Lenka Eden Kripac (born 19 March 1978) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress best known for her song "The Show", from her debut album, Lenka. "The Show" has been used in numerous advertisements, most notably for Old Navy, as well as the Nickelodeon film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and the 2011 film Moneyball.[5] Her song "Everything at Once" was used in a Windows 8 television advertisement and in a Disney Studio All Access commercial.[6] Her fifth studio album, Attune, was released in 2017.[7]
Lenka | |
|---|---|
 Lenka performing at Bumbershoot festival in Seattle, 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Lenka Eden Kripac[1] |
| Also known as | Lenka |
| Born | 19 March 1978[2][3] Bega, New South Wales,[4] Australia |
| Genres | Indie pop |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | lenkamusic |
Early life
editThe daughter of Czechoslovak jazz trumpet musician Jiří Křipač[8] and an Australian schoolteacher, Eden, Lenka was raised in the Australian coastal town of Bega until age seven, when her family moved to Sydney. There she received her schooling, acting and music training, and started to work as a highly regarded theatre actress and later musician.[9]
Career
edit
1994–2007: Early years
editAs a teenager, Lenka studied acting at the Australian Theatre for Young People,[10] where she trained with actress Cate Blanchett.[11] Lenka starred in the Australian ABC-TV drama series GP as Vesna Kapek in the 1990s. She also hosted Cheez TV and has guest starred in other Australian TV series, including Home and Away, Wildside, Head Start, and Spellbinder. She appeared in Australian feature films The Dish and Lost Things, as well as in theatre productions.[11] Lenka provided the vocals for two tracks on Paul Mac's 2005 album Panic Room, including its title track. She also served a member of the Australian electronic-rock crossover band Decoder Ring for two of their albums between 2004 and 2005. She then moved to California in 2007.[9]
2008–2012: Self-titled debut album
editAfter adopting her first name as her sole artistic name, Lenka released her eponymous debut album on 24 September 2008, with "The Show" (produced by Stuart Brawley) chosen to be the first single release from the set.[12] The album peaked at number 142 on the US Billboard 200. Her song "Everything at Once" was featured in a Windows 8 ad, becoming a worldwide success.[13] Lenka creates paper art type stop-motion animated music videos for each of her singles with her husband James Gulliver Hancock, a visual artist from Australia, for a deliberately childlike effect.[8] She provided vocals on two tracks ("Addicted" and "Sunrise") on German artist Schiller's album Atemlos, released in Germany on 12 March 2010.
In 2011, Lenka released her second album Two which was inspired by her engagement and is full of romantic love songs. Despite a warm critical reception,[14] the album failed to match the success of her debut album, with Two reaching peak chart positions of 69 and 88 on the Belgian and Swiss charts respectively.[15][16] Her third album Shadows was released in 2013, following the birth of her son.
2015–present: Subsequent releases and Attune
editLenka's fourth studio album The Bright Side, was released in 2015 and the most featured single in this album became "Blue Skies".[17] A remix version of the song, released on the YouTube remix channel Trap Nation, has over 30 million views on YouTube.[18] Her fifth studio album, Attune, was released in 2017 and contains the track "Heal", which was created in cooperation with Australian singer and author Sally Seltmann.[7] Her most played songs on BBC are "All My Bells Are Ringing", "We Will Not Grow Old", "Everything at Once", "Don't Let Me Fall", and "Trouble Is a Friend".[19] In 2023, Lenka released her sixth studio album, Intraspectral.
Personal life
editLenka currently resides in regional New South Wales, Australia. She is married to visual artist James Gulliver Hancock.[20] She announced on 27 September 2011 that she was pregnant.[21] In March 2012, she announced on Twitter that she had given birth to a boy named Quinn. In 2016, she gave birth to her daughter, Etta.[22][23]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Alice | Sally Fleming | |
| 2004 | Lost Things | Emily | |
| 2001 | Head Start | Lucy Swain | 5 episodes |
| All Saints | Erin Shanahan | Can You Hear Me? (#4.19) | |
| 2000 | The Dish | Marie McIntyre | |
| Murder Call | Lily Aureli | Last Act (#3.16) | |
| Above the Law | Dee Anne Williams | ||
| 1998 | Wildside | Jasmine Yakabovich | Episode #1.11 |
| 1997 | Medivac | Nikki Kershaw | 3 episodes |
| 1995–1996 | G.P. | Vesna Kapek | 23 episodes |
| 1995–2005 | Cheez TV | Host – Herself | |
| 1995–1997 | Spellbinder | Josie | 5 episodes |
| 1994 | Home and Away | Francine 'Frankie' Brooks | 9 episodes |
Discography
edit- Lenka (2008)
- Two (2011)
- Shadows (2013)
- The Bright Side (2015)
- Attune (2017)
- Intraspectral (2023)
References
edit- ^ "A TIME". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ^ Andrew Leahey. "Lenka biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ "It's my barfday! I am halfway to 70, yikes!! Age Ain't Nothin But A Number. xoxox". Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2014 – via Twitter.
- ^ "iTunes – Music – Lenka". iTunes Store. 19 March 1978. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ^ [1] Archived 5 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Biography. Retrieved on 5 Jan 2018.
- ^ "Windows 8: Lenka – Everything at Once (TV Spot) | Microsoft". Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2013 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b Biography by Andrew Leahey[permanent dead link] Retrieved on 16 January 2018
- ^ a b "Lenka | Artist". MTV Asia. Archived from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Bio". The Official Lenka Site. Sony Music Entertainment. Archived from the original on 30 August 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
- ^ "Brisbane Street Press – Lenka". Rave Magazine. 4 November 2008. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Columbia Records UK " Releases " Lenka – Lenka". Columbia.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 August 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ "The Show by Lenka Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ^ "Lenka – Charts & Awards – Billboard Albums". AllMusic. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ "Australian singer Lenka returns with sophomore album "Two"". GantDaily.com. 13 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Lenka - Two". ultratop.be. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Lenka - Two". hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ "Sony/ATV to jointly release new Lenka album | News | Music Week". musicweek.com. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ Trap Nation (29 May 2015), Lenka - Blue Skies (REVOKE Remix), archived from the original on 9 June 2018, retrieved 31 October 2018
- ^ "Lenka - New Songs, Playlists & Latest News - BBC Music". BBC. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ "Lenka's all grown up and married". AsiaOne. 25 February 2011. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- ^ [2] Archived 4 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Twitter / LenkaMusic: Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy! I have". Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2013 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Twitter / LenkaMusic: Happy 1st birthday to my darling". Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2013 – via Twitter.