Laura Jansen
| Laura Jansen | |
|---|---|
Laura Jansen in 2010.
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| Background information | |
| Born |
4 March 1977 Breda, Netherlands |
| Origin | Netherlands |
| Genres | Pop, Indie pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Universal Music Group (Global), Decca Records (United States) |
| Website | laurajansen |
Laura Jansen (born 4 March 1977 in Breda) is a Dutch-American musician. Before gaining fame in the Netherlands, Jansen became a fixture in the constellation of artists associated with Los Angeles nightclub Hotel Café – a national launching pad for artists as Sara Bareilles, Priscilla Ahn, and Joshua Radin. As daughter of an American mother and Dutch father, Laura has been living in the United States for over 10 years.
Jansen's debut album Bells, a dreamy collection of piano-driven alt-pop songs, was released on Universal Music in the Netherlands in 2009, on Decca Records in the USA in March 2011 and in the rest of the world in May 2011 on Universal Music Group. Bells has gone platinum in Jansen's native country the Netherlands, reached a No. 1 position on iTunes and a No. 6 position in the Dutch Album Top 100. Propelled by Single Girls and a cover of Kings of Leon's Use Somebody, which has spent more than 6 months lodged in the Top 25 on the Dutch singles chart.
Born in Breda, Netherlands, to a Dutch father and an American mother, Jansen began playing piano at age five while the family lived in Brussels, followed by Zurich and Connecticut. Jansen fell in love with classical music, Queen, Joni Mitchell, Barbra Streisand, and the Brazilian protest music her mother loved. In high school, she sang in the choir and performed in musicals.
Passionate about politics, Jansen worked at the U.N. in Geneva and studied political science in college but backed away after a good friend, a human-rights activist, was killed in Africa.
Jansen spent two years at a music conservatory in the Netherlands, before transferring to Boston's renowned Berklee College of Music with a scholarship. After graduating, she moved to Nashville to become a songwriter.
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