“Always be yourself and don’t allow anyone to steal your joy.†– Kourtney Heart
On the heels of her back-to-back performances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, The Heat Magazine caught up with 17-year old R&B sensation, Kourtney Heart – and what a privilege it was to have the opportunity to speak with Kourtney.
Kourtney Heart is not only a beautiful New Orleans native with an amazing voice, but she is also a humble soul with a heart of gold. She speaks with a fervor and genuine love for her fans and fellow artists alike, and she gives props to the man above for her success. Kourtney has been entertaining since the tender age of 3.
Kourtney Heart is an artist to watch, as she is on a mission. Charismatic and intelligent, this is one young lady who is poised to be a success in all of her endeavors.
At her recent appearance at the world renowned New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, she performed two days in a row – an honor only a few artists receive. Kourtney is one to always draw a crowd and from what we understand, she certainly did not disappoint. Her fans adore her and it’s not hard to figure out why. Our interview with Kourtney was a breath of fresh air – here’s what she had to say:
THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Who is Kourtney Heart?
KOURTNEY HEART: I’m 17 years old, I just graduated on May 19th, and I’ve been singing since I was 3 years old. I was in a youth organization where teenagers got together and re-wrote popular songs to raise awareness about drugs in our communities, dealing with teens and teen pregnancies. I was in that since I was 11 years old and I’m still involved with the organization. I love to give back to my community. I’ll be at Essence this summer in the Superlounge.
THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Tell our readers something else they might not know about Kourtney Heart.
KOURTNEY HEART: I hate spiders. (Laughs) My favorite color is yellow.
THE HEAT MAGAZINE: How was it to work with Magnolia Shorty?
KOURTNEY HEART: Magnolia Shorty brought so much life to not only my single “My Boyâ€, but to the City of New Orleans since she was 12 years old. She’s been rapping and in the music game – everyone knew her. Everyone from different generations knew of Magnolia Shorty. Her being on my track was just a blessing because she was such a sweet person. I didn’t really know her too well, but we got a chance to really know each other and to be around each other when we performed the song at certain venues. She was so sweet when I first met her in the studio when she laid down her rap on the song. From what I know, she was just so sweet and so humble. She was completely different than Magnolia Shorty on the track because her music was really outgoing and really just outspoken and she was actually quiet and shy. I thought that’s what was really cool about her. She was quiet and she was so nice. She talked to me about how long she was working in the music business and she told me how much she really liked the song. Because of her, she was the New Orleans lifestyle to my song. She traveled the song, “My Boy†and she traveled the song in the whole community of New Orleans. I loved her.
THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Do you have a message you would like to send out to young people?
KOURTNEY HEART: Just to the youth period, all over the world – just continue to be yourselves and love your life. Just live your life and keep God first. No matter what you’re doing – if you’re still in school, if you’re chasing a goal, if you’re living a dream – no matter what situation you’re in, just always keep God first. Make sure that you don’t allow anyone to steal your joy, no matter what it is. Always remember that you have to enjoy your life because it’s your life that you’re living. I love positive spirits and I surround myself with positive people. I think that’s a plus with my success. I just look at my peers and my generation that’s growing up and I just want everyone to continue to be positive, to surround themselves with positive people and always do the best they can at being them.
THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Where will we see Kourtney Heart in 5 years?
KOURTNEY HEART: In 5 years, you will definitely be seeing a lot of Kourtney Heart. Hopefully, you’re not tired of seeing me yet. In 5 years, I see myself with 2 albums already, just continuing to put out music that my fans love – just continuing to satisfy my fans and having a broad fan base and then growing with me. The sky’s the limit for me. I see myself receiving an award – a BET or MTV award. It doesn’t matter. I see myself continuing to work, because I’m a really hard worker. I also see the vision of community of New Orleans that I could open up my own veterinarian shop because I really love animals. I see that, too.
THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Is that something you’re thinking about doing?
KOURTNEY HEART: I really wanted to be a singer, a veterinarian and an astronaut when I was younger. I did really, really well with the singing part. I always joked with my mom and told her, “When I get to the level I want to reach, being an entertainer and singer in the industry, I’ll handle the animals and then I’ll go off to astronaut school. I always joked with her about that. I don’t want to branch off into too many different things because I want to continue to do my best in music. I want to get my name as big as I can because this is the way I came out in music. Once I reach a certain level of success, I want to start branching off into other things. I would love to open up my own veterinarian shop because I love animals.
THE HEAT MAGAZINE: How did it feel to come home to New Orleans to play the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and to be invited for the Essence Festival and into the Superlounge?
KOURTNEY HEART: I am completely honored, but also shocked. I’m only 17 and I haven’t been out that long, unlike the rest of the artists who have been blessed to perform on the same stages on which I’ve been invited to perform. I think I was on the same with Maze. Frankie Beverly is a legend. I was allowed to be on the Congo Square stage two days in a row, which from what I hear, not a lot of people do that. I was thanking God the whole time. I was blessed and honored because not only did I perform that Thursday and Friday, but the crowd was loving me. It just felt so good to be appreciated and to know that my hometown still appreciates my music. It was just a really great set. I had a lot of fun on stage. I didn’t feel like I was working at all – just to see everyone rocking with me and singing the words to my songs. It was just amazing. The two days in a row I was just blessed and honored and just thankful.
THE HEAT MAGAZINE: What can we expect to see from you at the Essence Festival?
KOURTNEY HEART: In the beginning of this year, 2011, I went to Atlanta to go through Artist Development, and that was for about a month and a half to two months. I was just basically developing my artistry to become a better artist, bettering my craft. When I came back to New Orleans to perform for Jazz Fest, a lot of people noticed the difference in Kourtney Heart. My show is more advanced. Essence is in July and I’m dancing now, so I can honestly say my fans will be surprised and shocked what I have in store for them for my show. I don’t want to give too much away, but just know that the show is bigger and better than the usual cute little Kourtney Heart singing on the stage. I’ll actually have more choreography and my voice is a little stronger because of vocal lessons. I’m having more fun on stage so that will be really good. I’m nervous, but I’m excited to see the outcome of Essence.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We wish Kourtney the best of luck in her journey. We know she will get where she is going, as she is a humble, hardworking young woman who is already well on her way on that proverbial path to success.
i so love kourtney… i’m proud of her!