft of making music to become respectable in any studio environment.This isn’t rhetoric — it’s a hard-won philosophy. The tough studio sessions they reference aren’t elaborated on, but the lesson extracted from them is articulated with the clarity of people who have seen exactly what they don’t want. The home studio isn’t a fallback; it’s the foundation.
EV Your Creole, Louisiana, and Native American heritage — how consciously does that show up in your music and visual identity?SIM We love the opportunity to implement everything into our artistry and to share with the world — it’s who we are. Genuinely our multifaceted dream come true. We think it’s beautiful to have such a medley of diverse cultures intertwined both ethnically & musically to create something super special within us. We love our Louisiana Creole heritage which represents a diverse ancestry of French, African and Native American Indian.Heritage, for SIMIEN, isn’t a talking point — it’s an ingredient. The same blended-family home that introduced them to Billie Holiday and Rihanna in the same afternoon is the same environment that shaped their understanding of themselves as multi-cultural artists. It all flows from the same source.
EV Training at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy set a high bar for performance. How has that discipline shaped the way SIMIEN approaches a stage?SIM We absolutely love Ms. Allen! She totally embraced us on site and welcomed us to her DADA fold. We worked with her daughter, Vivian Nixon as well. We learned professional discipline, poise, work ethic & morals within the performing arts community along with walking in confidence and captivating the audience on stage with our presence which became one of the many powerful attributes we utilize from the academy to this day. We have implemented every lesson in our bones, to stand together on purpose, in strength and unity as one. We would like to thank Ms. Allen and our Debbie Allen Dance Academy Family.We just are unapologetically, authentically staying ourselves at all times, period. In the studio, on stage, with fans, in front of business executives. We Are Family, We Are Sisters and We Are SIMIEN.
— SIMIENEV You’ve worked with Teddy Riley, Jermaine Dupri, Brian Michael Cox — a serious list. What’s the most valuable thing you’ve taken away from those collaborations?SIM It was a complete honor and we are very grateful to have worked with amazing people! The opportunity to work with those icons, and currently with Akon, taught us how to navigate through the industry, studio discipline and business language. So, to answer your question — the most valuable take away having collaborated with such living legends would be to create music from the heart and for us to be our authentic selves always.It’s a recurring theme in everything SIMIEN says: authenticity isn’t a brand position, it’s a survival strategy. Passed down from legends who learned it the same way — by watching what happens when it gets compromised.
EV With over 1M TikTok followers, you’ve clearly connected with a digital audience. How do you think about balancing the social media side with the artistry?SIM For starters we are musicians not social media influencers — there’s so much pressure to become an influencer to gain traction it’s unbearable. So to find that pocket which blends our creative musical side and still gain social media exposure as artists was a task that morphed into something beautiful over time. We came from the MySpace era of social media so we evolved with technology. We didn’t have a method, it all became custom fit for that particular moment as artists. Currently we have a broadcast channel on IG for our Super Fans, “The SIMINATI” — We absolutely love Our SIMINATI and they love us right back, we feel it!The SIMINATI — their word, their fanbase, their ecosystem. In a landscape where musicians are constantly pressured to perform for algorithms, SIMIEN found a way to let the platform serve the music rather than the other way around. One million followers, no identity crisis.
EV Where do you see SIMIEN in two years — what’s the vision for this next chapter?SIM Excellent question! We see ourselves dropping new music (New LP coming real soon), directing more music videos, going on world tours, acting, modeling, collaborating with brands we adore — we just want to be everywhere to inspire and elevate. We dream, ultimately, to own our own fashion line with sustainable cosmetics, fragrances and jewelry line. We Love Fashion!!!SIMIEN are not hedging. An LP, world tours, a fashion line, a fanbase called the SIMINATI — the vision is specific, expansive, and stated with the same matter-of-fact confidence they bring to everything else. These are sisters who got rejected from a talent show at a young age and responded by building a studio, training under Debbie Allen, and eventually recording a single with Akon that they co-directed as a Victorian masquerade ball. The ambition was always this size. Sugar is just the part you can finally hear.
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