金布拉

Kimbra Lee Johnson (born 27 March 1990), known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Known for mixing pop with R&B, jazz and rock musical elements, her accolades include four ARIA Music Awards, two Grammy Awards and seven New Zealand Music Awards.

Kimbra's debut album, Vows, was released in 2011. Singles from the album include "Settle Down", "Cameo Lover" (which won an Australian Recording Industry Association Award), "Good Intent" and "Two Way Street". A reworked version of the album was released in Europe and the United States in 2012. It featured several new songs, including "Come into My Head", "Warrior" (on which Kimbra was joined by musicians Mark Foster from Foster the People and DJ A-Trak), and a cover of Nina Simone's "Plain Gold Ring". Vows reached the top 5 in New Zealand and Australia. In May 2012, the album was released in North America; debuting at number 14 on the Billboard 200, it is her highest-charting album.

A portrait of Kimbra by Vincent Fantauzzo was a finalist for the 2012 Archibald Prize. The portrait was painted in conjunction with the making of a video featuring her song "The Build Up". Kimbra was featured on the 2011 Diamond single "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye; the single became her first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and earned them two awards at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, including for Record of the Year, making her the third New Zealand singer to win a Grammy Award. Her second studio album, The Golden Echo, was released in 2014 to positive critical reception, and her third album, Primal Heart, was released in 2018. Her fourth album, A Reckoning, was released on 27 January 2023. She recorded a fifth studio album with several other collaborators; titled Idols & Vices (Vol. 1), the album was released in September 2024.

Early life

Kimbra Lee Johnson was born on 27 March 1990 born and raised in Hamilton, New Zealand. Her father, Ken Johnson, was the head doctor at the University of Waikato's student health centre, and her mother, Chris, was an orthopaedic nurse. At the age of 10, Kimbra began writing songs. When she was 12, her father bought her a guitar and after a few years of lessons, she was on stage, performing with her guitar tutors. Kimbra attended Hillcrest High School, competing in the national schools' musical competition Rockquest for three years running, where she was awarded second place in 2004 at the age of 14. An early recording of hers from 2004, "It Takes Time" was featured by Play It Strange, a New Zealand organisation showcasing young singers and songwriters. Kimbra made her first music video, "Smile", for the children's TV show What Now. Kimbra was a member of the Hillcrest High jazz choir, Scat.

Career

Early public performances by Kimbra included singing at the Waikato Times Gold Cup race meeting in 2000 as a 10-year-old and singing the New Zealand national anthem before 27,000 people at the 2002 NPC rugby union final. In 2007, after winning the Juice TV award for Best Breakthrough music video for her second single "Simply on My Lips", she came to the attention of ex-Independiente Records boss Mark Richardson (Jamiroquai, Paula Abdul) and his newly formed management company and independent label Forum 5 in Melbourne, Victoria. She signed with Richardson and in 2008 she moved to Melbourne.

2010–2013: Vows and awards success

In June 2010, Kimbra's first single on Forum 5, "Settle Down", was released. She had started writing the track four years earlier – it was finished with François Tétaz. The music video was directed by Guy Franklin. Perez Hilton featured the track on his website citing "f you like Nina Simone, Florence & the Machine and/or Björk, then we think you will enjoy Kimbra – her music reminds us of all those fierce ladies!" On 10 December, the Australian 'indietronica' group Miami Horror released their single, "I Look to You" featuring Kimbra's vocals. Kimbra also stars in its music video, which features wide-angle and kaleidoscope shots of her in face paint and dresses walking through golden fields.