Meet Miles Keeney, a man of many talents.
Whether it be at Conn or within the music industry, Miles certainly knows how to bring life to any and every occasion. Here’s your chance to learn more about this blond haired, blue-eyed cutie aka “real life Ken,” as exclaimed by the lovely Nicki Minaj herself.
Name: Miles Keeney
Hometown: Greenwich, CT – But I was born in Hong Kong.
Class Year: 2015
Major/Minor: Undeclared (A Science and Dance)
Random Fact: My parents tell me that when I was 2, we were at the zoo in Singapore and a camel kissed my forehead. Looking back they think it was a sign that I was eventually going to be a camel at Conn.
Activities: Member of Vox Cameli, Dance Club, 5 Fusion pieces, Eclipse, Cumbé, Volunteer at Children’s Center, and a Student Advisor.
When did you start dancing and what do you love about dance? I’ve been dancing on and off since I was eight. Up until college I had only taken hip-hop classes but I decided to really give modern, ballet, and west-African a shot here thanks to encouragement from the dance department faculty and my friends. I love dancing for the simple fact that it is fun and I feel great while doing it. Between classes and rehearsals for other events, I get to dance for usually 2-3 hours every day 7 days a week. Also, I’m a naturally shy person and the only time I am really comfortable with attention on myself is when I’m performing. I love the stage—contributing to an academic class discussion is more intimidating for me than singing or dancing in front of 800 people like during last year’s Eclipse.
So I hear that you’re pretty popular and have over 4,000 followers on Twitter? Can you confirm? What’s your Twitter name? Haha, well I don’t know about the popular part, but I do have just over 4,000 followers on Twitter! I’d say about 80 percent of them are Nicki Minaj fans who just follow me after she replies or retweets me, but it’s still cool to know that they care enough about what I have to say to follow me.
I’ve also heard that you met Nicki Minaj a few times and are a huge fan? Please tell us about these experiences! Yes, I am a huge fan. I just love how unapologetically crazy she is and I love dancing/rapping to her music. I’ve met her twice. The first time it was a meet/greet contest that my sister and I won via a radio station. The second time I met her, I was at her concert with my cousin (who is also obsessed) and she handed the mic to me during one of her songs and had me rap. She was super impressed and after I was done, her security came and told me that she wanted to meet me backstage. I was able to hug her, take a picture, and tell her how much I appreciated her music. She remembered me from the previous time I met her and called me her “real life Ken doll”, whatever that means. She currently follows me on Twitter and has replied and retweeted me several times. It was one of the best days of my life.
That’s so cool! What song did you rap for her and where was the concert?! I rapped her song “Whip It” and the concert was in DC!
Can you tell me a little bit about your awesome internship over the sumer? Sure! This past summer I interned at Warner Music Group in New York City. They’re one of the music industry’s 3 major industry organizations and they own several record labels. Some of their artists include Jason Mraz, Bruno Mars, Cody Simpson, Janelle Monae, Wiz Khalifa and many others. I worked with the person in charge of artist development – So we would be in charge of promoting artists albums, concerts, and other merchandise. It was a really cool combination of the Marketing/PR business aspect of the music industry as well as the physical music itself.
Do you see yourself in the music industry one day?
Yes! Beginning at age 8 or 9, I wanted to be a pop star so badly. I watched N’Sync, The Backstreet Boys, and Destiny’s Child and I would always tell myself that I could sing and dance like them. But as I’ve gotten older, and with this most recent internship, I’ve realized that I really enjoy the combined aspects of business and music that working at a record label provides. I love performing, but I view working at Warner (or another major record label) as a more realistic and business oriented career path. The nice thing about the Music Business is that it is not something that requires a specific college major. Gaining a successful career in the industry is highly based on networking and interning, as well as getting a strong undergraduate education in any field. After graduating Conn, I want to work in New York—hopefully at Warner— and possibly go to grad school one day and get my masters in music business from NYU because they have a phenomenal program.