Kimbra facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kimbra
Kimbra performing in 2023
Background information
Birth name	Kimbra Lee Johnson
Born	(1990-03-27) 27 March 1990 (age 35) Hamilton, New Zealand
Origin	Hamilton, New Zealand
Genres	Pop progressive pop R&B indie rock art pop
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Forum 5 Warner Inertia/PIAS Group
Associated acts	Bilal Gotye Janelle Monáe John Congleton Rich Costey The Dillinger Escape Plan JPEGMafia Cory Wong

Kimbra Lee Johnson (born on March 27, 1990), known simply as Kimbra, is a talented singer and songwriter from New Zealand. She is famous for mixing pop music with R&B, jazz, and rock sounds. Kimbra has won many important awards, including four ARIA Music Awards, two Grammy Awards, and seven New Zealand Music Awards.

Kimbra's first album, Vows, came out in 2011. Some popular songs from this album were "Settle Down" and "Cameo Lover". A new version of Vows was released in Europe and the United States in 2012. It included new songs like "Come into My Head" and "Warrior". Vows became a top 5 album in New Zealand and Australia. In the US, it reached number 14 on the Billboard 200 chart, which was her highest-charting album there.

In 2011, Kimbra was featured on the hit song "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye. This song became her first number-one hit in the US. It also won them two awards at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year. This made Kimbra the third singer from New Zealand to win a Grammy Award. Her second album, The Golden Echo, was released in 2014. Her third album, Primal Heart, came out in 2018, and her fourth, A Reckoning, in 2023. She also released a fifth album, Idols & Vices (Vol. 1), in September 2024.

Kimbra's Early Life

Kimbra Lee Johnson was born on March 27, 1990, and grew up in Hamilton, New Zealand. Her father was a doctor at the University of Waikato, and her mother was a nurse. Kimbra started writing songs when she was just 10 years old. When she was 12, her father bought her a guitar. After a few years of lessons, she was performing on stage with her guitar teachers.

Kimbra went to Hillcrest High School. She took part in the national schools' music competition Rockquest for three years. In 2004, at age 14, she won second place. An early song she recorded in 2004, "It Takes Time", was shown by Play It Strange, a New Zealand group that helps young singers and songwriters. Kimbra also made her first music video, "Smile", for a children's TV show called What Now.

Kimbra's Music Career

Kimbra started performing publicly at a young age. When she was 10, she sang at a horse race event. At 12, she sang the New Zealand national anthem for 27,000 people at a rugby game. In 2007, she won a Juice TV award for her music video "Simply on My Lips". This caught the attention of Mark Richardson, who managed famous artists. She signed with his company and moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 2008.

First Album and Awards

Kimbra in 2011

In June 2010, Kimbra released her first song with Forum 5, called "Settle Down". She had started writing this song four years earlier. The music video was directed by Guy Franklin. A famous blogger, Perez Hilton, shared the song on his website. He said that if people liked Nina Simone, Florence & the Machine, or Björk, they would enjoy Kimbra's music. In December, the Australian group Miami Horror released their song "I Look to You", which featured Kimbra's singing.

In early 2011, Kimbra's song "Cameo Lover" won the 2011 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition. She released "Cameo Lover" as her next single in March, and its music video came out in April. In July 2011, Kimbra sang on Gotye's song, "Somebody That I Used to Know". Gotye was told about Kimbra after another singer couldn't join the project.

On August 29, 2011, Kimbra's first album, Vows, was released in New Zealand and Australia. It quickly became popular, reaching number 3 in New Zealand and number 5 in Australia. The album's artwork, including body art and drawings, was created by Rhys Mitchell and Raphael Rizzo. Kimbra won the Critics' Choice Prize at the 2011 New Zealand Music Awards. She also won Best Female Artist and Best Song (for "Cameo Lover") at the ARIA Music Awards of 2011.

Kimbra performing in 2012

In January 2012, Kimbra's song "Good Intent" was played on the TV show Grey's Anatomy. This song also appeared in the video game The Sims 3: Pets, where Kimbra recorded it in the game's special language, Simlish. Kimbra also worked with Mark Foster from Foster the People and DJ A-Trak on the song "Warrior", which came out in April. On April 14, she performed "Somebody That I Used to Know" with Gotye on Saturday Night Live.

In November 2012, Kimbra won several awards at the Vodafone 2012 New Zealand Music Awards. These included International Achievement, Best Female Solo Artist, Best Pop Album, and Breakthrough Artist of the Year. She also won awards for "Somebody That I Used to Know" at the APRA Music Awards of 2012. She won Best Female Artist at the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 for the second time.

On February 10, 2013, Kimbra and Gotye won the Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance awards at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards for "Somebody That I Used to Know". This was a huge achievement! Kimbra also sang with R&B artist John Legend on his song "Made to Love".

New Albums: The Golden Echo and Primal Heart

After winning the Grammy Awards, Kimbra moved to Los Angeles to work on her second album, The Golden Echo. Many artists helped her with this album, including Daniel Johns, Thundercat, and John Legend. In May 2014, Kimbra released the first song from The Golden Echo called "90s Music". Critics liked the song, with Billboard calling it "captivating". The music video for "90s Music" came out in June 2014.

"Miracle" was released as the second song from the album in July 2014. This song was her first to appear on a Billboard chart, reaching number 37 on the Japan Hot 100. Many critics praised "Miracle" for its disco-like feel. The music video for "Miracle" was released in August 2014. The Golden Echo was released in August 2014 and received good reviews from critics.

Kimbra performing in 2015

In April 2015, Kimbra toured the US. She was also featured in a song by Bilal called "Holding It Back". In July, Kimbra released the video for her third song from The Golden Echo, called "Goldmine". In September 2016, Kimbra released a new song called "Sweet Relief".

In September 2017, Kimbra released the first song from her third album, Primal Heart, called "Everybody Knows". This song was produced with help from Nelly Furtado and John Congleton. "Top of the World" was released as the second song in November 2017. Primal Heart was released on April 20, 2018. Before the album came out, three more songs were released: "Human", "Version of Me", and "Like They Do on the TV". Later, new versions of "Version of Me" (with Dawn Richard) and "Top of the World" (with Snoop Dogg) were released.

Recent Projects: Film, TV, and New Music

Kimbra started acting in a movie called Daffodils, which came out in March 2019. She starred alongside New Zealand actors Rose McIver and George Mason. In March 2020, Kimbra created an online course about vocal creativity and music production. In April 2020, she was a mentor on the TV show Popstars in New Zealand.

Kimbra went on a secret tour in the United States in late 2021, where she played new songs from her upcoming fourth album. Her fourth album, A Reckoning, was released on January 27, 2023. She also released her first album with many different artists, called Idols & Vices, Vol. 1, in September 2024.

Kimbra's Live Band

When Kimbra performs live, she has a band that plays with her.

• Jacob Bergson – keyboards (since 2018), also the musical director (since 2021)
• Vancil Cooper – drums (since 2021)

Past Band Members

Many talented musicians have played in Kimbra's band over the years.

• Fagan Wilcox – samples, synth, guitar, vocals (2009–2014)
• Ben Davey – keyboards, vocals (2010–2014)
• Stan Bicknell – drums (2009–2010)
• Joe Cope (2009)
• Stevie McQuinn – drums (2010–2016)
• Frank Abraham – bass, keyboards (2014–2016)
• Taylor Graves – keyboards, vocals (2014–2016)
• Timon Martin – guitar, backing vocals (2009–2018), keyboards (2016–2018)
• Spencer Zahn – bass, keyboards (2016–2021)

Kimbra's Music Style

Muzic.net.nz says that Kimbra's music goes beyond simple melodies. It still has strong and catchy parts that are sometimes surprising but always sound good. In an interview, Kimbra said that her musical influences include Daniel Johns, Prince, Rufus Wainwright, Imogen Heap, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder. Her music style is very varied and unique.

Kimbra's Discography

• Vows (2011)
• The Golden Echo (2014)
• Primal Heart (2018)
• A Reckoning (2023)
• Idols & Vices (Vol. 1) (2024)

Kimbra in Film and Television

Kimbra has appeared in several TV shows and movies.

Television Shows

Movies

Kimbra's Tours

Kimbra on the A Reckoning tour, in 2023

Kimbra has gone on many tours to perform her music for fans around the world.

• Vows Tour (2011)
  • World Wide Tour – (with Gotye) (2012)
  • Torches Tour (with Foster the People, the Kooks, Tokyo Police Club, Mayer Hawthorne) (2012)
• Vows European Winter Tour (2012)
• Vows US Tour (2012)
• The Golden Electric Tour (with Janelle Monáe) (2014) – This tour was cancelled.
• The Golden Echo Tour (2014/2015)
• Primal Heart Tour (2017/2018)
• Primal Heart: Reimagined Tour (2018/2019)
• Album Preview Tour (2021)
• A Reckoning Tour (2023)
• Djesse Vol. 4 Tour (with Jacob Collier) (2024)

Awards and Nominations

Kimbra has won many awards for her music. Here are some of the most important ones:

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards celebrate songwriters.

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are Australia's main music awards.

Billboard Music Awards

These awards celebrate the most popular songs and artists on the Billboard charts.

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are among the most important music awards in the world.

New Zealand Music Awards

These awards celebrate the best music from New Zealand artists.

MTV Europe Music Awards

These awards celebrate popular music videos in Europe.

MTV Video Music Awards

These awards celebrate the best music videos.

Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition

This competition celebrates great songwriting and helps raise money for music therapy.

Other Awards

Images for kids

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  Kimbra performing in 2023

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  Kimbra in 2011

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  Kimbra performing in 2012

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  Kimbra performing in 2015

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  Kimbra on the A Reckoning tour, in 2023

See also

In Spanish: Kimbra para niños