Meet Keshi, an oncology nurse turned pop star with a massive world tour

It's hard for Keshi to fathom how his life has evolved over the last five years. "I honestly cannot believe the circumstances of my life," the 29-year-old tells USA TODAY. "I get to make art every single day."

Born Casey Luong, the Vietnamese American singer-songwriter has come a long way from his hometown of Sugar Land, Texas. Keshi was an oncology nurse prior to his music career. However, he felt a disconnect while working in the medical field.

He says he would "come home with no sense or will to live unless it was to fight, to get out and to make music," he shares. Now, he says, "it feels like I'm where I was meant to be."

Keshi's first attempt with music was piano lessons as a kid. He didn't enjoy them. It's not that he hated music, but rather he disliked the discipline and demands that came with it.

After he began listening to John Mayer during adolescence, Keshi gravitated toward the guitar.

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One summer, Keshi was at his grandparents' dry cleaning store near Williams Tower in Houston. "One of those days, I asked my grandpa, 'Will you bring your guitar over?' and he obliged. I sat down with it, and he saw how enamored I was, and he said, 'Take it home.'"

Since then, that guitar has become Keshi's safe place. It is his "comfort blanket, partner in crime, (it) has given me the world truly," he says with a laugh.

And that world is expanding. Keshi's sophomore album is set to release Sept. 13 and then he will embark on his biggest tour to date this fall.

"I've always only ever wanted my music to be taken seriously, and this is sort of my foray and attempt at competing on the main stage," he says.

Keshi talks new album and 'surreal' world tour

Keshi knew he wanted to make music once he reached high school, but he wasn't sure if others would take it as seriously as he did. When he got to college, Keshi started making songs on GarageBand, eventually sharing his tracks on SoundCloud. Keshi inked a deal with Island Records in 2019, quit nursing and never looked back.

Keshi's debut album "GABRIEL" released in 2022 and hit critical success. He had the No.1 New Artist Debut of 2022, landing in the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 and Top 5 of the Top Album Sales chart.

"When I really think about it, I'm like, 'What was I doing last year?' That's kind of how much of a flurry it's been," he shares. "It's hard to remember exactly where the touring stopped and where the writing really began."

Keshi's anticipated second record "Requiem" drops Sept. 13 and how he'd perform songs live was front-of-mind in the creative process.

"It informed it so thoroughly in the ways that I kind of purposely tried to create moments in the songs that I knew would resonate with people while in an arena," he shares.

Keshi will kick off a 35-city world tour Oct. 6, including stops at iconic venues Madison Square Garden in New York and The Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

"It's surreal in the sense that these are venues that people only dream about going to," he says. "It's the kind of thing where it feels like I can actually die happy, and if everything crashed and burned the next day after I played MSG, I'd be very OK. I'd be like, 'Yeah, that was a great run. Everything was worth it.'"

What to expect on 'Requiem' album

The album's first single "Say" dropped July 12 and its city pop tones are just a taste for what's to come on "Requiem."

"I like so many different genres of music and so many different styles. I like being versatile," Keshi says. "The precedent that I think 'Say' does set for the rest of the songs on the record, that you can expect, is that the quality is definitely more refined. There's a sheen to it."

Keshi doesn't feel pigeonholed to the indie pop roots many associate him with.

"I feel like 'GABRIEL' was me trying to stretch my arms out of that like, 'How can I take the tools that I understand and get out of the ruts that I would usually be inside?' That was kind of like training camp, so that I can come into 'Requiem' and really swing for the fences."

Other influences for the forthcoming release include classic rock. Keshi says he was listening to a lot of Queen and The Beatles.

"I'm a singer-songwriter at heart. I respect the power that words on their own can have in a song. Like that kind of a weight, I've always adored it," Keshi says. But there is also a dynamic quality for the other songs to make you want to move. Having that dichotomy, "that's what makes a fun record to me," Keshi adds.

Keshi is most excited for audiences to hear track seven on "Requiem." "Seven is my favorite. It's a ballad that is one of our Hail Marys. I really can't wait for everyone to hear it."

Adapting Keshi's creative process

Keshi worked alongside what he calls an "Avengers team of producers." This includes frequent collaborator Elie Rizk and Imad Royal, who has worked with Doja Cat and BTS.

"I learned so much from them in those sessions that we did. I just feel like I've leveled up as a writer, as an artist, as a producer," he says.

While it will never be a complete departure from what he has established in the past, Keshi did want to alter how he makes music. "I'm typically so insulated in my process," he reveals. "I had to rely on going through Imad as a funnel for my taste. That brought a different element of perspective on how everything turned out."

Each session gave further insight into the album's creative direction, molding and adjusting tracks to further Keshi's sonic scope.

How loss impacted Keshi's 'Requiem'

Themes of life and love made their way onto the album, but what shaped Keshi's upcoming music most was loss.

"That really changed my perspective on how I treat my time and other people's time, and how I value certain things," he says. "That's a coming-of-age thing that I think everyone has around my age, and that's kind of what the title track, 'Requiem' is about and alludes to."

The passing of a friend and collaborator is namesake for Keshi's sophomore album. "You don't really think about it until it happens, and then it wakes you up a little bit."

This person was a "big champion" for Keshi, he shares. "It was incredibly validating for someone who's so involved in the industry to look my way, with me looking the way I am, and thinking, 'Yeah, this kid's got it, let's do it. I'm gonna make him a star.' There was no hint of doubt in his mind that I couldn't go the distance the same as anybody else, and I don't get many nods like that very often."

When he passed, I mourned him so deeply for someone that I didn't know as well as I should have, because nobody had ever given me that kind of look before."

Keshi says he struggled over the last year and half with success, wishing his friend could've been there to witness it. "The seeds that he planted for me have borne fruit."

"I really lament it, but we just have to keep on chasing the stars in his honor, for his memory," he says.