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November 21st, 2007 - Happy Birthday Björk!
By Allie | November 21, 2007
Björk Guðmundsdóttir (born November 21, 1965) is an Icelandic singer-songwriter, composer, actress and music producer.
She’s42!
She has been nominated for 12 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award and two Golden Globe awards (including one for acting).
She is best known for her expressive range and an interest in many kinds of music, including pop, alternative rock, jazz, ambient music, electronica, and folk, as well as her eccentric costumes. She has won numerous awards.
Björk was born and raised in Reykjavík. Her musical career began when she was 11, beginning with her study of classical piano in elementary school. One of her instructors sent a recording of Björk singing Tina Charles’ song “I Love to Love” to RÚV, then the only radio station in Iceland. The recording was broadcast on radio nationally; after hearing it, a representative of the record label Fálkinn contacted Björk to offer a record contract. An album, Björk, was recorded and released in 1977.
In her teens, Björk was influenced by punk rock; at 14 she formed the all-girl punk band Spit and Snot, shortly followed by the jazz fusion group Exodus in 1979. In 1980 she graduated from music school. In 1981 she and bassist Jakob Magnússon formed another band called Jam-80, which later became Tappi Tíkarrass (which means “Cork the Bitch’s Arse” in Icelandic), and released an extended single, “Bítið Fast í Vítið” in the same year. Their next album, Miranda, was released in 1983.
Björk’s sixth full-length studio album, Volta, was released on May 7, 2007. It was primarily written and produced by Björk herself and features 10 new tracks. It features input from acclaimed producer Timbaland, Antony Hegarty and Sjón, among other artists.
The first single from the album, “Earth Intruders”, was released digitally on April 9, 2007 and became her second-ever Billboard Hot 100 entry in the United States. Volta debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart, becoming her first Top 10 album in the U.S., netting week-one sales of 43,000. The album also reached number three on the French albums chart with sales of 20,600 albums sold in its first week, and number seven in the UK Albums Chart with 20,456 units sold.
The second single from the album, “Innocence”, was digitally released on July 23, 2007, with an accompanying music video chosen from a contest conducted through the official website. “Wanderlust” and “Declare Independence are also both confirmed as upcoming singles.
Björk is currently on an 18 month world tour, and has performed at Coachella, the Glastonbury Festival, Austin City Limits and Madison Square Garden among many others. Björk returned to Brazil, Chile and Argentina after nine years, performing in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Curitiba, Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires as part of different events. In November she also performed in Lima,Peru and Bogotá, Colombia for the first time in her career and then in Mexico in December 2007 at Guadalajara. She will also return to Australia and New Zealand for the first time in 12 years in January 2008, and will play a one-off intimate show at the Sydney Opera House, as part of the Sydney Festival. She will also headline the Big Day Out festival alongside Rage Against the Machine.
Personal Life:
Björk and her partner, artist Matthew Barney, have a daughter, Ísadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney, born October 3, 2002. Björk also has a son, Sindri Eldon Þórsson, born June 8, 1986, with Þór Eldon, who was her bandmate in The Sugarcubes. Sindri is a journalist and plays bass for several bands.
Other November 21st Birthdays:
Marlo Thomas-Actress -70
Juliet Mills-Actress -66
Goldie Hawn-Actress -62
Cherry Jones-Actress -51
Nicollette Sheridan-Actress -44
Jena Malone-Actress -23
Topics: Celebrity Birthdays, Music Notables, Wired Music, Wired Videos |
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