ANNA AKANA
On her debut album, Casualty, Anna Akana takes an unapologetic and uncompromising look at all the battles she’s faced throughout her life, from depression to abuse to toxic relationships. But with the same unstoppable spirit and magnetic presence she’s shown in her self-driven career as an actress, producer, filmmaker, and writer — as well as a social media superstar whose YouTube channel boasts over 2.5 million subscribers — Akana turns all that pain into a message of strength and self-empowerment.
As shown in her irresistibly powerful songwriting, Casualty is the outcome of Akana’s lifelong and unwavering devotion to music. With no limits to her artistry, she’s honed her sophisticated musicality while forging an astoundingly multifaceted career in nearly all corners of the entertainment industry.
“The album’s called Casualty because even though terrible things can happen to you, you always have the power to transform yourself through those hardships,” Akana says. “You have the choice to be a victim, or to learn and grow and make the situation serve. you in some way. So while the songs are all about heartbreak, the album is really about overcoming.”
Though she first came to the public eye as an actor and creator of online films and sketches, Akana acquired her passion for music and performance at an early age. She studied piano during childhood years in Japan, learning the instrument before she even learned the country’s language, and has studied the guitar as well. Over the years, she has absorbed influences as diverse as No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom (the first album she loved), Santana (her first concert), and Lauryn Hill, whose music helped shape her. More recently, Lizzo, Julia Michaels, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé have served as role models, both for their music and for their messages of empowerment, self-love, and positivity.
Made with Jenga Productions (Nicci Funicelli, Shayon Daniels), Casualty sets her emotional outpouring to a high-impact sound merging the addictive melodies of pop,
shapeshifting rhythms of electronic music, and raw passion of rock. Throughout the album, Akana takes on everything from soaring anthems to high-energy dance tracks to
delicate ballads, building off the musical skills she’s long shown in playing acoustic guitar as part of her stand-up act. At the same time, the L.A.-based artist reveals a
whole new side of her voice, delivering each lyric with a bold vulnerability that’s endlessly riveting.
With its dynamic beats, fierce guitar riffs, and graceful piano melodies, the standout single, “Intervention,” fully embodies Casualty's emotional and sonic complexity. As Akana explains, the moody and hypnotic track came from addressing her personal struggles with alcohol. “I realized a while ago that even though my problem wasn’t severe, I did need to improve my boundaries with drinking,” she says. “‘Intervention’ was born from a place of taking responsibility for myself.”
The title track and “Let Me Go” are fueled by a palpable pain, but both poured out so quickly Akana barely had time to write them down. “Pain of any kind fuels art in such a flowing way,” she says. Akana calls the tender and vulnerable “Selfish” Casualty’s most difficult song to write, one that honors the very real struggle of depressive episodes. Casualty is by turns confessional and defensive but never less than ferociously honest. The result is a cathartic musical experience.
In 2011, Akana started a YouTube channel featuring her semi-autobiographical short films and sketches, and soon found breakout success as writer and star of the digital series Riley Rewind. Along with appearing in blockbuster movies like Marvel’s Ant-Man, she also has landed recurring roles on shows like Comedy Central’s Corporate, launched a second digital series (Miss 2059), and served as the star and executive producer for YouTube Red’s Emmy-nominated Youth & Consequences. She’ll appear in the Netflix romantic comedy Let It Snow, releasing Christmas 2019, and has a recurring role in the Netflix original series Jupiter’s Legacy, slated for 2020. In addition, Akana made her debut as an author with the 2017 book So Much I Want to Tell You: Letters To My Little Sister, a Random House/Ballantine title now in development with WarnerMedia’s HBO Max for series adaptation.
As she gears up for the release of Casualty, Anna Akana is tapping into her filmmaking ingenuity to create videos for each of the album’s 13 tracks. She’s also developing
her captivating live show, which adds yet another dimension to her indomitable talent. “The shows I’ve done so far have felt so cathartic, which is how I hope it feels for the audience too,” Akana says. “I want people to take my songs and project their own lives onto them, and know that they’re not alone in whatever heartache they’re going through.”