April Kry Hopes to Give Country Fans ‘Music That Evokes Emotion’ With New Single, Upcoming EP

Singer-songwriter April Kry has a somewhat-unlikely source to thank, at least partially, for her music career: Jermaine Jackson.

"I was around 12 or 13 when I sang at this benefit for my local homeless shelter," Kry recounts to The Boot via email. "Jermaine Jackson was the keynote speaker, and I was just so excited to be able to perform in front of him!

"I went up after I sang to get his autograph, and he asked my mom for our number so he could contact me when I was ready to pursue my career in music," she continues. "I think it was at that moment when I realized -- this could REALLY be my career if I worked hard at it."

By the time of that encounter, Kry had already been performing in public for years. She began singing with her father, a worship leader at their church, at the age of 5.

"I always just associated music with family, and it was comforting to me. I think that's what initially made me fall in love with it," the songstress says. "I also found that being brought up in church has definitely influenced my style of music. I was brought up on some really great Christian music," including, among others, former Civil Wars member Joy Williams.

Kry says she's "always loved country music," but she found a deeper appreciation for the genre -- and, specifically, for some of its leading ladies -- after she began writing her own songs.

"I'd listen to artists like Martina McBride and Alison Krauss, [who] truly tell a story and have so much passion when they sing," she says. "I wanted to write songs that evoked those same emotions and sing songs that pulled at those same heartstrings."

"Music that evokes emotion" is, Kry says, the best way to describe her songs and sound. She recently released a new single, 'Fireflies' -- a dreamy, upbeat, country-pop tune -- and she's working on an EP. There's no set release date, as she's still in the song-gathering stage, but Kry hopes it will be out sometime this year.

"Songwriting is so much fun for me simply because it doesn't have a formula. It's truly different every time I step into a writing session or sit down in my room with my guitar," she says. "My ideas stem from real-life stories, for the most part ... When people can listen and say, 'This hit the nail on the head for me' ... I feel like I've done my job."

'Fireflies' is a song Kry didn't write, but that doesn't mean she doesn't feel its lyrics any less.

"[A song] has to move me emotionally before I sing it, otherwise it's not going to work," Kry says. "'Fireflies' did that for me immediately! It brought me back to the place where I fell in love for the first time."

'Fireflies,' which you can listen to below, is available to download via iTunes. Keep up with Kry's career on her Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Listen to April Kry, 'Fireflies':