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
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 blending pop music with R&B, jazz, and rock sounds. Kimbra has won many awards, including four ARIA Music Awards, two Grammy Awards, and seven New Zealand Music Awards.

Kimbra's first album, Vows, came out in 2011. Popular songs from this album include "Settle Down" and "Cameo Lover". "Cameo Lover" even won an Australian Recording Industry Association Award. Other songs from the album were "Good Intent" and "Two Way Street". 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 was very popular, reaching the top 5 in New Zealand and Australia. When it was released in North America, it reached number 14 on the Billboard 200 chart, which is 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 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also won them two awards at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year. This made Kimbra the third New Zealand singer to win a Grammy Award. Her second album, The Golden Echo, was released in 2014, and her third album, Primal Heart, came out in 2018. Her fourth album, A Reckoning, was released on January 27, 2023. Kimbra also released a fifth album called Idols & Vices (Vol. 1) in September 2024, which featured many other artists.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Kimbra Lee Johnson was born on March 27, 1990, in Hamilton, New Zealand. She grew up there with her parents. Her father, Ken Johnson, was a doctor at the University of Waikato, and her mother, Chris, was a nurse.

Kimbra started writing songs when she was just 10 years old. When she turned 12, her father bought her a guitar. After a few years of lessons, she was performing on stage with her guitar teachers. Kimbra attended 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 the children's TV show What Now. She was also a member of her high school's jazz choir, Scat.

Career Highlights

Kimbra's first public performances included singing at a horse race meeting in 2000 when she was 10. She also sang the New Zealand national anthem for 27,000 people at a rugby union final in 2002. In 2007, she won a Juice TV award for Best Breakthrough music video for her song "Simply on My Lips." This caught the attention of Mark Richardson, who signed her to his new music company, Forum 5, in Melbourne, Australia. Kimbra moved to Melbourne in 2008.

First Album and Big Success

In June 2010, Kimbra released her first single with Forum 5, "Settle Down." She had started writing this song four years earlier. The music video for "Settle Down" 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" was a finalist in the 2011 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition. She later won the competition with this song. In March, she released "Cameo Lover" as her next single. Its music video came out in April. On July 15, 2011, "Cameo Lover" won the songwriting competition. On June 7, Kimbra signed with Warner Bros. Records for her music to be shared in New Zealand, Australia, and worldwide. On July 5, Kimbra sang on Gotye's song, "Somebody That I Used to Know."

On August 29, 2011, Kimbra's first album, Vows, was released in New Zealand and Australia. It quickly became popular, reaching No. 3 in New Zealand and No. 5 in Australia. It also reached No. 14 in the US. 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. The US version of Vows included new songs that were not on the Australian or New Zealand versions.

Awards and Collaborations

Kimbra performing in 2012

In January 2012, Kimbra's song "Good Intent" was played on the TV show Grey's Anatomy. The song also appeared in the video game The Sims 3: Pets, where Kimbra recorded it in the game's special language, Simlish. Kimbra also won the "One to Watch" award at the 2012 Rolling Stone Awards. She worked with Mark Foster from Foster the People and DJ A-Trak on the song "Warrior", which was released on April 2. On April 14, she performed "Somebody That I Used to Know" with Gotye on Saturday Night Live.

On September 25, her song "With My Hands" was featured in Tim Burton's movie, Frankenweenie. In November, she 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 received the Best Female Artist award at the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 for the second time.

On February 10, 2013, Kimbra and Gotye won Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards for "Somebody That I Used to Know." This was a huge achievement for Kimbra. Kimbra also sang with R&B artist John Legend on his song "Made to Love," which was released in June 2013. Kimbra also became an ambassador for So They Can, a charity organization, in 2013.

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 talented people worked with her on this album, including Rich Costey, Daniel Johns, Thundercat, and John Legend. On May 19, 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 on July 24, 2014. It was her first song to appear on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart. Critics praised "Miracle" for its disco-like sound and Kimbra's singing. The music video for "Miracle" was released in August 2014. The Golden Echo was released in August 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from critics.

In April 2015, Kimbra toured the US. She also sang on a song by Bilal called "Holding It Back." On September 30, 2016, Kimbra released a new song called "Sweet Relief." In September 2017, Kimbra shared news about her third album and a new song with her fans. Her manager since 2017 has been Ben Weinman, a guitarist from the band The Dillinger Escape Plan. He has also played guitar on Kimbra's music.

Kimbra performing in 2015

On September 29, 2017, she released "Everybody Knows," the first song from her third album. "Top of the World" was released as the second song on November 10, 2017. Kimbra performed this song on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Her third album, Primal Heart, was released on April 20, 2018. Before the album came out, she released three more songs: "Human," "Version of Me," and "Like They Do on the TV." Later, new versions of "Version of Me" featuring Dawn Richard and "Top of the World" featuring Snoop Dogg were released.

Recent Projects: Film, TV, and New Music

Kimbra made her acting debut in the movie Daffodils, which came out on March 21, 2019. She starred alongside New Zealand actors Rose McIver and George Mason. In March 2020, Kimbra released an online course about vocal creativity and music production. In April 2020, she was a main expert and mentor on the TV show Popstars in New Zealand.

Kimbra went on a secret tour in the United States in October and November 2021. She performed new songs from her upcoming fourth album. Her fourth album, A Reckoning, was released on January 27, 2023. She released her first album with many collaborations, Idols & Vices, Vol. 1, in September 2024. This album featured artists like Sahtyre, BANKS, and DRAM.

Live Band Members

• Jacob Bergson – keyboards (2018–present), musical director (2021–present)
• Vancil Cooper – drums (2021–present)

Past Members

• 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)

Musical 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 enjoyable. In an interview, Kimbra shared some of her musical inspirations. These include Daniel Johns, Prince, Rufus Wainwright, Imogen Heap, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder. Her music style is very diverse and unique.

Personal Life

Kimbra has shared that she has vitiligo, a condition that causes patches of skin to lose their color.

Discography

• Vows (August 29, 2011)
• The Golden Echo (August 19, 2014)
• Primal Heart (April 20, 2018)
• A Reckoning (January 27, 2023)
• Idols & Vices (Vol. 1) (September 25, 2024)

Filmography

Television Appearances

Film Appearances

Tours

Kimbra on the A Reckoning tour, in 2023

• 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) – 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

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards celebrate songwriters and composers in Australia.

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are given out by the Australian Recording Industry Association.

Billboard Music Awards

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are very famous music awards in the United States.

New Zealand Music Awards

These awards celebrate musicians from New Zealand.

MTV Europe Music Awards

MTV Video Music Awards

Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition

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

Other Awards

See also

In Spanish: Kimbra para niños