Lisa Margaret Hannigan (born 12 February 1981) is an Irish musician, singer, composer, and voice actress.
Hannigan also received attention in North America for her role as Blue Diamond in Steven Universe, an animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar.
She toured with Rice as part of his band during that period,[6][8] lending vocal support and occasionally playing guitar, bass or drums.
These recordings included: "Willy" by Joni Mitchell, "Be My Husband" by Nina Simone (from the 1965 album Pastel Blues), "Mercedes Benz" by Janis Joplin and "Love Hurts" by Boudleaux Bryant.
Hannigan also performed live with her own band, called The Daisy Okell Quartet and contributed guest vocals to the recordings of Mic Christopher, The Frames and Herbie Hancock.
Lisa Hannigan's debut solo album, titled Sea Sew, was rehearsed in a barn in Thomastown and recorded in Dublin before being released in Ireland in September 2008.
[8][28][29] Sea Sew rose in the UK charts following this appearance[citation needed] and she performed at Glastonbury 2009 music festival and went on tour later in the year.
[34] Hannigan's song "An Ocean and a Rock" was used in a 2009 Irish video supporting same-sex marriage entitled "Sinéad's Hand".
[35] As part of an advertisement campaign for Oxfam's Make Trade Fair, Hannigan was drenched in melted chocolate and she participated in the Irish musical collective The Cake Sale with lead vocal on the track "Some Surprise", which was played on the US television series Grey's Anatomy.
[41] Hannigan recorded her second album, Passenger, at Bryn Derwen Studios in North Wales with producer Joe Henry and engineer Ryan Freeland.
[44] Hannigan announced that her third album was produced in collaboration with Aaron Dessner,[45] founding member of American indie rock band The National.
[50] The Telegraph noted the album to be "subtle and gauzy but loaded with emotion", and calls Hannigan's voice "an incredible instrument, drawing on both opera and folk, with a softness and intimacy".
She contributed backing vocals to The National album Sleep Well Beast, was a featured vocalist on four tracks on their I Am Easy to Find, and was an additional artist on First Two Pages of Frankenstein.
In 2014, Hannigan contributed vocals along with John Smith for the Steven Price conducted soundtrack for the Brad Pitt blockbuster Fury.
In 2017, she started voicing the character Blue Diamond for the television series Steven Universe which was made by Rebecca Sugar.
[citation needed] Returning to Ireland, both Hannigan and Rice began to work together recording music, including songs like "Unplayed Piano" and "Once I Loved."
Both Irish artists toured for a number of years together and were in a relationship, but in 2007 Hannigan left Damien Rice and his band[60] the afternoon before a live show in Munich.
[36] Ed Power, writing in the Irish Independent, criticised such claims, wondering if Jape (whose album Ritual beat Hannigan to the Choice Music Prize) had come close to receiving a Mercury nomination—"Or, for that matter, how many of the judges had even heard of him".