How Kim Kardashian Tapped Teen Music Duo Jake & Shelby to Celebrate Khloé’s Birthday (Exclusive)

Kim Kardashian surprised her sister Khloé with a birthday gift from their favorite up-and-coming musical artists.

Music duo Jake & Shelby sang Patti LaBelle’s “If Only You Knew” on Tuesday in a special tribute for Khloé that they coordinated with Kim.

The SKIMS founder reposted the video on her Instagram story, writing “How cute are @jakeandshelbyofficial? Khloé and I are such big fans and I asked if they can sing one of [Khloe’s] favorite songs for a surprise for her birthday!”

“Thank you Jake and Shelby for making Khloe’s bday extra special,” she continued. “We love you.”

Khloé also commented on the pair’s video, writing, “Oh my gosh I still can’t get over this!!!! Wow!!! You both are so beyond perfect! Thank you so so so much ????????????.”

The duo is made up of teenagers Jake Lawson, 19, and Shelby Hiam, 17, who met four years ago when they were taking classes and making music at Cedarstone School of Music in Nashville.

“It was definitely so surreal,” Hiam said of the pair’s interaction with Kim. “It was just so nice how sweet she was, too.”

“It was really cool to be able to talk to her because we were never expecting her to follow us or comment or anything like that,” Hiam continued. “It was really amazing that we even got the chance to talk with her and become friends with her to begin with.”

Lawson and Hiam had their first brush with the Kardashian clan in December, when Khloé commented on a cover the duo shared singing a Christmas tune. Lawson said Khloé must have shared the video with her sister, because Kim followed their Instagram account shortly after.

The musicians first exchanged messages with Kim over Instagram for months, and Lawson said they suggested doing a specific cover song for her. The reality star decided to take the duo up on the offer to surprise Khloé with a song she loves.

“We were just so excited to give a gift to Khloé for her birthday,” Lawson said.

The duo did not anticipate Kim reposting the video, and since she shared it, they have gained 23,000 Instagram followers overnight.
“It’s been insane,” Lawson said. “It was like 1 a.m. for us and I saw a DM and Kim was like ‘Can’t wait for tomorrow, I’m gonna post it on my story too,’ and I was just like ‘What? That’s so awesome.’”

Lawson and Hiam are building off of this momentum by spending time in the studio and working on their first EP, called “Just Us,” which they hope captures the simple and intimate nature of the videos that caught the Kardashians’ eyes.

“We are really excited to have new music come out and to be able to share that with people,” Hiam said.