Before taking the stage at our Kiss 108 Kiss Concert, Leah Kate took a seat backstage with Billy Costa to talk about her journey.
Leah Kate turned to TikTok in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. After getting fired from her job in NYC, the singer moved across the country to move back in with her parents.
"I spent all summer DMing creators, 'Will you use my song? I'll repost it!'"
Then, it happened. "F U Anthem" took off.
Photo: Richard Knowles for Kiss 108
Leah Kate followed up her hit song with "10 Things I Hate About You," which became the anthem of 2022.
"It started as a list of 100 things," Leah Kate reveals. The song was inspired by an ex the TikToker just couldn't get over.
"The list started because I needed to get over him."
How'd you make me love you?
And I'll admit it
Sometimes I miss when we were in it
So I made a list, yeah
Ten things I hate about you
Photo: Richard Knowles for Kiss108
The relationship "was really bad."
"I wrote down everything negative thing about him possible." The tough part was narrowing it down to just 10 things!
So how did the ex react to Leah Kate's wild success?
"When it came out, he asked 'Can you take it down from Spotify? It's a bad look for me.'"
"You are hilarious," Leah Kate responded. "Send your lawyer, I don't care. It's not coming down."
"I think I'm over him now," she reassures. Now, thoughts of her ex prompt the singer to question, "Ew, what I was thinking?"
But that doesn't mean Leah Kate will stop writing about him.
"I think I can write about him for the rest of my life," she confirms, "but I'm over him now."