REID ALL ABOUT IT!
ORIGINS
Reid Paul Haggis was born July 8th, 1992 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
His father’s ancestors originated from Greece, with the original family name of "Hatzakos” - which Reid would later shorten and adapt into his stage name “Reid Zakos” in 2018.
Born into a musical family, he was immersed in Jazz and Pop music from an early age.
His father Adrian is a Jazz Piano Player, and his mother Sally plays Trombone.
Reid’s younger sister Ella Jean is also a talented singer, songwriter, music producer and improv actor.
Creative talents were also passed down from even further back…
His great grandfather Harry Reid was a Vaudeville performer who later went on to become a radio personality and photographer.
Both Reid’s grandmothers are named Jean - one was a dancer and the other a jazz singer.
CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS
Reid was a deeply creative soul from an early age, beginning with drawing and painting with a strong visual eye and point of view.
Reid was also very theatrical and quickly possessed an innate stage presence, a love of performing and entertaining an audience.
He loved to take on different characters and also loved frequent costume changes and bold hair and makeup looks.
Reid’s parents nurtured and encouraged his talents and enrolled him in drama classes, dance classes, private singing lessons, piano lessons and more.
During his formative years he would often fantasize about becoming a popstar after witnessing the global takeover of the Spice Girls, among other boy bands like N’SYNC, the Backstreet Boys, and pop divas Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
In Kindergarten, when the teacher asked the class what everyone wanted to be when they grew up, Reid’s answer was already formed with an unapologetic, proud response of “Posh Spice!”.
Even at an early age, Reid always wanted to stand out from the crowd and be different.
DANCE
At the age of 11, Reid discovered his love for dance.
He studied for many years at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks in Calgary taking HipHop, West African, Jazz, Diva Style, Popping & Locking, Wacking & Voguing, Modern, and Ballet.
He attended internationally acclaimed choreographer Sean Cheesman’s Dance Camp on a full scholarship receiving an Outstanding Dancer Award.
In middle school he and his best friend Maddie Martin started their own dance club and choreographed and taught younger students.
This trend continued into high school, becoming the dance teacher’s assistant and choreographing and teaching 5 dance productions.
In 2015 he immersed himself in Decidedly Jazz Dancework’s Jazz Extension Training Program.
Around this time he also performed with the Snap Boys YYC, and became a back-up dancer and choreographer for many Canadian Drag Performers such as Kendall Gender (Canada’s Drag Race Finalist), Carly York Jones, Terri Stevens, Elektra Kute, and more.
ACTING
After various drama and musical theatre summer camps and school productions growing up, Reid was accepted to the Mount Royal University Performance Theatre Program in 2012.
In his first year he landed the leading role of Frank N’ Furter in The Rocky Horror Show directed by Mark Bellamy.
The production was the most successful show in the theatre program’s box office history, receiving rave reviews for his performance also landing on the cover of The Calgary Journal.
In 2014 he graduated with a Performance Theatre Diploma and has since moved on to do Film & TV acting.
SONGWRITING
Reid began writing his own lyrics at the age of 11.
He was mostly inspired by artists such as Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga.
Often bullied for his sexual orientation, bold sense of self, and unique perspective he channeled his hurt and anger into creative expression.
He wrote songs about self empowerment, love, heartbreak, toxic friendships, and manifestation.
In 2015 the music video on YouTube for his original song “Delirious Love” caught the attention of DJ Denise at 101.9 QueerFM Radio Vancouver.
In 2018, Reid relocated to Vancouver, BC to do an Artist Development Certificate at the Nimbus School of Recording & Media.
He released his first official single “Neon” in March 2018.
He has since co-written songs for Jayden Mckenzie, Khaled Rahime, Paul Michael, and other artists.
MUSIC
Reid found his voice young - loving to sing along to Disney soundtracks, The Sound of Music, the Spice Girls, and other musical soundtracks.
He first began private singing lessons with country singer Abbey Powell at the age of 12.
He began writing and producing his own material at the age of 13. Inspired by the dance pop of Gwen Stefani and Madonna.
In addition to singing, he briefly took piano, guitar, and flute lessons.
In 2008 Reid began a YouTube Channel “ReidWorld” posting covers, live performance videos, and music videos - getting to over 20K+ video views.
In 2010 he became more confident in his abilities as a topline writer - writing lyrics and melodies over various DJ’s and Producer’s tracks.
Most of his songs were EDM, pop, or jazz influenced.
REIDWORLD
In 2015 he briefly joined forces with his father Adrian in a Jazz Pop duo REIDWORLD performing Jazz Standards and piano/vocal covers of pop songs at various fundraisers and music venues in Calgary, Banff, and Canmore.
REID ZAKOS
In 2018 he adopted his new stage-name/musical persona “Reid Zakos” releasing his first official singles “Neon”, “Respect Me”, “Gladiator”, and “Villain” to digital music streaming platforms, since passing over 30K+ streams in various countries.
He has gone on to gain the support of 101.9 Queer FM Radio Vancouver, The Q Reviews, Jon Ali’s Queer Necessities Playlist, LGBTQ Music Chart UK, Culture Fix UK, iHeart Radio Pride, Virgin Radio Calgary, and more.
LEGENDS & MYTHS
In 2020 he released his debut album “Legends & Myths” exploring nudisco and retropop elements.
The album highlights include the acoustic Dante Hart collaboration of “Smoke”, “Blurry Now” with Jayden Mckenzie, the dramatic power ballad “Villain”, and the stadium-ready “Gladiator”.
BRIGHTER & OTHER COLLABORATIONS
Since 2020 Reid has released various new singles, remixes, and collaborations.
Currently based in Vancouver, Reid’s latest releases in 2021 & 2022 with RedPanda Productions, Paul Michael, and Jayden Mckenzie are more house, dance, and alt-pop influenced.
In November 2023, Reid released his 10-track sophomore album “Brighter”. The album has an overall more 2010s-era dance-pop feel. Highlights on the album include the infectious club-ready dance bangers “XtraXtra” and “Lights Out”, self-empowerment anthems “A World of Yes” and “Howl Like A Wolf”, while also following more introspective tracks, and the end of a friendship and relationships that dim your shine. Reid showcases more maturity to his lyrics and songwriting on vulnerable songs such as “Bubble” featuring Raene, and “Disco Ball”.
Reid is currently working on two new album projects. A duet album with his partner Jayden Mckenzie, and a joint project with RedPanda Productions.