Brooke Gabrielle Ligertwood (néeFraser; born 15 December 1983), professionally known as Brooke Fraser, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. After signing with Sony BMG in 2002, she gained recognition for her debut album, What to Do with Daylight (2003) and followed with Albertine (2006) and Flags (2010). All three debuted at number one on the RMNZ chart and gained her the number one single "Something in the Water". She later released Brutal Romantic (2014), various compilation albums, the live album Seven (2022) and Eight (2023). The latter two were released by Capitol CMG under her married name, Brooke Ligertwood.
Fraser took piano lessons between the ages of seven and seventeen. She started writing songs at age twelve and taught herself the acoustic guitar at age fifteen. She began writing for the Soul Purpose magazine at age fifteen and was later made editor in 2002. She gave up her job as editor shortly after moving to Auckland in late 2002 in order to pursue her music career.[7] In 2002, at the age of 18, Fraser signed a multi album deal with Sony Music, after a fierce bidding war between labels.[8]
Musical career
2002−2004: Breakthrough with What to Do With Daylight
Fraser's first album, What to Do with Daylight, was released in New Zealand in late 2003, which debuted at No. 1 and achieved gold status the same week. The album eventually went seven times platinum,[9] which sold over 105,000 copies in New Zealand alone.[10] It remained on the album charts for sixty-six weeks.[11] All five singles from the album reached the top twenty in the New Zealand Singles Chart.[12] Her album also topped the New Zealand Top 50 Albums for all of 2004.[13] The album also achieved gold status in Australia.[citation needed]
Following the release of What to Do with Daylight, Fraser toured Australia and New Zealand with American recording artist John Mayer and then toured New Zealand with veteran English rock artist David Bowie.[14][15]
2005−2009: Albertine, first tenure with Hillsong Worship, and other ventures
In 2005, prior to writing and preparing her follow-up album, Fraser went to Rwanda before visiting her World Vision sponsor children in Tanzania. Fraser wrote the song "Albertine" about a young genocide victim (named Albertine), whom she met while in Rwanda. This song became her second album's title track.[16] For this album, Fraser decided to enlist a new band of American session musicians who had worked with an array of notable artists, both live and recorded.[17]
In 2006, Fraser and the band went into the studio in Los Angeles to record the album with producer Marshall Altman. The first single, "Deciphering Me", reached No. 4 in the New Zealand single charts in 2006.[citation needed] On 4 December 2006, the album, Albertine, was released in New Zealand, which achieved double platinum status less than a month after its release. The album was released in Australia and internationally on 31 March 2007. In Australia, it charted at No. 29 in its first week on 9 April and has achieved Gold sales status. Albertine also became Fraser's US debut, released on 27 May 2008. It entered the Billboard 200 at No. 90 on 19 July 2008. The album was propelled by online sales after being chosen as Editor's Choice on iTunes.[18] In 2008, Fraser undertook a major world tour, culminating the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, UK.
Already part of Hillsong Church since 2005, Fraser joined the Australian church's worship band—Hillsong Worship—where she participates under her married name: Brooke Ligertwood.[19] The first album she was included on was the 2006 album Mighty to Save, on which she co-wrote "None But Jesus" from United We Stand, released in 2006. Her last live album with the band was the 2010 album A Beautiful Exchange, after which Fraser left Hillsong Worship.
2010−2015: Flags and Brutal Romantic
Fraser performing in 2015 on the Brutal Romantic Tour.
Flags was recorded at East West Studios in Hollywood in mid 2010[20] and released on 12 October 2010, in New Zealand, Australia and North America. Fraser celebrated with sold-out tours in all territories. Flags reached No. 1 on the New Zealand album chart,[21] No. 3 in Australia[22] and entered at No. 59 on the Billboard 200 in the US.[23]Flags has been certified Gold in Australia and 3× Platinum in New Zealand, where it was also the sixth-highest-selling album of 2010.[24] The first single, "Something in the Water", achieved extensive radio success across the globe; notably, it received BBC Radio 2 A-list rotation in the top 10 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Finland and Belgium and is a gold single in Germany and Italy.[25] The single achieved double platinum sales in NZ where it spent 21 weeks in the 2010 singles chart.[26]Flags was released in July 2011 in Europe and debuted in the album charts at No. 6 in Germany, No. 33 in Austria and No. 24 in Switzerland. A month after its release, Flags remained in the German top twenty at No. 13 and "Something in the Water" on the singles charts at No. 8. Flags was released in October 2011 in Hungary and reached No. 15 on the national album chart by the second week of release.[27]Flags was later released in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland on 7 November 2011.[28]
In its review of Flags, Glide Magazine said: "Brooke Fraser's third release, Flags, is a wonder. From the stunning lyrical imagery throughout to the impressive guest vocalists who join her (Cary Brothers, Jon Foreman and Aqualung among them), from Fraser's ethereal and breathy performances to the wide-ranging soundscapes, this record is drenched in beauty and stands as one of the more remarkable achievements of 2010."[29]
After the release of Flags, Fraser signed a recording contract with Vagrant Records and started recording her fourth studio album. On 13 August 2014, Fraser released a "taster track" titled "Psychosocial" on SoundCloud.[30] The song marked a shift in musical direction for Fraser, as she moved from more acoustic and singer-songwriter based tunes to more electronic sounds. Her single "Kings and Queens" went to radio on 22 September 2014 and was available for digital download on 26 September 2014. On 1 October, she announced her fourth studio album, Brutal Romantic, would follow in November.[31][32] The album was released in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia on 14 November 2014 and in North America on 17 November 2014. The album was produced by Fraser and David Kosten, except the track "Magical Machine" which was produced by Fraser, Kosten and Dan Wilson.[33] In September 2015, Fraser performed a song titled "Team, Ball, Player, Thing" as a part of a charity supergroup #KiwisCureBatten. It was an official supporters' song of the All Blacks in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. It was also in aid of research into Batten disease via the New Zealand charity Cure Kids. It was released as a single on 11 September 2015.[34] The day after it was released, the single debuted at No. 6 on the New Zealand Top 40 chart.[35]
2016−present: Return to Hillsong Church, solo worship albums, and second departure from Hillsong Church
In 2016, she released the single "Therapy", which featured on her first compilation album, A Sides, released in November.[36] This was followed by her second compilation album, B Sides, in November 2018.[37][38]
On 25 February 2022, Fraser released Seven. It is her first live solo album, her first solo work since rejoining Hillsong Worship and the first to be released under her married name.[42] On 28 April 2023, she released Siete, an EP consisting of 5 songs from Seven in Spanish.[43] Her first studio album in nine years, titled Eight, was released on 20 October 2023, once again under her married name.[44] Fraser revealed during the album's press cycle that she had stepped away again from Hillsong following several controversies and major changes within the church.[45]
On June 22, 2024, she performed with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra for a one-night only concert at the Spark Arena in Auckland; the concert became the venue's largest crowd ever for a solo New Zealand act.[46] However, during this show, she thanked music executive Paul McKessar, which attracted controversy due to his involvement in the #MeTooNZ probe on harassment and abuse in the New Zealand music industry. [47]
On August 8, 2024, she released Infinity, a live album with songs from Eight, with Benjamin Tennikoff.[48]
On November 23, 2024, she released live version of Shadowfeet on her Brooke Fraser You Tube channel. Video was recorded in Spark Arena with Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
Personal life
After the success of her first album, Fraser moved to Sydney in 2004. On 17 March 2008, she married Scott Ligertwood, in Sydney.[49] She continued to perform under her maiden name "Brooke Fraser" for her solo career[50] until the release of her live album Seven in 2022.
In March 2015, Fraser announced she was pregnant with their first child.[51] A daughter was born on 18 September 2015.[52] Fraser currently lives in Los Angeles, where she was occasionally on the Sunday worship team at the Hillsong Church Los Angeles campus prior to her departure from the church.[53] Another daughter was born on 10 July 2017.[54][55]
Artistry and influences
Fraser performing in 2010.
Fraser's music tends to contain Christian themes and imagery while "her work with Hillsong allowed her to fully express her faith."[56] Her genres include folk-pop with more recent pop elements incorporated into her work.[57] Fraser's image as an artist is described as a "dark-haired, wide-eyed, eternally innocent Christian who sang of happy feet, being thrown a lifeline and things in the water."[58] As an artist who writes her songs, she is described as "fast-paced and diligent; she throws herself into everything," fashion and lyric-wise.[58]
In a Newshub interview, Fraser noted that "pop music is music that everyone can connect to and get on board with, and that's really the same with worship music. Ideally, it's music that you can come into a church and sing, whether you're a mechanic or a singer or a doctor or a stay-at-home mum, that you would find a connection point in those lyrics which uplifts you, connects you to God and helps you on your own journey".[56] She has also cited New Zealand artist Lorde as an influence.[56]
Philanthropy
In late 2010 whilst on tour in the US promoting her third album Flags, Fraser, in conjunction with charity: water, ran a birthday campaign asking her fans to donate $27 in honour of her 27th birthday. The goal was to raise $50,000 to build clean water wells in Ethiopia.[59] Fraser has worked with World Vision as an Artist Associate since 2001. She has visited Cambodia and Tanzania with World Vision, the Philippines with Opportunity International and independently travelled to Rwanda in June 2005, in June 2006 as part of charity event "Hope Rwanda", and in May 2007 when she filmed the music video for the song "Albertine" off her second studio album of the same name.[60] Fraser was one of many New Zealand performers to work alongside New Zealand comedy band Flight of the Conchords in their 2012 New Zealand Red Nose Day charity song "Feel Inside (And Stuff Like That)".[61]
^Macdonald, Nikki (21 November 2011). "Brooke Fraser's long road to stardom". Stuff (company). Retrieved 25 September 2018. ... She even went to her first Parramatta Eels rugby league game. Fraser's younger brothers remain in New Zealand (Matt in Wellington; Shea in Dunedin) ...
^Schulz, Chris (1 December 2017). "Brooke Fraser's secret Grammy nomination is for Hillsong's What a Beautiful Name". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 19 January 2018. Despite the success of What a Beautiful Name, from the album Let There Be Light, she still plans to perform under the name Brooke Fraser. "When I'm singing as Brooke Fraser, it can be more about me; when I am with Hillsong, I am simply part of the church and it's not about me," she said.
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