Kia Ahadi, better known by his stage name “KIIA”, is a Toronto based singer- songwriter originally from Tehran, Iran.

Musically inclined, he discovered his passion for music at a very young age and started his musical journey by playing the traditional Persian instruments Setar and Tar from the age of seven. By eleven years old, Kia was already regularly performing for large crowds and his desire to share his music with others was evident. In 1998, his family emigrated to Toronto. The move to a new country was tough, with many cultural and personal challenges, but it also opened the door to a new life, one that included learning guitar and beginning to write his own music. Kia recorded his first song at the age of twenty-one. This venture into songwriting inspired Kia and bandmate Farshid to create Empire Eleven, a bilingual Farsi-English band, in 2014. The duo released four songs and three music videos between 2014 and 2017. Their single “Fantasy” received over 1.3 million plays collectively worldwide, and Empire Eleven’s music videos are still played on satellite tv channels around the world.

Kia’s background with performance extends outside of the music world. A graduate of York University’s kinesiology and health sciences program, Kia has spent the past twelve years working in the fitness industry as a fitness consultant, Master trainer, manager, business owner, and athletic fitness model. In 2013, he won first place at the Fitness Star World Championships in the athletic fitness modelling category. This lead to a great career as a professional fitness model, including cover model for Fitness Star, publication in several magazines, editorials, and multiple interviews. As a fitness professional, he has helped transform the lives of people from all walks of life. Kia felt such a significant impact from these transformations that he dedicated himself to impacting others on a larger scale, which further influenced his purpose for songwriting. One of the ways Kia has sought to make a difference with his music is using it to bridge the gap between east and west. Empire Eleven started this work; in 2017, wanting to continue it and share more of his own voice, Kia began pursuing a career as a solo artist. Working with artists such as Kayo and Rupert Gayle on his debut solo album, KIIA’s highly anticipated EP “Love in Every Language” is set to be released later this year.