Though the term “triple threat” has traditionally been used to describe entertainers who act, dance and sing, 13 year old Kialani Mills’ growing talents aren’t solely based in the performing arts. Mills has sung for audiences both big (at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in New York City, Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Mercury games) and small (before family and friends in intimate settings).
Like her passion for music, Mills’ passion for tennis is equally strong. While she works to pursue a professional singing career, Mills also hopes to follow in the illustrious footsteps of Serena Williams and other greats of the sport, having trained at the prestigious Mouratoglou Tennis Academy (headed by Williams’ longtime coach, Patrick Mouratoglou).
Like many people her age, though, Mills knows her way around social media. With over 72,000 followers on Instagram, Mills has kept that audience up to date on her fascinating daily life through photos, vocal performance clips and personal vlogs.
Now with the upcoming eight episode series KANDIDLY KIALANI, Mills moves beyond the limited storytelling capacities of Instagram by chronicling her creative and personal sides in an eight episode documentary.
Talented singer, tennis player and Instagram influencer Kialani Mills stars in the new docuseries KANDIDLY KIALANI, premiering August 8th on YouTube and Instagram TV.
Co-produced by Kialani and her parents Kelly and Mike Mills, the first season of KANDIDLY KIALANI debuts on YouTube and Instagram TV (IGTV) on August 8th.
While Kialani’s fans are well familiar with her impressive talents and exciting travels, Kelly Mills says that audiences will also experience how some of the most important people in Kialani’s life have helped fuel her journey to success.
“Viewers can expect to see Kialani’s family, her friends, her coaches, and other supporters! Her family is not always with her, because she’s training in California, but when they are together, she loves to argue with her brother and play with her littlest brother. She loves to joke with her Dad and put on concerts for her Mom and Grandma.”
In capturing fun moments that Kialani shares with her closest friends, KANDIDLY KIALANI also spotlights how much in common she truly has with her younger peers. “Friends are a big part of Kialani’s life,” Kelly Mills responds. “She’s with them all the time and some of them host her while she’s in California. Kialani’s friends are very important to her. They talk, they laugh, they make Tik Tok videos, (they) go fishing and more!”
As it is off-screen, Kialani’s bright personality and multifaceted talents are on full display during the first few installments of KANDIDLY KIALANI. “For the initial episodes, it will show individual aspects of Kialani’s life,” explains Kelly. “The singing episode will show Kialani at voice lessons, big events (she’s) sung at, singing at home, or in the car, because she’s always singing. The tennis episode will show practices, matches, coaches’ interactions, friends, etc.”
Kialani’s personal life is a key focal point in the show’s first season, with her family taking center stage alongside their daughter.
“For the family episode, Kialani’s family will talk about her and you’ll see how she interacts with them, where they go, what they do,” Kelly says, adding that viewers should be on the lookout for some exciting celebrity appearances later in the series.
“There will also be a couple of surprise episodes added in during the season that may include some huge stars!”
Kialani’s astonishing live vocal performances are another entertaining part of KANDIDLY KIALANI, and there’s more of them to come as the show’s first season continues.
“There will be performances featured in the show, including past events,” Kelly replies. “There is a future event coming up that will also be included! This will be shown in the singing episode and there may be a special episode for other things coming up.”
As Kialani’s story goes on, so does KANDIDLY KIALANI. With post-production editing handled by Los Angeles-based KO Creative, Kelly and the show’s producers easily adapt to Kialani’s constant schedule while using archival footage to trace her personal and professional development.
“We’ve used footage from the last several months and even years to show who Kialani is in each area of her life,” says Kelly. “We’ve also increased the amount of footage that we get on a daily basis or for each event she does. Adding intros and outros (to each episode) was also a process in finding the time to shoot.”
On and off camera, KANDIDLY KIALANI is a genuine family affair for the Mills clan. Like every film project, though, the thrills and difficulties of making this series go hand in hand for everyone who’s a part of the process.
“Some of the most exciting aspects of this web series is being able to see the results, and seeing myself on camera,” Kialani says. “Some of the harder parts of (making) KANDIDLY KIALANI (are) that it takes up a lot of time and effort. It also is sometimes awkward if I vlog in public for the series, but in the end it’s all worth it.”
Having trained at the famed Patrick Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, Kialani Mills hopes to serve up athletic success alongside her musical brilliance.
“Professionally, I’m seeing that any project of this nature takes a lot of work and discipline. It’s not just taking video and that’s it,” Kelly replies. “There’s a lot of planning, coordinating, communication, collaboration, and changing things as we go. It’s definitely a fun project that I’m loving!”
It’s also a project that carries personal importance for Kelly. “Making KANDIDLY KIALANI has been a fun process for the most part,” she notes.
“Making the show and seeing Kialani in her videos makes me realize even more that she’s an amazing person! I didn’t realize how hilarious she is and she regularly makes me laugh in her videos. She’s also very creative!”
Though being the focus of her own web series has as many complications as it does joys for Kialani, her existing Instagram fans will get a chance to see their favorite influencer tell her story in ways that Instagram’s bite-sized visual structure never allowed her to do.
“I feel that this (KANDIDLY KIALANI) will expand my social media because this series will be more interesting than pictures on my Instagram, (and) therefore more people will tune in,” she says.
The expanded documentary structure of Kialani’s web series also gives audiences a chance to see how, regardless of the exciting things Kialani does with music and tennis, she’s no different than the other kids who follow her adventures online. “KANDIDLY KIALANI is also relatable, and people love that,” Kialani explains.
In addition to opening a wider window on Kialani’s life, KANDIDLY KIALANI has the potential to increase its eponymous star’s skills in social media, sports and entertainment.
“This (show) will help me to become a more successful influencer because I feel it will be much easier to spread my messages,” adds Kialani. This (show) will benefit (me) as a tennis player and singer because for me it’s more motivation, and (it) gives me something else to work for.”
Not all kids who watch KANDIDLY KIALANI may aspire to become the next Serena or Alicia Keys, but by tuning in to the show, they will learn how their lives can be made better through working hard and enjoying themselves – just as Kialani continues to do every day.
Kelly explains her hopes for the series this way: “We hope that people take away that Kialani is a really fun, talented girl that is ‘normal’, but lives an extraordinary life! It’ll show people the world Kialani and give kids hope that they too can live an extraordinary life.”
NOTE: The series is not closed-captioned or subtitled.
The show’s trailer can be seen here:
https://youtu.be/IfmavycolTk
Kialani’s YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UChOQBBHeB4a8G07mlL-pnJQ
Instagram: @kialanimills