Kimbra Lee Johnson (born 27 March 1990), known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer and actress who mixes pop with classic R&B, jazz and rock musical elements. Her musical influences range from Prince and Minnie Riperton, to Björk and Jeff Buckley. Her debut album, Vows, was released in Australia in 2011. Singles from the album include "Settle Down", "Cameo Lover" (which won an Australian Recording Industry Association Award), "Good Intent" and "Two Way Street".
A reworked version of the album was released in Europe and the United States in 2012. It featured several new songs, including "Come into My Head", "Warrior" (on which Kimbra was joined by musicians Mark Foster from Foster the People and DJ A-Trak), and a cover of Nina Simone's "Plain Gold Ring". Vows reached the top 5 in New Zealand and Australia; on 22 May 2012, the album was released in North America, debuting at number 14 on the Billboard charts.[2]
Vincent Fantauzzo's portrait of Kimbra was a finalist for the 2012 Archibald Prize. The portrait was painted in conjunction with the making of a video featuring Kimbra's song "The Build Up".[3][4]
Kimbra is featured in the 2012 multi-platinum single "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye. On 10 February 2013, she 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 achievement made her only the third New Zealand singer to win a Grammy Award.
Kimbra's second studio album, The Golden Echo, was officially released on 19 August 2014 to positive critical reception.[5]
Her third album, Primal Heart, is set to be released on 19 January 2018. [6]
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