We all know Kimbra here down-nder, the 22-year-old has already wowed Australian audiences with her sold-out national tours, a continued dominance of the airwaves (as well as triple j’s Hottest 100), and cleaning up at the ARIAs; including the award for ‘Best Female Artist.’
That’s before even accounting her multiple appearances at major music festivals including performances at Groovin The Moo, Meredith, Splendour In The Grass, Big Day Out and Parklife; or – of course – her world-conquering duet with Gotye.
Do we even need to say the name? You know… the one that’s been dominating the US charts five-weeks and counting, is the most streamed song in Europe and ranks among YouTube’s most watched songs of all-time, at over 200 million views?
Well, now the New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based singer may have to make time in her schedule and room in her trophy case for the American market. In fact, Kimbra has already been establishing her credentials in the much sought-after American market.
Firstly she played a number of dazzling performances at showcases throughout South By Southwest, the Austin music festival being a well-known hub for emerging talent to strut their stuff for wider global market. As well as playing support to Gotye on his American tour, including storming Coachella and US television with appearances on Saturday Night Live and Jimmy Kimmel.
Though Somebody That I Used To Know no doubt introduced Kimbra to the Americans, she had already been collaborating with some of its top-shelf talent. Working in the studio with the likes of soul star John Legend, superstar Dr. Dre producer Mike Elizondo and Greg Kurstin of The Bird And The Bee; who’s rubbed shoulders with The Flaming Lips most recently.
Kimbra also became quite chummy with Mark Foster of Foster The People, leading to a subsequent support slot on their American tour and a three-way creative partnership with A-Trak on a track for Converse called ‘Warrior.’
Kimbra’s in-roads with the lucrative American market officially pay dividends today, with the official release of her debut album, Vows, in the United States – complete with a revised tracklist that includes the aforementioned collaborations to market to US ‘tastes’. Already a critical and commercial success here at home (debuting at No. 5 in the charts before swiftly attaining Platinum sales), Vows is set to achieve similar success in America.
The Music Network reported that mere hours after its release, it rose to #3 on the US iTunes chart. No real surprise when you consider the praise she’s received across the country’s press outlets.
The New York Times ran a feature on the singer in which they called her ‘electric’, praising her live show and “quirky, jazz-inflected R&B.” Also running a quote from Rob Cavallo, the head of her label Warner Bros, who said, “Kimbra’s a real artist, and I envision her having a 15-to-20-year career,” before adding, “she has the potential to be like Prince. That’s how strong her musicality is.”
Meanwhile, both The LA Times and The Washington Post have compared the neo-diva to prominent Icelandic songstress, Björk. Andrew Leahey of The Washington Times noted the ‘”big-voiced siren” has a “seriously rare… grasp on pop music… making her less of a fresh-faced newcomer and more of a grown-up child prodigy.”
In short, she’s killing it.
There have been criticisms levelled at Kimbra for riding in on Gotye’s coat-tails, and although she’s swiftly proving that there’s more to her appeal than as playing the chanteuse in another artist’s break-up duet. The plucky singer herself is aware of the double-edged sword of success, ““It has been an incredible introduction to a world that one rarely gets to see at my age,” Kimbra recently told Tone Deaf in an interview, “so I don’t see much negativity in it at all.”
“I’ve talked to Wally about the reaction the song has received, but we are both pretty comfortable about our ability to back it up. I guess it would be different if that was the only thing I had, but one of the reasons I agreed to do it was because I was about to release my album and it’s good to have people at my shows who have heard the hit but are excited to see what lies beyond.”
So what ‘lies beyond?’ Well, if Vows continues to storm the charts like it did yesterday, then Gotye – the current king of the US charts – may well find himself accompanied by a familiar queen.
