Janice Whaley is an American and experimental

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

singer and songwriter from

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. Whaley's music is a combination of

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

. She is most well known for her 2010 multi-album solo work ''The Smiths Project'', consisting of a capella covers of every song by British alt-rock band

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

Early life

Whaley was born and raised in

Joshua Tree, California Joshua Tree is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 6,489 at the 2020 census. At approximately above sea level, Joshua Tree and its surrounding communities are located in the Hig ...

. Her father was a Baptist minister. She learned to play piano as a child, and was a member of her high school marching, symphonic and jazz bands. After high school, she studied electronic music at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

Musical career

In 2010, Janice Whaley released ''The Smiths Project'', a reimagining of the entire catalog of Smiths songs. ''The Smiths Project'' was meticulously constructed over the course of a year by Whaley on her own, building up each song in 20 or 30 layers of vocals, entirely a capella, taking up to 30 hours per song. Stephen Kelly of British newspaper The Guardian called ''The Smiths Project'' a "testament to just how charming, creative and arduous the modern tribute can be", and praised it as a sincere, heartfelt reinterpretation of the original Smiths catalog, saying that her "greatest achievement has been to highlight and detach the art from the artist." Music journalist Sam Taylor also praised Whaley's cover of "How Soon Is Now?" as "one of the song's more successful heirs", saying that Whaley's "a cappella harmonies capture the original's eeriness."

Discography

Albums

* ''The Smiths Project'' (2011), album series and box set including: ** ''The Smiths'' ** ''Hatful of Hollow'' ** ''Meat is Murder'' ** ''The Queen is Dead'' ** ''Louder than Bombs'' ** ''Strangeways, Here We Come'' * ''Patchwork Life'' (2012)

Stand-alone cover versions and collaborations

* "Trees" (2011): re-recording of track from the

Curt Smith Curt Smith (born 24 June 1961) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist, bassist, and co-founding member of the pop rock band Tears for Fears along with childhood friend Roland ...

(

Tears For Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...

) album ''Mayfield''. * "Ideas as Opiates" (2012): duet with actor

James Roday James Roday Rodriguez (born James David Rodriguez; April 4, 1976) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for portraying Shawn Spencer, a hyper-observant consultant detective and fake psychic, in USA Network series '' ...

, original version by

. * "We Need You" (2012): cover version of

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

original, as requested by

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is an English singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the Briti ...

References

External links

JaniceWhaley.com

TheSmithsProject.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whaley, Janice Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women singers San Francisco State University alumni 21st-century American women