Kerli
Kerli |
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Kerli Kõiv (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈkerli ˈkɤ.iv]; born February 7, 1987), known by her stage name Kerli, is an Estonian singer who is known for her alternative rock style and her album Love Is Dead which charted in the Billboard 200.
Biography
Estonian singer Kerli was born in Elva in 1987. As a teen, she studied singing, dancing, acting, and piano. In 2002, she won Fizz Superstar, a singing competition of 3 Baltic countries. In 2004, she was the runner-up in that year's Eurolaul, a televised competition that determines the song that will represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest. She continued to perform and write songs, ultimately scoring an audition with L.A. Reid, who signed her to Island Def Jam in 2006.
Even when the media in Estonia labeled failure as "Kerli Syndrome", because the record deal she won on Fizz Superstar didn't work out, Kerli felt no resentment towards her home country. She told Neon Limelight in a 2008 interview:
No, I don’t feel any resentment. For a while, because I left Estonia and Estonians didn’t hear anything about me so all these Estonian young singers were like… I guess they’re slowly turning around now and understanding that I really was doing something here.[1]
In 2006 Kerli signed a contract with Island Def Jam records. Kerli worked with producer, songwriter, and mixer David Maurice on an autobiographical set of songs, the first batch of which were released on the digital EP Kerli in 2007 and her debut album, titled Love Is Dead released on July 8, 2008. It includes the songs "Walking on Air," "Butterfly Cry" and "Love Is Dead". The music video for "Love Is Dead" was released by Universal Music Group on February 29, 2008 and the music video for "Walking on Air" premiered on MTV Overdrive on May 20, 2008. Starting in mid-July 2008, "Walking on Air" has been getting minimal rotation on Top 40 stations. "Walking on Air" was also the free "Single of the Week" on iTunes for the week of July 21, 2008.
During the 2008 season finale of "So You Think You Can Dance?", FOX used Kerli's video for "Walking on Air" for part of a commercial promoting their new show Fringe. Kerli's song "Creepshow" was used in the game Burnout Paradise for its in-game soundtrack[2] and by Fox for its promotion of Fringe's April 7, 2009 return.[3]
She was chosen to perform the theme for the 2008 videogame Quantum of Solace, "When Nobody Loves You". She also can be heard performing track number 6, entitled Bulletproof, on the official soundtrack of Punisher: War Zone. Among her exceptional singing talents, Kerli has also dabbled in acting—lending her voice to the upcoming film Hired Gun, playing the character of Morgan.
As of late June 2009, "Walking on Air" is enjoying airplay in Italy, Austria and Germany. It is in the KroneHit top 20 chart for the week ending June 26.
Untitled Second Album- Kerli's new album is to be released in fall 2009. The first single is rumored to be 'Yes I Can' A electronic pop song unlike her previous alternative songs. In a kyte show on her myspace she said that the new album is going to be more electronic and a surprise in another she was in the studio in new york and said "I'm working on new tracks for the album, their really pop and i hate them but their great". On July 12th Kerli performed new songs off her new album at Õllesummer in Tallinn, Estonia. Their have been 4 confirmed tracks on the album, Yes I Can,Army Of Angels,Red Flags, and If I had you.
Discography
Studio albums
Year | Title | Chart positions | Sales and certifications | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
USA[4] | EST[5] | BEL (Vl)[6] | ITA[7] | SWI[8] | |||
2008 | Love Is Dead
|
126 | 1 | 52 | 64 | 92 |
|
Singles
Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SWI[9] | BEL[6] | ITA[10] | GER[11] | MTV BAL[12] | AUT[13] | |||
2008 | "Love is Dead" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Love Is Dead |
"Walking on Air" | 37 | 32 | 12 | 25 | 5 | 35 | ||
2009 | "Creepshow" | — | — | — | — | 15 | — | |
"Fragile" | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Music videos
Year | Video |
---|---|
2008 | "Love Is Dead" |
"Walking On Air" | |
2009 | "Creepshow" |
EPs
2007: Kerli
Awards and nominations
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Herself | MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Baltic Act[14] | Nominated |
References
- ^ Kerli Interview with Neonlimelight.com
- ^ "Burnout Paradise Track listing".
- ^ "Adtunes ID of Creepshow in Fringe promo".
- ^ Billboard Chart History
- ^ Kerli seljatas Hu? (Kerli beat Hu?. In Estonian). Raadio 2
- ^ a b Flemish Ultratop
- ^ Fimi archivie
- ^ &cat=a
- ^ Swiss chart
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ Europe Music Awards for Best Baltic Act Kerli's Awards and Nominations