KT Tunstall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
KT Tunstall
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Tunstall performing in October 2023
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kate Victoria Tunstall |
| Born | 23 June 1975 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Origin | St Andrews, Fife, Scotland |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
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Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer and songwriter. She is also a talented musician. KT Tunstall first became famous in 2004. This happened after she performed her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" live on the TV show Later... with Jools Holland. She has also appeared in two episodes of the comedy show This is Jinsy. By 2025, it was estimated that Tunstall had sold seven million records.
KT Tunstall has won many awards. These include a Q Award, a European Border Breakers Award, and two Ivor Novello Awards. She also won a UK Music Video Award and two BRIT Awards. These BRIT Awards were for Best British Female Artist and Best British Breakthrough. She has also been nominated for a Grammy Award, a Mercury Music Prize, and other major music awards.
Her first album, Eye to the Telescope, was released in 2004. The album's name was inspired by her childhood. She spent time in her father's physics lab at University of St Andrews. This album sold over five million copies worldwide. It became one of the best-selling albums of the 2000s in the UK. Her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" won a Q Magazine Award in 2005. Another song, "Suddenly I See", won an Ivor Novello Award in 2006. "Suddenly I See" became very popular. It was even used as a campaign song for Hillary Clinton in 2008.
KT Tunstall's second album, Drastic Fantastic, came out in 2007. It included songs she wrote before her first album. Singles from this album included "Hold On" and "Saving My Face". Her third album, Tiger Suit, was released in 2010. In 2013, she released "Feel It All". This was the first song from her fourth album, Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon.
From 2016 to 2022, KT Tunstall released three albums. These albums were part of a special trilogy. They were Kin (2016), Wax (2018), and Nut (2022). Popular songs from this time include "Maybe It's a Good Thing". In 2023, she worked with American singer Suzi Quatro. They released a joint album called Face to Face.
Contents
Early Life and Education
KT Tunstall was born on June 23, 1975. Her biological mother was from Hong Kong and her biological father was from Northern Ireland. When she was 18 days old, she was adopted by a family in St Andrews, Scotland.
Her adoptive father, David Tunstall, taught physics at the University of St Andrews. Her adoptive mother, Rosemarie Tunstall, was a primary school teacher. They had already adopted an older son, Joe. Later, they had another son named Dan. KT Tunstall remembers living in California when she was young. Her father was working at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1979.
KT Tunstall loved music from a young age. Her adoptive parents supported her interest. She asked for a piano when she was four years old. She grew up in St Andrews, Scotland. She went to Lawhead Primary and then Madras College. She also attended the High School of Dundee. For her last year of high school, she studied in the United States. She went to Kent School, a boarding school in Kent, Connecticut. She also spent time playing music on the streets in Burlington, Vermont. KT Tunstall later studied at Royal Holloway, University of London. She earned a degree in Drama & Music in 1996. In 2011, she received an honorary doctorate. This was for her work on environmental issues as a musician.
Music Career Highlights
Starting Out in Music (2000–2004)
In her twenties, KT Tunstall played in different indie music bands. She focused on writing songs and performing. She lived with Gordon Anderson from the Beta Band. She also toured with the band Oi Va Voi.
A British record company, Relentless Records, offered her a deal. Tunstall had first considered signing with a bigger US company. But when that didn't work out, she chose Relentless. The co-founder of Relentless, Shabs Jobanputra, saw her talent. He felt she wasn't quite ready at first. So, they worked together to help her develop her music.
First Album Success (2004–2007)
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KT Tunstall's first album, Eye to the Telescope, came out in late 2004. It first entered the UK Albums Chart at number 73. Her big moment came when she performed "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland. She had only 24 hours to get ready for the show. She performed by herself, using a guitar, a tambourine, and a loop pedal. This made her sound like a one-person band.
After this TV appearance, Eye to the Telescope was re-released. It quickly rose to No. 3 on the British charts. It sold so well that it was certified 5 times platinum. The album was also nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. In the US, "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Another song, "Suddenly I See", was used in the movie The Devil Wears Prada (2006). It was also featured in the TV show Ugly Betty.
In May 2006, Tunstall released an acoustic album. It was called KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza. It was first sold only through her website. Later, it was released in stores worldwide. KT Tunstall became more known in North America. This happened when American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee sang "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree". The song's popularity grew a lot after that performance.
New Albums and Collaborations (2007–2012)
KT Tunstall's second album, Drastic Fantastic, was released in September 2007. It quickly reached No. 1 on the Scottish Album Charts. It also hit No. 3 on the British Charts and No. 9 in the American Charts. The first single from the album was "Hold On". It was successful in the UK and other European countries. Other singles from the album included "Saving My Face" and "If Only".
Drastic Fantastic became one of her highest-charting albums. KT Tunstall said the album cover was inspired by rock star Suzi Quatro. In 2007, she released a special Christmas EP. It was called Sounds of the Season: The KT Tunstall Holiday Collection.
In 2008, Tunstall recorded a song for the album Songs for Survival. This album supported Survival International, an organization for indigenous rights. She also sang backing vocals on two songs for Suzanne Vega's album Beauty & Crime (2007).
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In late 2008, Tunstall joined Neil Finn's 7 Worlds Collide group. They recorded a charity album for Oxfam in New Zealand. The album, The Sun Came Out, was released in August 2009.
In 2010, KT Tunstall recorded her third album, Tiger Suit, in Berlin. The album was released in September 2010 in the UK. Tunstall said the album's title came from a dream she had. In the dream, she wore a tiger suit. She also said she experimented with a new sound called "Nature techno" for the album. This sound mixed natural instruments with electronic and dance music. The first singles from the album were "Fade Like a Shadow" and "(Still a) Weirdo".
New Directions and Soundtracks (2013–2014)
On March 20, 2013, KT Tunstall announced her fourth album. It was called Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon. Many critics consider it her most thoughtful album. The album's title came from two sets of songs she recorded. The first set, Invisible Empire, was more reflective. The second set, Crescent Moon, had more dreamy songs. These songs were inspired by personal changes in her life.
Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon was released in the UK on June 10, 2013. The first single, "Feel It All", was released on the same day. The album did well in the UK and parts of Europe.
After this album, Tunstall moved to Los Angeles. She started a new career writing music for movies. She studied at the Skywalker Ranch. She wrote and performed songs for films like Winter's Tale. She also wrote "We Could Be Kings" with A. R. Rahman for the Disney movie Million Dollar Arm. She recorded other songs for films like Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast and About Ray.
Album Trilogy (2015–2022)
From August to September 2015, KT Tunstall went on a small US tour. She played songs from her albums and EPs. In June 2016, she released the Golden State EP. This EP included the song "Evil Eye".
Her fifth album, Kin, was released on September 9, 2016. It was recorded in Los Angeles. Four singles came from this album, including "Maybe It's a Good Thing". Tunstall also helped write songs for the 2016 comedy movie Bad Moms.
In 2017, Tunstall announced a special project. She would release a trilogy of albums. Each album would explore a different theme: soul, body, and mind. Kin was the first, focusing on the soul. She released the second album, Wax, in October 2018. This album focused on the body. In 2018, Tunstall also contributed songs to the Pete the Cat children's album.
In March 2020, Tunstall shared that she would record the third album of the trilogy. This album would focus on the mind. In 2021, she had to cancel some tours. This was due to hearing problems. She had experienced sudden hearing loss in her left ear in 2018. In July 2021, she started having issues with her right ear too. She decided to change her tour schedule to allow more rest.
In December 2021, Tunstall performed at the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square, New York. Since March 2022, she has narrated commercials for the car company Skoda. KT Tunstall's seventh album, Nut, was released on September 9, 2022. This was the final album in her Soul, Body, and Mind trilogy. The first song from the album, "Canyons", came out in June 2022.
Recent Projects (2023–Present)
In August 2023, KT Tunstall released an album of duets. It was with Suzi Quatro and called Face to Face. They became friends after finding out they were fans of each other's music. In November 2023, it was announced that KT Tunstall was working on a new musical. It is based on the 1995 film Clueless. The musical premiered in the UK in February 2024. It features original music by Tunstall. The musical is set to open in London's West End in February 2025.
Artistry and Performances
KT Tunstall has a deep, rich singing voice. She is well-known for her live shows. She often uses a special loop pedal called "Wee Bastard" in her solo performances. This pedal allows her to record and play back sounds instantly. She also performs with a full band.
After her first TV appearance on Later... with Jools Holland, Tunstall performed on many American talk shows. She has played at large concerts and festivals. These include the Hogmanay Edinburgh Concert in 2005. She has also performed at the Glastonbury Festival many times. Other major events include the American leg of Live Earth in 2007. She also performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 2007.
Personal Life
Family Connections
KT Tunstall found her biological mother, Carol Ann, in the late 1990s. She learned that Carol was married and had three more children. Tunstall has spoken out against the British National Party (BNP). She publicly distanced herself from her biological mother's husband in 2010. This was because he ran as a BNP candidate in an election.
In 2019, she appeared on the TV show Long Lost Family. She learned that her biological father, John Corrigan, had passed away in 2002. However, she was able to connect with two half-sisters, Siobhan and Lesley-Anne.
KT Tunstall's first name is Kate. But she uses her initials KT (pronounced "Katie"). She said that "Kate" made her think of someone baking bread. She preferred "KT" to sound more like a rock star. She also mentioned that "KT" was inspired by the K–T impact. This was a geological event that led to the extinction of dinosaurs.
Her adoptive father was a physics lecturer. The title of her first album, Eye to the Telescope, refers to her experiences in his science lab.
Health Journey
In April 2007, KT Tunstall had surgery. This was to fix a kidney problem from a childhood infection.
In 2008, she started having hearing problems in her left ear. This was a concern for her, as one of her brothers was deaf from birth. By 2018, she had lost hearing in her left ear and had balance issues. In July 2021, she announced that she was experiencing similar problems in her right ear. Because of this, she decided to change her tour schedule. She now takes longer breaks between performances to rest.
Discography
- Eye to the Telescope (2004)
- Drastic Fantastic (2007)
- Tiger Suit (2010)
- Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon (2013)
- Kin (2016)
- Wax (2018)
- Nut (2022)
- Face to Face (2023, with Suzi Quatro)
Awards and Nominations
See also
In Spanish: KT Tunstall para niños
