Lenka

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Lenka
Lenka. Performing on her solo U.S. tour in early 2009
Background information
Birth name	Lenka Kripac
Also known as	Lenka
Born	New South Wales, Australia, 1978
Origin	Sydney, Australia
Genres	Pop, indie rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actress
Instruments	Voice, piano, trumpet
Years active	2008-present
Labels	Sony Music/Epic Records
Associated acts	Decoder Ring
Website	lenkamusic.com
Members
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Lenka (born Lenka Kripac in 1978)^[1] is an Australian television actress and singer-songwriter, most famous worldwide for her song "The Show" from her self-titled album Lenka, which has been used in numerous advertisements, most notably for Old Navy. Previously best known in Australia as an actress, she has appeared in numerous Australian television serials and feature films.^[2]

[edit] Career

[edit] Acting

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Lenka starred in the Australian ABC-TV drama series GP as Vesna Kapek in the 1990s. She also hosted Cheez TV and has guest starred in other Australian TV series such as Home & Away, Wild Side, Head Start, and Spellbinder. She also starred in Australian feature films The Dish and Lost Things, and numerous theatre productions.

[edit] Music

[edit] Decoder Ring

As Lenka Kripac, she was a member of the Australian electronic-rock crossover band Decoder Ring for two of their albums. She then moved to California in 2007.^[3]

[edit] Solo career

After adopting her first name as her sole artistic name ("Lenka" is a common Slavic girl's name, and a common diminutive of the Slavic girl's name "Lena"), Lenka released an eponymous album on 24 September 2008, with "The Show," chosen to be the first single release from the set.^[4] The album has thus far peaked at number 142 on the American Billboard 200.

Her vocal stylings offer a juxtaposition of catchy pop and layered, complicated world music influences.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Exposure

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Lenka, performing at Hotel Cafe Tour at Doug Fir, in Portland, Oregon, 2008

• "Don't Let Me Fall" was featured in a television commercial for Telus in Canada as well as in a Sears 2009 Christmas commercial
• "The Show," produced by Stuart Brawley, has been featured as soundtrack for an Old Navy as well as an Ugly Betty promo, the film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, the 2009 Spring Campaign of the Polish TV station TVN, and was promoted as an iTunes Free Single of the Week
• The songs "Trouble Is a Friend" and "Live Like You're Dying" were featured in Grey's Anatomy
• "Trouble is a Friend", "Don't Let Me Fall", "The Show", and "We Will Not Grow Old" were featured in the teen drama 90210
• "The Show" was also featured in the promotional ad of InuYasha the Final act" on Animax
• "Dangerous and Sweet" was featured on an episode of The Hills
• Lenka has performed on the late-night network television interview shows in the United States, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and The Tonight Show singing "The Show" with her full band
• The beginning of 2009 saw Lenka tour extensively throughout America and Canada. On February 2 2009 Lenka performed her first sold out show in Toronto, Canada
• Summer 2009 saw the release of Lenka's album in Europe and Asia, with coinciding tours and festival appearances
• In Vietnam, "The Show" and "Trouble Is A Friend" were huge hits and became most played songs in public and most downloaded songs. Radio VOV3 was the first radio entity that put Lenka's "The Show" and "Trouble Is A Friend" in the airwaves all over Vietnam
• Indian lifestyle and entertainment television channel Zee Café part of Zee network, uses a part of the song "The Show" featuring the lyrics 'Dum Di Dum... just enjoy the show' at the end of every commercial break

[edit] Visual art

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

Lenka's live performance and visual image has become synonymous with a naive-art, vintage craft style. These works, (known as 'Lenkaland' on stage), are the result of collaborations with James Gulliver Hancock, an Australian visual artist and illustrator. In 2009 they had their first gallery exhibition, which took place at No. 12 Gallery in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. The exhibition included a collection of works revolving around her music including set pieces and original drawings and prints. A manifesto outlining the philosophy behind their collaboration, "We Will Not Grow Old" was written to coincide with the exhibition. Lenka sometimes involves fans in the art-making process, with events so far in Los Angeles (in collaboration with POKETO), Hong Kong and Malaysia. Lenka has a Bachelor Of Fine Arts majoring in Sculpture from the College Of Fine Arts Sydney (COFA).

[edit] Discography

[edit] Solo

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lenka

• Lenka Music official website
• Lenka at MySpace
• Interview with Lenka
• Lenka on Twitter
• Lenka Kripac at the Internet Movie Database
• Lenka In SPIN's November Issue
• James Gulliver Hancock (artistic collaborator)