Amy Lee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Amy Lee
Lee performing with Evanescence in June 2023
Born	Amy Lynn Lee (1981-12-13) December 13, 1981 (age 43) Riverside, California, U.S.
Occupation	Singer-songwriter musician
Spouse(s)	Josh Hartzler ​ (m. 2007)​
Children	1
Musical career
Origin	Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Genres	Alternative metal gothic metal alternative rock symphonic metal nu metal
Instruments	Vocals keyboards
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Wind-up BMG
Signature

Amy Lynn Lee (born December 13, 1981) is an American singer and songwriter. She is also a talented musician. Amy Lee is best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and keyboardist of the rock band Evanescence.

Amy Lee started writing music when she was 11 years old. She co-founded Evanescence at age 13. Her music is inspired by many different styles and film scores. Besides Evanescence, Lee has worked on other music projects. These include Nightmare Revisited and Muppets: The Green Album. She has also written music for several movies. Some of these films are War Story (2014) and Indigo Grey: The Passage (2015). She also sang "Speak to Me" for Voice from the Stone (2017).

Amy Lee has released an EP of cover songs called Recover, Vol. 1 (2016). She also released the soundtrack album Aftermath for War Story. In 2016, she released a children's album called Dream Too Much. She has worked with many other artists too. These include Korn, Seether, Bring Me the Horizon, and Lindsey Stirling. Amy Lee sings with a mezzo-soprano voice. This means her vocal range is in the middle.

Amy Lee has won many awards with Evanescence. She has also received individual honors. In 2008, she got the Songwriter Icon Award. In 2012, she was named Best Vocalist at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards. She also won Rock Goddess of the Year at the Loudwire Music Awards in 2012. Her work on Indigo Grey: The Passage won Best Film Score in 2015. In 2017, "Speak to Me" won Best Original Song in an Independent Film.

In 2012, VH1 listed Amy Lee as one of the top 100 greatest women in music. She is also the American chairperson for Out of the Shadows. This group helps raise awareness about epilepsy. She received an award for her work from United Cerebral Palsy.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Growing Up and Family

Amy Lee was born on December 13, 1981, in Riverside, California. Her father, John Lee, was a disc jockey and voice-over artist. Her mother is Sara Cargill. Amy is the oldest of five children. She has two living sisters.

When Amy was six, her younger sister passed away at age three. This sad event changed how Amy saw life. It made her think a lot about death. She wrote the songs "Hello" and "Like You" for her late sister. After her sister's death, Amy found comfort in creating art and music.

Discovering Music and Piano

Amy loved the piano from a young age. She wanted to play it at age six after hearing her mother. Classical music was her first big influence. It made her want to be a musician. She was inspired by Mozart when she was eight. Beethoven was another early inspiration. She also loved film scores by Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer. Amy studied classical piano for nine years. She loves the Lacrimosa part of Mozart's Requiem. She even used it in her song "Lacrymosa".

Amy started writing poetry about deep feelings at age 10. One of her first songs was an instrumental piece. It was called "Eternity of the Remorse" and she wrote it at age 11. Her first song with lyrics was "A Single Tear". She wrote it for a school project.

Moving and Finding Her Voice

Amy's family moved many times when she was young. They lived in Florida and Illinois before settling in Little Rock, Arkansas. When she moved to Little Rock, Amy felt a lot of "negativity". She attended Pulaski Academy. She felt like a loner there at first. She was bullied for dressing differently.

Writing became her comfort. Joining the school choir helped her gain confidence in her voice. She was in the alto section. Amy became president of her high school choir. She even wrote a choir piece called "Listen to the Rain". The choir performed it at graduation.

Amy first wanted to compose classical or film music. But her musical tastes grew "darker". As a teen, she listened to many styles. These included alternative music, grunge, hard rock, and electronica. She loved artists like Björk and Portishead. She also found similarities between classical music and heavy metal.

Amy spent her free time making music. By age 13, she wanted to form her own band. She dreamed of mixing cinematic, classical, alternative, and metal music. In 1994, she met guitarist Ben Moody at a youth camp. They both felt like outsiders. They started playing music together.

Career

1994–Present: Evanescence

In 1994, Amy Lee and Ben Moody started working on music together. They soon performed acoustic shows in Little Rock. They co-founded Evanescence. Amy wanted to combine different musical styles. She wanted to mix cinematic and classical sounds with hard rock and metal.

The duo recorded two EPs on their own. These were Evanescence EP (1998) and Sound Asleep EP (1999). Their songs were played on local radio. This helped them gain fans. After high school, Amy studied music theory in college. But she left to focus only on Evanescence. They made a demo CD, Origin (2000). They used it to show to record labels.

Evanescence signed with Wind Up Records in 2001. They moved to Los Angeles. There, they finished their first album, Fallen (2003). Some songs on the album were written when Amy and Ben were young teens.

In October 2003, Ben Moody left the band during a tour. He said it was due to "creative differences". Amy Lee said his leaving was a relief. She said there were many tensions in the band. She felt the situation was "unstable and unhappy".

Amy and Ben had different ideas for songwriting. Ben wanted the band to be more commercial and pop. Amy wanted to explore more musical styles. After Ben left, Amy felt more free to create. She said writing became "so much fun" without pressure.

In 2005, Ben Moody agreed they had different approaches. He said Amy was "much more creative". He admitted he was "a bit more commercial minded". He felt he was "way-too-controlling" at the time.

Amy Lee (age 21) at the Billboard Music Awards (2003).

Amy asked Terry Balsamo to join Evanescence as the new guitarist. He became her co-writing partner. They connected well musically. Amy wrote a song called "The Last Song I'm Wasting on You". She said it was a "personal, hard moment" where "beauty is born out of pain".

After touring for their live album Anywhere but Home (2004), Amy took a break. She spent 10 months writing music, painting, and going to therapy. She found comfort in therapy. It was a place where she could speak freely. During this time, she wrote songs like "Snow White Queen" and "Together Again".

Amy and Terry Balsamo wrote Evanescence's second album, The Open Door (2006). Amy said this was her "best process" for writing. She had "free reign" to do what she wanted. The Open Door was about Amy facing her issues. It came from a more hopeful place. After the tour, Amy took another break from the music industry.

After about 18 months, Amy started writing again. She also took harp lessons. In 2009, Evanescence started playing live shows again. Amy realized she missed it. She started to "fall back in love" with being in Evanescence.

Evanescence's third album, Evanescence, came out in 2011. Amy said the title showed it was "about the band". All band members worked together on it. The songs were about Amy's renewed love for the band. They also covered themes like nature, freedom, and relationships.

After touring for Evanescence, Amy took a long break. In 2014, Amy announced that Evanescence was free from their record label contract. She was now an independent artist. She said she was "free to do anything, Ev[anescence] included."

Amy Lee performing with Evanescence in 2015

After Amy's solo projects, Evanescence started touring again in 2015. They then worked on their fourth album, Synthesis, released in 2017. Synthesis has orchestral and electronic versions of old songs. It also includes two new songs. The band toured with a live orchestra for the first time for this album.

In April 2020, Amy announced Evanescence's fifth album, The Bitter Truth. She said the band's original idea was to mix dramatic, rock, classical, and film score sounds. This idea is still present today. Four songs from the album were released as singles during the COVID-19 pandemic. The album was released on March 26, 2021.

2000–Present: Solo Work

Early Solo Projects

Amy Lee has sung backup vocals for other artists. She sang on "Missing You" by Big Dismal in 2003. She also sang with The Damning Well. In 2004, she sang a duet with Shaun Morgan on "Broken" for Seether. This song was also in The Punisher movie soundtrack.

Lee in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2007

In 2004, Amy worked on music for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. However, the music was not used. The studio felt it was "too dark". Amy said she used part of her instrumental for her song "Good Enough".

In 2006, Amy became the American chairperson for Out of the Shadows. This group teaches people about epilepsy. Her younger brother, Robby, had this condition. Amy also appeared in Johnny Cash's music video for "God's Gonna Cut You Down". She chose to lay flowers on a grave in her scene.

In February 2007, Amy performed with Korn. They sang their song "Freak on a Leash" for MTV Unplugged: Korn. In November 2007, she made a cameo in a VH1 show. It was called Rock Band Cometh: The Rock Band Band Story.

Tribute Albums and New Directions

Lee performing during a concert in 2011

In June 2008, Amy Lee received the Songwriter Icon Award. This award honors great songwriters.

For Walt Disney Records' Nightmare Revisited (2008), Amy sang "Sally's Song". This album has new versions of songs from Nightmare Before Christmas. Amy performed "Sally's Song" live at the movie's re-release. She also sang it on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

In 2008, Amy said she was writing new songs for a possible solo album. She mentioned influences from folk and Celtic music. She wanted to show she was "more than a one trick pony." She said she was "at a point where I don't know what is next". She continued writing songs, even if she didn't know their purpose yet.

In 2011, Amy covered "Halfway Down the Stairs" for Muppets: The Green Album. In 2012, she covered "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" for a Johnny Cash tribute album.

Aftermath and Recover

On December 2, 2013, Amy Lee teamed up with composer Dave Eggar. They created music for the film War Story. Amy said the film was "dark" and had little talking. This made it a "beautiful, sad platform for music". She blended different sounds, mostly using keyboards. She also wrote "Push the Button" for the movie. This song was different for her because it had an electronic sound.

On August 6, Amy announced the soundtrack album would be called Aftermath. It was released on August 25. Amy worked on all ten songs. Eggar was on eight of them. This was her first full solo album without Evanescence.

Lee in 2015

In March 2015, Amy and Eggar worked on music for a short film. It was called Indigo Grey: The Passage. The film came out on September 14, 2015. It featured songs like "Between Worlds". Amy also composed "Speak to Me" for the 2017 film Voice from the Stone. She filmed its music video in Italy.

In July 2015, Amy said she was recording cover songs. She wanted to release them online. She released "It's A Fire" by Portishead in October 2015. Then came "With or Without You" by U2 in November. "Going to California" by Led Zeppelin followed in December. Finally, "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" by Chris Isaak was released. These songs are on her EP, Recover, Vol. 1, released in February 2016.

Amy confirmed in October 2015 that she was making music for people to hear. She said there were no plans for new Evanescence music yet. But she assured fans the band had not broken up. She later said "there is Evanescence in the future". In December 2015, Amy said she planned to finish songs from an Evanescence album. This album was rejected by her old record label in 2010. She was "devastated" by the rejection. But it made her "angry enough to write Evanescence's heaviest album".

Dream Too Much and Collaborations

Amy Lee performing in October 2017

On June 17, 2016, Amazon.com announced Amy Lee would release a "family" album. It was called Dream Too Much. It has "original music for kids and families". It was released on September 30, 2016. Amy worked on this album with her father and sisters.

On September 14, 2016, MTV News reported Amy worked on music for the film Blind. The film premiered on October 13, 2016. On February 10, 2017, Amy released an English cover of "L'amore esiste". She heard the song while working in Italy. In March 2017, "Speak to Me" became available. It is the end theme for Voice from the Stone. In 2018, Amy played piano on Veridia's song "I'll Never Be Ready". She said it helped her cope with her brother's passing.

In 2019, Amy worked with Lindsey Stirling. She was on Stirling's album Artemis and in the music video for "Love Goes On And On".

Amy also appeared on Body Count's song "When I'm Gone". This song was on their album Carnivore, released on March 6, 2020.

On July 31, 2020, Halestorm re-released their song "Break In". It featured Amy Lee's vocals. On September 19, 2020, Wagakki Band released "Sakura Rising" with Amy. On October 30, 2020, Amy was featured on the Bring Me the Horizon song "One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest As You March Towards Your Death".

Lee voiced a character in the 2023 film Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar.

Amy Lee's Artistry

How Amy Lee Writes Songs

Amy Lee is a singer-songwriter and a trained pianist. As Evanescence's main songwriter, she mixes different sounds and styles. She likes to write music alone. She prefers starting with a "clean slate" and letting inspiration guide her. She says an idea can come from anywhere.

Amy mostly writes using keyboards and music software. She has also engineered, programmed, mixed, and produced music. When making demos, she layers sounds. These include piano, electronic sounds, and drum loops. She also plays other instruments like the organ, harp, and guitar. She usually writes lyrics last. She works on the music first, then finds words that fit the mood.

Creating music helps Amy express herself. It helps her deal with difficult feelings. Her experiences with loss as a child influenced her music and lyrics. She said she spent a lot of time creating to express things she couldn't say. She wanted to "paint a picture of the inside". Later, personal struggles also shaped her writing. She uses dramatic sounds in Evanescence to channel her biggest emotions. She feels she can now use all emotions to make music, not just sad ones.

Amy often writes songs that mean several things. She says her feelings are "complicated, all the time". Her ideas come from her own feelings and reactions to life. Some lyrics are inspired by her "vivid" dreams. She also writes about courage and overcoming struggles. Over time, Amy became more open in her lyrics. Her songs for Evanescence cover many topics. These include loss, fears, solitude, relationships, and mental health. They also touch on nature, dreams, and identity.

Amy Lee's Voice

Amy Lee has a mezzo-soprano voice. This means her singing voice is in the middle range.

Musical Inspirations

Amy Lee has been inspired by many composers and artists. She likes Mozart, Danny Elfman, and Hans Zimmer. She also looks up to artists like Björk, Portishead, Korn, Nine Inch Nails, Tori Amos, and Radiohead. Other influences include Shirley Manson and Garbage, Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Metallica.

Style and Image

Lee performing in Miami, Florida, in 2007

Amy Lee has a unique fashion style. She often wears Victorian-style clothes. Sometimes she uses gothic make-up. She has been called a "gothic rock superstar" and a "style icon". Her image is seen as "independent and self-assured".

Amy designs many of her own clothes. These include outfits for music videos and album covers. She also designed the dress she wore to the 2004 Grammy Awards. She likes "asymmetrical things" and "a little bit of chaos" in her outfits. She wants her clothes to fit the music of the band. She used to wear corsets more often when she was less confident on stage. She said it made her feel "strapped in" like on a rollercoaster.

Amy also guides Evanescence's overall look. This includes their videos and album artwork.

Personal Life

Amy Lee married therapist Josh Hartzler in May 2007. Their son was born in July 2014.

Amy has said she is not formally religious. However, she considers herself a Christian. She has stated that Evanescence is not a Christian band. Their song lyrics do not have any religious ties.

Discography

• Aftermath (2014)
• Recover, Vol. 1 (2016)
• Dream Too Much (2016)

Filmography

• I Love the New Millennium (herself)
• VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs (herself)
• Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar (voice)

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Amy Lee para niños