La Roux (/lɑːˈruː/ lah-ROO) are an English synth-pop act formed in 2008 by singer Elly Jackson and record producer Ben Langmaid.

The act's debut album La Roux (2009) was a critical and commercial success, winning a Grammy Award and producing hit singles such as "In for the Kill" and "Bulletproof".

Recording of a follow-up album was marred by unsuccessful collaborations, the cancellation of two planned release dates, and reported conflict between the duo.

[1] Langmaid ultimately left the group in 2012, and Jackson released a second album, Trouble in Paradise, in 2014, maintaining the former duo's name as her stage persona.

Initially, they performed largely acoustic music under the moniker Automan due to Elly's great admiration of acts like Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell.

[3] La Roux's debut single, "Quicksand", was released by French independent record label Kitsuné in December 2008[2] to minor chart success.

[13] La Roux then headlined the NME Radar Tour alongside Magistrates and Heartbreak,[14] performed at the Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds festivals[15] as well as London's Scala.

Sales of "In for the Kill" spiked 600 per cent when Skream's "Let's Get Ravey" remix of the song appeared on the HBO show Entourage in August 2010.

[28] She also performed on Chromeo's third album Business Casual, providing chorus vocals for the track "Hot Mess" which was released as a single in early 2011.

[35] Trouble in Paradise met with favourable critical reception,[36][37] but did not repeat the commercial success of the predecessor, peaking at number 6 in the UK, where it stayed on the chart for only four weeks, and failing to enter the top 10 anywhere else.

La Roux toured North America in July 2014, including two opening shows for New Order in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

La Roux then performed additional dates in Europe, including Croatia's INmusic Festival, UK's Glastonbury, and Germany's Melt!

[42] The album was preceded by the singles "International Woman of Leisure" on 31 October 2019, "Gullible Fool" on 5 December 2019, and "Automatic Driver" on 23 January 2020.

[44] In 2022, La Roux's musical style branched out further when she released “Feedback,” a single featuring rapper Baby Tate and heavily influenced by R&B.

[48] In July 2010, La Roux curated and mixed a volume of Sidetracked, a compilation series from Renaissance that allows artists from the electronic field free rein to showcase their musical interests.

The eclectic mix featured the likes of Japan, Heaven 17, Joyce Sims, Fever Ray (lead singer of The Knife), Doris Troy, Tears for Fears, Gerry Rafferty and many more of her influences.

It also includes an exclusive recording of The Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb", a cover La Roux had been featuring in her then-recent live sets.