The Interview —

Caroline Kraddick, Singer/Songwriter and CEO/Chief Happiness Officer of Kidd's Kids

My journey with music began when I was around six years old. I was terrible at math, and my teacher suggested my parents put me in a music class to help. I took up piano and started singing along when I would play, and the rest is history!

The most challenging part of my career is juggling being CEO/Chief Happiness Officer and still pursuing my music career. I’ve gotten in the groove of cross-promoting my music with the charity, so the two go hand and hand now.

The most rewarding moment of my career was performing at Jingle Ball in Dallas. I got to open for Shawn Mendes, and it was such an incredible and surreal experience to play an arena show. 

Kidd’s Kids is a nonprofit organization with a mission to bring hope and happiness to kids with life-threatening or life-altering conditions through an all-expense-paid trip to Disney World with their whole family. It is such a beautiful organization and I am blessed daily by the children we serve. 

I love performing my latest single, “Stronger.” It is so empowering—I feel strong every time I sing it, and I love seeing people connect to the lyrics when I perform it live. 

My everyday makeup is very light. I work from home quite a bit, so I usually just do a little Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter and fill in my brows, and I’m good to go. I love the Pat McGrath foundations when I want a little more coverage but still look dewy and glowy.

Well, we have recently voted #1 restaurant city in the country, so we are really big on eating and drinking here in Dallas. I would suggest a shopping trip to Forty Five Ten, followed by a delicious lunch at Mirador or walk across the street to the OG Neiman Marcus for lunch at the Zodiac Room. The Perot Museum is incredibly cool, so that is a must-see, followed by a walk in Klyde Warren Park. For dinner, I highly suggest an old staple, Javiers (order the cantinflas and thank me later) or Drakes! 

I would tell my 18-year-old self to stop making so many dang plans, because when you make plans, God laughs. I would love also tell her to enjoy life a little more and stop putting so much pressure on herself!

I would either be an investigative journalist (I’m obsessed with true crime) or a child life specialist at a hospital. I obviously love children and the work we do with Kidd’s Kids, and I am so appreciative of child life specialists and everything they do in the hospitals to keep our kiddos comfortable and loved.

I’ve got some fun things up my sleeve with some music therapy. I’m a huge advocate for it because I’ve seen first hand what it can do to lift the spirits of our kids. I’m excited to make some traction on that front in Dallas!