Jurga | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Jurga Šeduikytė |
Born |
Klaipėda, Lithuania |
February 10, 1980
Genres | Pop, art rock |
Years active | 2005 – present |
Labels | MP3 |
Jurga Šeduikytė (born February 10, 1980, Klaipėda, Lithuania), known by her stage names Jurga and formerly Dingau, is a Lithuanian singer and songwriter.
Jurga was born into a family of musicians in Telšiai, where she spent her first childhood years. In her second school year she moved to Palanga, where she took piano lessons at the local music school and graduated from high school. She studied journalism at Vilnius University.
In 2002, she participated in the TV singer contest Fizz Superstar. The same year she began to perform under the pseudonym Dingau with girl-rock band Muscat. In 2004 she played in the musicals Ugnies medžioklė su varovais and Tadas Blinda.
In 2005, she began her solo career under the stage name Jurga. Her debut album, Aukso Pieva (Meadow of Gold), produced by Andrius Mamontovas, was released on September 16, 2005. The first single, Nebijok (Don't Be Afraid) charted at number one for eight weeks and became the biggest hit single in Lithuania of 2005.
The debut album includes twelve songs in Lithuanian and English, almost all of them written by Jurga herself. Shortly after this, Jurga received many Lithuanian awards.
Jurga's second album, Instrukcija (Instruction) was released on April 19, 2007. It includes thirteen tracks written by Jurga in Lithuania and New Zealand. The album release was accompanied by a tour across Lithuania and a visit to Anaberg Castle, Friesdorf district of Bonn, Germany.
In July 2007, her song, "5th Season", won the Grand Prix of the Baltic Song Festival in Karlshamn, Sweden. A few months later, on November 1, Jurga won the MTV European Music Award for Best Baltic Act. Jurga was the first Lithuanian to win an MTV award.
On August 28, 2008, Jurga's son Adas was born. On August 26, 2009, she married her boyfriend and father of her son, Vidas Bareikis, vocalist of the band Suicide DJs.