Kimbra
Encyclopedia
Kimbra Johnson known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer/songwriter from Hamilton, New Zealand
. She is currently based in Melbourne
, Australia
. Kimbra's debut album Vows was released on 29 August 2011 in New Zealand, and 2 September 2011 in Australia on Warner Bros. Records Inc.
, New Zealand
and remained there for the majority of her childhood. She attended Hillcrest High School
, rising to prominence as a musician after competing in the national schools' competition Rockquest
for three years running, where she was awarded second place in 2004 at age 14.
Kimbra also had a song featured on the video game Sims3 Pets.
Her upbringing was not particularly influenced by music, but at the age of 10 Kimbra began writing songs. Johnson's father Ken was the head doctor at the University of Waikato
's student health centre and her mother was a nurse. Ken bought Kimbra a guitar when she was 12 years old, and "after a few years of lessons, she was on stage, performing with her guitar tutor (she was never taught to sing)".
Kimbra made her first music video on the New Zealand children's TV show What Now
. The video was entitled "Smile".
After winning the Juice TV
award for best breakthrough music video for her second single "Simply on My Lips" in 2007, Kimbra, then aged seventeen, came to the attention of ex-Independiente Records boss Mark Richardson and his newly-formed management company/independent label Forum 5 in Melbourne, whom she signed with and relocated to Australia to begin work on her debut record.
featured the track on his website citing "If you like Nina Simone
, Florence & The Machine
and/or Bjork
, then we think you will enjoy Kimbra - her music reminds us of all those fierce ladies!"
On 7 June 2011 Kimbra signed to Warner Bros. Records
New Zealand for distribution in New Zealand and Australia, as well as a worldwide deal for all other territories with Warner Bros. Records in the US.
Kimbra's debut album Vows was released on 29 August in New Zealand and 2 September in Australia. In its first week of release the album charted at #3 in New Zealand and #5 in Australia. In its second week of release the album rose to a peak of #4 on the ARIA Charts.
Kimbra and the Australian/Belgian artist Gotye
teamed up for the single "Somebody That I Used to Know
". The single was a commercial success charting nationally and internationally. The song peaked at #1 in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium and the Netherlands. The single has currently been certified 6x Platinum (420,000+ units sold) in Australia.
The success of the collaboration resulted in Kimbra's singles Settle Down, Cameo Lover and Good Intent to chart within the Australian Top 100 Singles Chart.
She has won the New Zealand Critics' Choice awards 2011. She also has won for Best Female Artist And Best Song "Somebody That I Used to Know
" at the 2011 ARIA awards.
, Katy Perry
, Amy Winehouse
and Björk
. Her songs are heavily thematic and laced with "quirky" jazz chords. Kimbra's music pertains beyond the "four chord cliché but still strong hooks and catchy melodies that are sometimes unpredictable but satisfying".
As a featured artist:
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
. She is currently based in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Kimbra's debut album Vows was released on 29 August 2011 in New Zealand, and 2 September 2011 in Australia on Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
Early years
Kimbra Johnson was born in HamiltonHamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and remained there for the majority of her childhood. She attended Hillcrest High School
Hillcrest High School (New Zealand)
Hillcrest High School is a coeducational state secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand, located in the east Hamilton suburb of Hillcrest.-General:...
, rising to prominence as a musician after competing in the national schools' competition Rockquest
Rockquest
Smokefreerockquest is an annual music competition for intermediate and high school bands throughout New Zealand.The first Rockquest was held in 1988, and was organised by Christchurch radio station C93FM as a local event...
for three years running, where she was awarded second place in 2004 at age 14.
Kimbra also had a song featured on the video game Sims3 Pets.
Her upbringing was not particularly influenced by music, but at the age of 10 Kimbra began writing songs. Johnson's father Ken was the head doctor at the University of Waikato
University of Waikato
The University of Waikato is located in Hamilton and Tauranga, New Zealand, and was established in 1964. It has strengths across a broad range of subject areas, particularly its degrees in Computer Science and in Management...
's student health centre and her mother was a nurse. Ken bought Kimbra a guitar when she was 12 years old, and "after a few years of lessons, she was on stage, performing with her guitar tutor (she was never taught to sing)".
Kimbra made her first music video on the New Zealand children's TV show What Now
What Now
What Now is a long running New Zealand children's television program that premiered in 1981. It is filmed before a live studio audience at Whitebait Productions in Christchurch....
. The video was entitled "Smile".
Career beginnings
Early public performances by Kimbra included singing at the Waikato Times Gold Cup race meeting in 2000 as a ten year-old, and the national anthem at age twelve before 27,000 people at the Auckland vs Waikato NPC rugby final.After winning the Juice TV
Juice TV
Juice TV is a 24 hour music television channel operating from the Auckland suburb of Parnell in New Zealand. It is the only music channel that is New Zealand based.-History:...
award for best breakthrough music video for her second single "Simply on My Lips" in 2007, Kimbra, then aged seventeen, came to the attention of ex-Independiente Records boss Mark Richardson and his newly-formed management company/independent label Forum 5 in Melbourne, whom she signed with and relocated to Australia to begin work on her debut record.
Vows (2010–present)
Kimbra's first single "Settle Down" was released in 2010 with the music video directed by Guy Franklin. Celebrity blogger Perez HiltonPerez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. , better known as Perez Hilton , is an American blogger and television personality. His blog, Perezhilton.com , is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities...
featured the track on his website citing "If you like Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
, Florence & The Machine
Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine is the recording name of English musician Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists who provide music for her voice. Florence and the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul...
and/or Bjork
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, then we think you will enjoy Kimbra - her music reminds us of all those fierce ladies!"
On 7 June 2011 Kimbra signed to Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
New Zealand for distribution in New Zealand and Australia, as well as a worldwide deal for all other territories with Warner Bros. Records in the US.
Kimbra's debut album Vows was released on 29 August in New Zealand and 2 September in Australia. In its first week of release the album charted at #3 in New Zealand and #5 in Australia. In its second week of release the album rose to a peak of #4 on the ARIA Charts.
Kimbra and the Australian/Belgian artist Gotye
Gotye
Wouter "Wally" De Backer , also known professionally by his stage name Gotye , is a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumental musician and singer-songwriter. He has released three studio albums independently and one remix album featuring remixes of tracks from his first two albums...
teamed up for the single "Somebody That I Used to Know
Somebody That I Used to Know
"Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song by Australian-Belgian singer and songwriter Gotye from his third studio album Making Mirrors, and features New Zealand singer Kimbra. The song was written by Gotye himself, lyrically about his experiences he had in broken relationships...
". The single was a commercial success charting nationally and internationally. The song peaked at #1 in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium and the Netherlands. The single has currently been certified 6x Platinum (420,000+ units sold) in Australia.
The success of the collaboration resulted in Kimbra's singles Settle Down, Cameo Lover and Good Intent to chart within the Australian Top 100 Singles Chart.
She has won the New Zealand Critics' Choice awards 2011. She also has won for Best Female Artist And Best Song "Somebody That I Used to Know
Somebody That I Used to Know
"Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song by Australian-Belgian singer and songwriter Gotye from his third studio album Making Mirrors, and features New Zealand singer Kimbra. The song was written by Gotye himself, lyrically about his experiences he had in broken relationships...
" at the 2011 ARIA awards.
Live Band
- Fagan Wilcox - Samples / Synth Bass / Vocals (2009-present)
- Timon Martin - Guitar / Vocals (2009-present)
- Stevie McQuinn - Drums (2010-present)
- Ben Davey - Keyboards / Vocals (2010-present)
- Dave Marley - Bass (2011-present)
Musical style and performance
Kimbra's musical style harbours "smoky soul, flights of dazzling invention and intricate layers of deeply felt emotion". Comparisons have been drawn with Nina SimoneNina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
, Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
, Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
and Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
. Her songs are heavily thematic and laced with "quirky" jazz chords. Kimbra's music pertains beyond the "four chord cliché but still strong hooks and catchy melodies that are sometimes unpredictable but satisfying".
Studio albums
| Album Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
NZ | Certifications | |||
| Vows |
|
4 | 3 | AUS: Gold | |
Singles
- "Deep for You" (2005, recorded at York St. Studios)
- "Simply on My Lips" (2007, recorded at The Labs Studios)
- "Settle Down" (2010, recorded at Sing Sing Studios Melbourne) – #37 NZ
- "Cameo Lover" (2011, recorded at Sing Sing Studios Melbourne)
- "Good Intent" (2011, recorded at Sing Sing Studios Melbourne) – #98 AU
As a featured artist:
- Miami HorrorMiami HorrorMiami Horror are an Australian electronic band from Melbourne, Victoria with a disco-house throwback style. Miami Horror can refer to its producer, Benjamin Plant, or its four-piece live incarnation.-Biography:...
's "I Look to You" (2010) - GotyeGotyeWouter "Wally" De Backer , also known professionally by his stage name Gotye , is a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumental musician and singer-songwriter. He has released three studio albums independently and one remix album featuring remixes of tracks from his first two albums...
's "Somebody That I Used to KnowSomebody That I Used to Know"Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song by Australian-Belgian singer and songwriter Gotye from his third studio album Making Mirrors, and features New Zealand singer Kimbra. The song was written by Gotye himself, lyrically about his experiences he had in broken relationships...
" (2011) – #1 NZ (2x Platinum), #1 AUS (6x Platinum)