Birdy (singer)

Jasmine Lucilla Elizabeth Jennifer van den Bogaerde[5] (born 15 May 1996), known professionally as Birdy (/ˈbɜːdi/ BUR-dee), is an English singer and songwriter.

Her debut single, a cover version of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love", was her breakthrough, charting all across Europe and earning platinum certification six times in Australia.

Her self-titled debut album, Birdy, was released on 7 November 2011 to similar success, peaking at number one in Australia, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Her fifth studio album, Portraits, was released on 18 August 2023, which includes the singles "Raincatchers", "Heartbreaker", "Your Arms" and "Paradise Calling".

[6] Her father is Rupert Oliver Benjamin van den Bogaerde, a writer; her mother is Sophie Patricia (née Roper-Curzon).

[18] In January 2011, at the age of 14, Birdy released a cover version of Bon Iver's song "Skinny Love".

Since then, Birdy has covered a number of songs, including "The A Team" by Ed Sheeran and the xx's "Shelter".

[23][24] In June 2012, Birdy contributed the song "Learn Me Right" with Mumford & Sons to the Pixar film Brave for which she received her first Grammy Award nomination.

In October 2012, Birdy sang live on the French TV music program Taratata, performing "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.

The video included footage of Birdy in the studio along with a preview of two songs, "Wings" and "No Angel", which are both featured on the album.

The first official single, "Wings", was released on 22 July 2013 and a second song, "All You Never Say", was sent to subscribers of Birdy's mailing list and posted on YouTube on 15 August 2013.

[34][35] In October 2014, Birdy covered "Lucky Star" by Madonna, appearing on BBC Radio 2's Sounds of the 80s album.

In the same year, Birdy was featured on four of the tracks on the Shadows album by Native Roses, in which her elder brother, Moses, is a drummer.

[citation needed] Birdy contributed three songs to the soundtrack for the movie The Fault in Our Stars: "Tee Shirt", "Best Shot" (with Jaymes Young), and "Not About Angels".

Birdy's song "Wings," from her second album, was used as the soundtrack to the Lloyds Bank 250-year anniversary Horse Story advertisements in June 2015.

[40] In October 2015, Birdy performed a cover of Firestone, originally by Kygo ft. Conrad Sewell on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.

[42] In January 2016, Birdy released "Keeping Your Head Up",[43] the first single from her third album, Beautiful Lies, which she had started writing material for in 2014 while touring in America.

On 20 April 2016, the Japanese Edition of Beautiful Lies was released, containing a bonus track entitled "Lights".

[49] On 8 May 2016, Birdy performed 'Wild Horses' at the opening ceremony of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards night, at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

The band members were: Charlotte Hatherley (guitar), Joel Grainger (violin), Richard Evans (bass), Jay Sikora (drums), and Hazel Mills (keyboards).

[51] Birdy was featured on the cover of Wonderland magazine in the Autumn 2016 issue, with an accompanying shoot and interview.

Speaking to the magazine, Birdy explained that her mother was a concert pianist and a lot of her family were very musical.

Mike Smith, Warner/Chappell UK managing director, said that Birdy was an incredible talent, there was a lot more to come from her and he looked forward to working with her in the years ahead.

She cites Etta James, Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, and Nina Simone as influences on the album's sound and wrote most of the project in Los Angeles and Nashville.

Birdy's music has appeared in the films and on the soundtracks of The Hunger Games (2012),[61] Brave (2012),[62] The Fault in Our Stars (2014),[63] Beyond the Lights (2014)[64] and The Edge of Seventeen (2016).

Birdy at the SWR3 New Pop Festival in Baden-Baden 2013
Birdy performing at Frequency Festival 2017