Singles from the album include "Settle Down", "Cameo Lover" (which won an Australian Recording Industry Association Award), "Good Intent" and "Two Way Street".

Her father, Ken Johnson, was the head doctor at the University of Waikato's student health centre, and her mother, Chris, was an orthopaedic nurse.

An early recording of hers from 2004, "It Takes Time" was featured by Play It Strange, a New Zealand organization showcasing young singers and songwriters.

In 2007, after winning the Juice TV award for Best Breakthrough music video for her second single "Simply on My Lips", she came to the attention of ex-Independiente Records boss Mark Richardson (Jamiroquai, Paula Abdul) and his newly formed management company and independent label Forum 5 in Melbourne, Victoria.

Perez Hilton featured the track on his website citing "[i]f you like Nina Simone, Florence & the Machine and/or Björk, then we think you will enjoy Kimbra – her music reminds us of all those fierce ladies!

[13] Kimbra also stars in its music video, which features wide-angle and kaleidoscope shots of her in face paint and dresses walking through golden fields.

On 15 July 2011, "Cameo Lover" won the songwriting competition, ahead of third placed song, "Somebody That I Used to Know", written by Australian musician Gotye.

[26] On 14 November 2012, Kimbra performed at the Calvin Klein Collection which held an exclusive dinner to celebrate the brand's Women's Creative Director, Francisco Costa.

[32] After the Grammy Awards, Kimbra relocated to LA to work on her second studio album, known as The Golden Echo, taking up residence on a farm.

People who collaborated on The Golden Echo include Rich Costey, Daniel Johns, Taylor Graves, Matt Bellamy, Thundercat, Mark Foster, Bilal (Singing on the No.

On 19 May 2014, Kimbra released the lead single from The Golden Echo called "90s Music" to largely positive reviews.

Olivia Forman of Spin stated that the song has a "flawlessly fluctuating [...] beat" and additionally complimented Kimbra's vocals.

On 15 July, Kimbra released the video for her third single from The Golden Echo called "Goldmine", which surpassed 110,000 views in a matter of a day.

[33] On 18 September 2017, Kimbra and her record label sent a personalised email to fans who subscribed to the Warner Bros. mailing list, conveying information about her third studio-album and an upcoming single.

[34] Kimbra is managed by guitarist Ben Weinman, founding member of metal band The Dillinger Escape Plan, since around 2017.

[35][36] On 29 September 2017, she released the album's lead single, entitled "Everybody Knows", which was co-produced by Nelly Furtado and Goldfrapp affiliate John Congleton.

Kimbra explained the reasons for the push back and gave a song out for free to fans subscribed to her mailing list to make it up to them.

[42][43] Kimbra made her acting debut in a big screen adaption of the musical-drama production Daffodils released on 21 March 2019.

The singer stars alongside Kiwi lead actors Rose McIver, from iZombie and The Lovely Bones and George Mason, from Home and Away and Go Girls.

[44] In March 2020, Kimbra released a course with online music school Soundfly on vocal creativity, arranging, and production.

[46] Kimbra embarked on a Sofar Sounds secret location venue tour of the United States in October and November 2021, previewing her upcoming fourth studio album.

The album was recorded with several different featured artists including Sahtyre, BANKS, Tommy Raps, Ivy Sole, Fatboi Sharif, Le Asha, DRAM, Dawn Richard, and Taylor Graves.

[48] Muzic.net.nz states that Kimbra's music delves beyond the "four chord cliché but still maintains strong hooks and catchy melodies that are sometimes unpredictable but satisfying".

[49] In an interview with American Songwriter, she listed Daniel Johns, Prince, Rufus Wainwright, Guided by Voices, Imogen Heap, Mike Patton, Michael Jackson, Minnie Riperton and Stevie Wonder as her influences.