Kimbra (Kimbra Lee Johnson Zottola), born and bred in Hamilton, New Zealand has been writing a fusion of jazz and soul for over 5 years, known for her erratic but graceful voice inspired by the likes of Björk and Jeff Buckley.
Early public performances by Kimbra included singing at the Waikato Times Gold Cup race meeting in 2000 as a 10-year-old, and singing the national anthem at age 12 before 27,000 people at the Auckland vs Waikato NPC rugby final. In 2007, after winning the Juice TV award for best breakthrough music video for her second single “Simply on My Lips”, she came to the attention of ex-Independiente Records boss Mark Richardson (Jamiroquai, Paula Abdul) and his newly-formed management company and independent label Forum 5 in Melbourne, Victoria.
Before her debut album, Kimbra released 2 singles: ‘Simply On My Lips’ and ‘Deep For You’.
Kimbra’s debut album, Vows was released in 2011. Three singles have been released from this album - ‘Cameo Lover’, ‘Settle Down’, ‘Good Intent’. According to the Settle Down Songfacts, Vows spans five years of Kimbra’s life from age 17 to 22. and explores love, identity and coming of age.
Kimbra also collaborated with Australian artist Gotye for the single ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ in 2011. This song has peaked on the charts in The USA, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium and The Netherlands at #1
