Kota Banks

Jessica Mimi Porfiri (born 13 October 1994), who performs as Kota Banks, is an Australian pop singer-songwriter and musician.^[1] She signed to Nina Las Vegas's label, NLV Records, in May 2017, which released Banks' ten-track extended play, Prize (styled as PRIZE), as a mix tape in mid-2018.^[2][3] Banks has co-written songs for fellow Australian artists.^[4] She supported What So Not on his national tour.^[5] By November 2017, her music had accumulated over 20 million plays on Spotify.^[1]

Kota Banks was born in 1994 in Sydney, Australia, as Jessica Mimi Porfiri,^[6] in Sydney. She spent her late childhood and teens in Florence, a formative time that shaped her identity and connection to her heritage. Banks has been singing since the age of 9.^[7] She returned to Sydney.

Banks is a Christian.^[8] She prays every time she writes music.^[8] In an article with The Daily Telegraph, she said:

"I just feel like it [praying] gives me more depth to my songwriting and opens my mind."^[8]

Banks' debut single, "N.F.F.A.", was issued in 2016 and was co-written by Banks with Lee Chew (or Toby Chew-Lee) and Cameron Nacson.^[9] It was produced by the duo as MOZA.^[10] Troy Mutton of Pile Rats described how she, "dabbles in some seriously fun electronic-pop", and described her single as a "bold track both production-wise and lyrically, catchy as and slotting right alongside artists such as Nicole Millar, Jess Kent and Danish artist MØ."^[10]

Her second single, "Holiday", appeared in 2017, which was co-written with Danny Omerhodic,^[11] who produced the track for NLV Records, as Swick.^[12] "Empty Streets" featuring MOZA, was her next single in that year, which was also co-written with Chew and Nacson.^{[9][13][14][15]} For the Junior Eurovision Song Contest of 2017, Banks, Chew and Nacson, with Chloe Papandrea, co-wrote Australia's entry, "Speak Up".^[16] It was performed by Isabella Clarke in Tbilisi, where Clarke finished third.^[17]

For the FOMO Festival in Adelaide, Banks joined Nina Las Vegas (a.k.a. Nina Agzarian) on-stage to perform "Holiday" in January 2018.^[18] The pair co-wrote "Alibrandi" with Omerhodic, which Las Vegas performs using Banks on vocals.^[19] In March her single, "Zoom", was premiered on Triple J's Good Nights and subsequently received high rotation on the national youth radio station.^[20] Triple J's Al Newstead declared, "this [track] has grown on us hard. It's a fun, flirty mix of dancehall and pop elevated by the fanciful production."^[21]

Banks released her debut extended play, Prize (styled as PRIZE), in mid-2018, as a ten-track mix tape.^[22][23] It was produced by Omerhodic, who shared the song writing with Banks on most of its tracks.^[20][22] AltMedia's Jamie Apps rated it at three-and-a-half stars and explained, "[she] is not just a one hit wonder though as throughout the remainder of the record Banks carries the momentum forward as she celebrate feminine strength and empowerment."^[24] Following the release of PRIZE, Banks announced her debut national headline tour, selling out her hometown show.

From July 2019, Banks began releasing her music under Sony Music Entertainment Australia.^[25] From 2019, she shares her life through TikTok and tries to get more attention through extended play (EP).^[26][27]

Notes

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2020)