Zee Avi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Zee Avi
Zee Avi in 2009 at TechCrunch event
Background information
Native name	زي اۏي‎
Birth name	Izyan Alirahman
Also known as	KokoKaina
Born	(1985-12-15) 15 December 1985 (age 39)
Origin	Sarawak, Malaysia
Genres	Indie rock, pop rock, jazz, Indie pop, Indie folk
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter musician
Instruments	Vocals acoustic guitar ukulele
Labels	Monotone Label/Brushfire

Zee Avi (born Izyan Alirahman), also known as KokoKaina, is a talented singer, songwriter, guitarist, and ukulele player from Malaysia. She is known for her unique voice and gentle music style.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Zee Avi was born in Miri, a city in Sarawak, Malaysia. Sarawak is located on the island of Borneo. When she was 12, her family moved to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia.

At 17, Zee Avi taught herself how to play the guitar. She played rhythm guitar in a few bands while living in Kuala Lumpur. Later, she moved to London to study fashion design. After returning from London, she started writing her own songs.

Musical Journey

How Zee Avi Became Famous

In September 2007, Zee Avi shared a video of her first song, "Poppy," on YouTube. She posted it for a friend who had missed her first live show. Her friend convinced her to leave the video online, and soon, many people started giving her positive comments. This encouraged her to upload more videos to YouTube.

A few months later, just before her 22nd birthday, Zee Avi posted a video called "No Christmas For Me." The next day, YouTube featured her video on its main page. Suddenly, Zee Avi received thousands of emails and many offers from record companies.

Patrick Keeler from the band The Raconteurs saw her video. He shared the link with Ian Montone, a manager for famous bands like The White Stripes. Montone then showed her music to Emmett Malloy, who signed her to Brushfire Records. This record company is partly owned by the famous musician Jack Johnson. "No Christmas For Me" became her first official song released with Brushfire Records. It was included on their 2008 Christmas album, This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday (Vol. 1).

First Album: Zee Avi

Zee Avi's first album, also called Zee Avi, came out on May 19, 2009. Brushfire Records and Ian Montone's Monotone Records worked together to produce it. On the day the album was released, YouTube featured her again. The next day, she performed to a full audience at the famous Roxy Theater in West Hollywood. The Associated Press, a news agency, named her album one of the top nine albums of 2009. She performed her first single, "Bitter Heart," on US television on June 18, 2009.

Second Album: Ghostbird

Her second album, Ghostbird, was released on August 23, 2011. The first song from this album was "The Book of Morris Johnson." Ghostbird reached the top of the US Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. Songs like "Swell Window" and "Concrete Wall" became popular after they were used in the TV show Gossip Girl. Zee Avi was the first Malaysian singer to have albums on the US Billboard Hot 200 Albums chart. She was also the first to top a Billboard chart (Heatseekers Album).

Zee Avi toured the United States with Pete Yorn in 2009. She also opened for Jack Johnson at a concert in California in 2010. They even sang a mix of their songs together. She also opened for singer Ani DiFranco in 2011.

Zee Avi has performed at many well-known music festivals. These include SXSW in Texas, Bonnaroo in Tennessee, and Outside Lands in San Francisco. She also performed at the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak.

Zee Avi performing at South by Southwest on March 18, 2009 in Austin, Texas

In December 2012, Zee Avi received an award from the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. It was called the Pegawai Bintang Kenyalang (Officer of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak). This award recognized her contributions to the state.

Children's Album: Nightlight

Zee Avi released an album for children called Nightlight on April 22, 2014. This album has nine cover songs. She recorded it in just four days in Woodstock, New York. The album includes songs like "Ben" (by Michael Jackson) and "The Rainbow Connection" (from Kermit the Frog). It also has a mix of lullabies and children's songs. Nightlight was chosen as one of iTunes' Best of 2014 Albums in the Children's Music category.

On November 26, 2016, Zee Avi won her first big international award. She won Best Original Film Song at the 53rd Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards. This was for "Arena Cahaya," a song she co-wrote and sang for the Malaysian movie Ola Bola.

Recent Music: Ellipses and Other Songs

In August 2019, Zee Avi announced she was working on her third studio album, Ellipses. She said "Ellipses" is her favorite punctuation mark. The first song from this album, "Who are U?", was released on Malaysia Day in 2019. Ellipses features nine songs she wrote over seven years and was released independently.

In December 2019, Novartis Malaysia asked Zee Avi to write a song called "My Skin." This song aimed to raise awareness about psoriasis, a skin condition. The music video for "My Skin" features people with psoriasis and was uploaded to YouTube.

Zee Avi as an Artist

Zee Avi is also a visual artist and loves art. Her song "The Book Of Morris Johnson" was inspired by paintings from Morris Johnson, a folk artist. Zee Avi's own artwork is featured on the CD of her second album, Ghostbird. She also created art for a charity project. Some of her artworks, painted on ukuleles, have been given as gifts to her fans.

Musical Inspirations

Zee Avi says she is inspired by swing bands, Gershwin, and American jazz from the 1920s. People often compare her to Ella Fitzgerald, a famous jazz singer. One writer even called her "the next heiress in the bloodline of young women with supernaturally classic voices."

She also describes herself as a "rock lover at heart." She enjoys many different types of music, from The Carpenters to The Cranberries. She finds inspiration from artists like Cat Power, Regina Spektor, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, and Billie Holiday.

Awards and Achievements

• The Associated Press named her first album, Zee Avi (album), one of the Top 10 Albums of 2009. It was listed alongside albums by famous artists like Mariah Carey and Jay Z.
• Zee Avi was nominated for "Break Out Award" and "Pop Star Award" at the 2010 Shout! Awards in Malaysia.
• MSN Malaysia named Zee Avi one of the Top 10 Young Malaysians in 2011.
• The Sarawak State Government gave Zee Avi the Youth Icon (International) Award in 2011.
• The Asia Pacific Brands Foundation gave Zee Avi The BrandLaureate Grandmaster Brand Icon Leadership Award in 2012. This was for her success as a singer and songwriter in the international music world.
• Her song "Is This The End," from the film Transatlantic Coffee, won a Bronze Medal in 2012. This was for the best use of music in a feature film at the Park City Film Music Festival.
• Zee Avi received the Pegawai Bintang Kenyalang award from the Head of State in Sarawak on December 12, 2012.
• Her children's album, Nightlight, was named one of iTunes' Best of 2014 Albums in the Children's Music category.
• The song "Arena Cahaya," which she sang and co-wrote for the movie Ola Bola, won two awards in 2016. It won Best Original Theme Song at the 28th Malaysia Film Festival and Best Original Film Song at the 53rd Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards.
• Zee Avi received the "International Young Artiste Award" at the 2018 Top Asia Corporate Ball in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Discography

Studio Albums

Tribute Album

• Nightlight (2014)

EPs (Extended Plays)

• One More Time With Colors (2010)
• Concrete Wall (remixes) (2012)

Singles

As Lead Artist

Other Singles and Collaborations

Music Videos

Official Music Videos

Promotional Videos

Charity Videos

Concerts and Tours

Tours

• 2011: Homecoming Tour

See also

In Spanish: Zee Avi para niños