Next Up: LIVE Music Competition Winner Crowned

A new rising star has been named as the winner of the Next Up: Live Music competition has been revealed, and her name is Kira Lise.

Designed as both a talent incubator and a real-time entertainment experience, Next Up: LIVE Music invited TikTok’s massive community to play an active role in artist discovery. The multi-phase competition began at the end of July with the audition process, from which 50 artists across all genres were selected to move forward. From there, those 50 artists competed in the semi-final round with just 12 artists continuing on to compete in the live finale at the iHeartRadio Theater in Burbank, California. Each round combined fan interactions—likes, views, shares, and comments—with scores from a panel of expert judges.

During the finale, the twelve finalists performed live, and Kira took first place, followed by runner up The Cyrilia, and Mariah Faith taking third place.

After her win, Kira shared in a message on Instagram, "The song I performed was written three months ago during an anxiety attack that I had, and I wrote it to cope with the unresolved emotions I was feeling. That resonated with the audience, along with the judges. I’m really grateful for @tiktok and the energy they’ve put into my art the last three years, as well as @iheartradio and their willingness to showcase new artists needing a chance to be heard. To more new music endeavors!"

She added after receiving her trophy, "I wasn't expecting it and I feel very grateful. I'm a little shocked. They called third and second, and I was like, 'Oh I didn't get it.' I was full like, 'I don't think I got it.' And then they called my name and I was like, 'Are you sure about that?'" Kira concluded, "This means a lot because it just symbolizes all that's yet to come. So I'm very proud of myself, very, very happy."

Kira wins won $5,000 plus exclusive promotions by iHeartRadio and TikTok.