Why I quit the music business (Or why I’m no longer in Nylon Pink)

Why I quit the music business (Or why I’m no longer in Nylon Pink)

Many of you have asked the question and I have never really explained why I left Nylon Pink as the lead singer. I definitely think that the fans of Nylon Pink deserve the answer that they have asked for! (On a side note: I still do pr for Nylon Pink and I will always be involved with the band, Nylon Pink is me and Katt’s baby!)

So why did I quit? Well first of all, I was told I should quit. By my own bandmate and a sound guy!  I thought it was highly unappreciative since that year, with me as the lead singer, we had achieved more than we had achieved in that one year than all the years that the band had been in existence. We had started recording our KPOP rock cover videos, went on our first tour in the US, and traveled overseas for the first time to Asia for our Hard Rock Hotel Asia Tour. (Check out my recap of: Nylon Pink @ The Hard Rock Hotel, Penang Malaysia and Nylon Pink @ The Hard Rock Cafe Macau)

Anyhow, I heard their opinions and I said fuck them.

The original lineup

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After all I considered myself someone who didn’t care what others thought of her. Also these tours were not your average tours, where you play an hour a night, which is totally doable. We were sometimes playing three and a half, almost four hours per night! It was really tough for me to sing for four hours a night and I didn’t do as well as I would have liked. So after these tours, I went into hibernation, got an amazing singing coach and I felt very proud of my performance afterwards on our tour in Tokyo later on that year.

It took me another year later to come to the decision that that would ultimately be the best decision for the band. When I was being pure and honest with my deepest self I found that I really didn’t enjoy performing live. Yes there was that one or two times that the crowd was so tuned in and the synergy with the band was so incredible that the experience was magical. That was only 10% of the time. The other times were a nerve wracking struggle, filled with anxiety and fear. You know how some performers say that the nervousness goes away after the set gets started? Sometimes I would be nervous the whole way through – for an entire hour or more, sometimes four hours!

It was hard to give it all up but the day that we found a new lead singer, friends asked me how I felt about seeing her on the stage instead of me. What I felt was a great relief — that I would never have to get back up on that stage again! Ultimately our current lead singer was right under our nose all along. Kiki Wongo on her guitar and singing to the crowd is captivating. Plus she is a real deal, a serious musician who loves the touring lifestyle.

The current lineup

Nylon Pink

Ultimately, maybe that’s what the sound guy and the former bandmate saw when they thought that I should step down, that my heart just wasn’t in it.

I don’t write this post to discourage those fighting for and chasing their dreams. I DO believe that you should never give up on your dream. Chase it till the ends of the earth even if you are 99 years old and still working towards your goals. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you cannot pursue your dreams! Just be open if life puts another opportunity in front of you can be even more fulfilling than what you thought was your dream. What I do love is inspiring others and traveling around the world to exotic places and meeting amazing people and I was using music to achieve this.

I am still believe in the girls of Nylon Pink so much. The concept of a bad-ass all girl band, killing it on their instruments and kicking ass on stage – I think they deserve to be a huge mainstream success!!!

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16 comments

  1. Hey Kaila, thanks for sharing this. I’ve been wondering about this, but I do understand. I just wish I got to see you perform before you had moved on. ☺️

  2. I am so sorry you left the band but now that I have read this I understand. But I will say that it was at its best with you on the stage, I really mean that and so do a lot of other people!!! I am lucky I meet you and the girls once in the city of Ventura. You were to play live but for some reason you could not, that suck. Its was only for a word to say hi i am a fan when you ladies were standing on the side walk out side the club. All of you ladies were so HOT. But I have seen you after and it was great!!!. So good luck with your dreams and if you do ever sing with them one more make sure to let me and all of us know ok. Love you girl go for it seeya

    Mark Lorenzana

  3. So sad to hear of your struggle Kaila. For me, listening to you via mp3, you were fantastic and always will be. Never forget that you were a part of making Nylon Pink the band it is today. As you say, this is your baby and you should be forever proud of what it has become. Best wishes for whatever the future holds for you!

    J.

  4. Kaila, you’re wonderful to be able to ‘see’ what was right and what wasn’t. You’re still a part of NP, even if it’s from behind the scenes! Things happen for a reason, and I hope the current dynamics and situation are the best for all involved! xox

  5. Kaila Yu I want to say I will always be your fan of your I know you have your reasons why you left the group I will miss your beautiful voice on lead of the hits of Nylon Pink I hope that someday you will come back to the group but if not possible i will understand and wish you all the best in all you do I still have your Solo Cd that you made back in the day before Nylon Pink one you singed and i will always treasure you and the music you made wish you all the best in whatever you do because you are truly amazing woman truly blessed

  6. Thanks for sharing Kaila.Understand your decision for leaving.you will be missed.Now get those girls out there doing their music and tour.Exspecially on the east coast.Rock on Kaila and Nylon Pink.

    Tim

  7. Hi Kaila,

    Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to talk with you soon as I’m near you and we just licensed your track, “Hello Drama”, to one of our clients out of Vancouver who licensed a bunch of our tracks for an upcoming project. I glanced over your article quickly and you sound interesting. Besides being in the music business myself behind the scenes, I also collect music and have nearly every Billboard Hot 100 hit and classic album track ever, including the stuff I’m forced to buy because of popularity (One Direction’s new album, for example) to keep the library current. The concept of girl bands that play instruments well and do everything themselves is not new – there’s a terrific song that hit the Top 40 by a band called Fanny, “Charity Ball” in 1972, for starters. Doing it well, that’s another thing entirely, plus, as you know, the music business is super competitive and talent is not always the driving force that makes one band successful over another. Hope to talk with you more soon.

    1. Hi! I was so excited to see that thanks so much! I can upload some more tracks soon. Lets definitely chat soon and thanks so much for all your support!

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