Zee Avi
Encyclopedia
Zee Avi is a Malaysian singer-songwriter
, guitar
ist, and ukulele
player. She was born in Miri
, Sarawak
, Malaysia. She moved to Kuala Lumpur
when she was 12. She studied fashion design at American InterContinental University
in London
.
In September 2007 Avi posted a video of her first song on YouTube
for one of her friends who had missed her first performance in Kuala Lumpur. The friend convinced Avi to leave the video online even after he had seen it, and soon she received positive feedback. This inspired her to put more videos on YouTube. After being featured on the main page of YouTube, she was discovered by Patrick Keeler
of The Raconteurs
, who passed the link to Ian Montone, the manager of The White Stripes
, The Shins
, The Raconteurs, and others. Montone passed her music on to Emmett Malloy
, who signed her to Brushfire Records
, a record company which is partly owned by Jack Johnson
. Her song "No Christmas For Me" is featured on Brushfire Records's 2008 Christmas album This Warm December
: A Brushfire Holiday. Her single "Bitter Heart" was first to become available on the US iTunes store, and her full self-titled debut album was released on May 19, 2009, co-produced by Brushfire Records and Ian Montone's Monotone Records. On the day of her album's release, YouTube featured her on the front page in Spotlight: Music Tuesday. From June–August 2009, she toured the United States with Pete Yorn
. The final concert on her first U.S. tour was at the Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood, California on August 27, 2009.
Avi's song "Monte" was featured in the second season finale of Private Practice.
Avi has recently released her debut EP, One More Time With Colors, on July 20. The four song EP includes the new never released before song “I Wish I Never” as well as three remixes of tracks from her debut album, Zee Avi.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist, and ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
player. She was born in Miri
Miri
Miri is a city in northern Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It is the second largest city in Sarawak, with a population of about 300,000, and the government administrative centre of Miri District in Miri Division....
, Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, Malaysia. She moved to Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
when she was 12. She studied fashion design at American InterContinental University
American InterContinental University
American InterContinental University, commonly called AIU, is an international for-profit university with open admissions owned by Career Education Corporation ....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
In September 2007 Avi posted a video of her first song on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
for one of her friends who had missed her first performance in Kuala Lumpur. The friend convinced Avi to leave the video online even after he had seen it, and soon she received positive feedback. This inspired her to put more videos on YouTube. After being featured on the main page of YouTube, she was discovered by Patrick Keeler
Patrick Keeler
Patrick Keeler is an American rock music drummer from Cincinnati, who best known for playing in The Greenhornes and The Raconteurs. He plays with both traditional and matched grips.-Recording career:...
of The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The...
, who passed the link to Ian Montone, the manager of The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
, The Shins
The Shins
The Shins are an American indie rock band comprising singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Mercer, guitarist/bassist Dave Hernandez, Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats, drummer Joe Plummer and bassist Ron Lewis. Their sound draws on several musical genres, including pop, alternative rock, indie rock,...
, The Raconteurs, and others. Montone passed her music on to Emmett Malloy
The Malloys
The Malloys is the working name of music video and film directors and brothers Emmett Malloy and Brendan Malloy. They are signed to HSI Productions.- Videography :*"Holiday" by Vampire Weekend...
, who signed her to Brushfire Records
Brushfire Records
Brushfire Records is a Haleiwa, Hawaii based record label owned by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. The label, formerly known as The Moonshine Conspiracy Records, was originally made to release soundtracks for Woodshed Films, a surfing movie production owned by Jack Johnson, Emmett Malloy, and...
, a record company which is partly owned by Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (musician)
Jack Johnson was born May 18, 1975 is an American folk rock singer-songwriter, surfer and musician known for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. He has since released four more albums, a...
. Her song "No Christmas For Me" is featured on Brushfire Records's 2008 Christmas album This Warm December
This warm december
This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday, Vol. 1 is a compilation album of Christmas songs, released November 11, 2008 by Brushfire Records. The CD contains twelve songs produced by various artists of the Brushfire Records company, including Jack Johnson, G. Love, Matt Costa and Mason Jennings...
: A Brushfire Holiday. Her single "Bitter Heart" was first to become available on the US iTunes store, and her full self-titled debut album was released on May 19, 2009, co-produced by Brushfire Records and Ian Montone's Monotone Records. On the day of her album's release, YouTube featured her on the front page in Spotlight: Music Tuesday. From June–August 2009, she toured the United States with Pete Yorn
Pete Yorn
Peter Joseph Yorn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who first gained international recognition after his debut record, Musicforthemorningafter, was released to critical acclaim in 2001.-Early history:Yorn's father is a dentist and his mother is a former concert pianist who worked as a...
. The final concert on her first U.S. tour was at the Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood, California on August 27, 2009.
Avi's song "Monte" was featured in the second season finale of Private Practice.
Avi has recently released her debut EP, One More Time With Colors, on July 20. The four song EP includes the new never released before song “I Wish I Never” as well as three remixes of tracks from her debut album, Zee Avi.
Discography
- Zee AviZee Avi (album)Zee Avi is the self-titled debut album from singer Zee Avi. The album is most notable for Avi's single "Bitter Heart"-Chart history:Zee Avi went to #130 on Billboard's US Billboard Hot 200 Chart and #2 on Billboard's US Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart, and sold 6,000 copies in the United States in...
(2009) Her debut album hit #130 US Billboard Hot 200 Chart and #2 US Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart, and sold 6,000 copies in the United States in its first 2 weeks of release(as of June 9, 2009) according to Nielsen SoundScan. To date, the album has sold over 300 000 units and has already reached Gold status in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. - Her first single "Bitter Heart" spent 3 weeks on Japan's Top 100 Singles chart. It entered the chart at #82 and peaked at #63, where it stayed for 2 weeks. It was also featured on the second season of the 2010 NBC series ParenthoodParenthood (2010 TV series)Parenthood is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Katims and produced by Imagine Television and Universal Media Studios. The first season premiered on March 2, 2010 on NBC...
. - A new single "The Book Of Morris Johnson" (Monotone/Brushfire/Universal Republic Records) was released on iTunes on 28 June 2011.
- Her second album, "ghostbird" (Monotone/Brushfire/Universal Republic Records) was released on 23 August 2011. The album peaked at #129 on Billboard's Hot 200 Albums chart, #1 on Heatseekers Albums chart, #20 on Alternative Albums chart and #32 on Rock Albums chart.
Music videos
- "Bitter Heart" Director: Emmett MalloyThe MalloysThe Malloys is the working name of music video and film directors and brothers Emmett Malloy and Brendan Malloy. They are signed to HSI Productions.- Videography :*"Holiday" by Vampire Weekend...
| Producer: Mike Sarkissian | Director of Photography: Giles Dunning | Editor: Brenden Mendez - "Slow HandsSlow Hands"Slow Hands" is a song by New York City-based post-punk revival band Interpol and is featured on the band's second album, Antics. The song was written by Carlos Dengler, Daniel Kessler, Paul Banks, and Sam Fogarino....
" (live, InterpolInterpol (band)Interpol is an American indie rock and post-punk revival band from New York City. Formed in 1997, the band's original line-up consisted of Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Greg Drudy . Drudy left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino...
cover) Director: Tim Wheeler | Producer: Josh Nicotra | Editor: Brenden Mendez - The song "Just You and Me" was featured in a short promotional film for Oliver PeoplesOliver PeoplesOliver Peoples is an eyewear manufacturer of glasses and sunglasses, established in 1986 by Larry and Dennis Leight. The company was founded in West Hollywood, CA and first appeared on the cover of German Vogue in 1987. It began selling vintage frames from a boutique and now includes a number of...
' Spring 2010 campaign entitled "Les enfants s'ennuient le dimanche (The Children Are Bored on Sundays)." The film was directed by acclaimed photographer Autumn de WildeAutumn de WildeAutumn de Wilde is an American photographer best known for her portraiture and commercial work photography of musicians.-Early life:...
, and starred actor Elijah WoodElijah WoodElijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's...
and singer Shirley MansonShirley MansonShirley Anne Manson is a Scottish recording artist and actress, best known internationally as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Garbage. For much of her international career Manson commuted between her home city of Edinburgh to the United States to record with Garbage but now lives and...
. - On July 27, 2011 the song "The Book of Morris Johnson" premiered on YouTube.
Awards
- Youth Icon (International) Award, presented by the Sarawak State Government in conjunction with Hari Perhimpunan Belia Negara 2011 Peringkat Negeri Sarawak (National Youth Assembly Day 2011 Sarawak State Level). She expresses her gratitude in a video posted by herself in YouTube