Iiris Vesik (born 16 July 1991), better known as simply Iiris, is an Estonian singer, songwriter, and stage actress. Her debut album ''The Magic Gift Box'' was released in March 2012 under EMI Music Finland. She is also a member and the main singer of the group Night Tapes.

Life and career

Early life

Vesik began attending Jakob Westholmi Gümnaasium in 1998, and later graduated in 2010. She has a younger brother and two younger half-sisters. She began her music career after placing third in the Estonian singing competition ''Tähtede laul'' in 2003. Vesik went on to place third again in the televised Estonian singing competition ''Kaks Takti Ette'' in 2007.

Music career

Vesik has competed to represent Estonia in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

on three occasions. In 2008, her song "Ice-Cold Story", written by Riine Pajusaar, placed second in the Eurolaul competition. In 2010 she returned with the self-composed song "Astronaut", placing fourth in the Eesti Laul competition. In 2016, along with Cartoon,

Kerli Kerli Kõiv (; born 7 February 1987), better known mononymously as Kerli, is an Estonian singer and songwriter. Born in Elva, Estonia, Elva, Kerli entered multiple singing competitions before being signed to Island Records in 2006 by LA Reid. In ...

& Kristel Aaslaid she was one of the writers for "Immortality" performed by Cartoon and Kristel Aaslaid at Eesti Laul 2016. She competed with Agoh in Eesti Laul 2018 with the song “Drop That Boogie” and placed 5th in the final. 2010 was a year that rocketed Iiris into the spotlight. After the showcase festival

Tallinn Music Week Tallinn Music Week (TMW) is an international new music showcase, city culture festival and networking event for music and creative industry professionals, held every spring in Tallinn, Estonia since 2009. Operated by Tallinn-based company Shiftwo ...

, Iiris got people talking. “Especially good performance and great songwriting”, said Dietmar Schwenger of the ''

MusikWoche The ''MusikWoche'' is a German music professional magazine. In its subtitle, it calls itself "The news magazine for the music industry". It is thus a trade magazine for the music industry in German-speaking countries. Since 2014, it has been publi ...

''. Invitations from festivals like Popkomm (Germany), Musiikki & Media (Finland), The Great Escape (UK), Positivus (Latvia) and Iceland Airwaves (Iceland) followed soon. At the beginning of 2011 Iiris became the artist of the week on MTV Iggy’s blog – “A depressingly few amount of bands have “it.” In fact, I’m pretty sure I didn’t know what “it” was, until I listened to Estonian singer/songwriter/pianist Iiris. Because whatever “it” is, she definitely has it. Iiris has the eclecticism, the smarts, the innovation, the pop sound, not to mention the adorable/pretty image to become a huge mega mega, mega star.” Iiris was signed to

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Finland in June 2011. Her debut album ''The Magic Gift Box'', produced by Ago Teppand (a.k.a. Sethh), was released on 28 March 2012. Iiris is often compared to Estonian pop singer

, and they are both fans of each other. After Universal Music Group bought EMI, Iiris has been releasing her songs on Universal Music Finland.

Musical style

Iiris is frequently compared to artists such as

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

, Florence & The Machine,

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

and

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian Americans, Russian-born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in New York City's Indie music scene, in ...

Discography

;Studio albums * ''The Magic Gift Box'' (2012, EMI Music Finland/

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

) ;EPs * ''Chinaberry Girl'' (2013,

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

) * ''Hope'' (2016, Dreamweaver) * ''Dream Forever In Glorious Stereo'' (2019) (with Night Tapes) * ''Download Spirit'' (2020) (with Night Tapes) * ''Perfect Kindness'' (2023) (with Night Tapes) * ''Assisted memories'' (2024) (with Night Tapes) ;Singles * "Ice-Cold Story" (Audiosus, 2007) * "Alien" (Rockhouse, 2008) * "Astronaut" (Sethh Sound, 2010) * "Melyse" (EMI Music Finland, 2011) * "Weirdo" (EMI Music Finland, 2012) * "Tigerhead" (Universal Music Finland, 2013) * "Iiridescent Love" (Hand In Hive U.K, 2015) * "Hope" (Dreamweaver, 2016) * "Stranger" (Dreamweaver, 2017) * "Drifting" (Night Tapes, 2023) * "Projections" (Night Tapes, 2024)

Awards and nominations

, - , rowspan="1" , 2010 , Herself , Skype "Go Change The World Award" @ TMW , , - , rowspan="1" , 2012 , "Melyse" , Estonian Music Award for Best Music Video , , - , rowspan="5" , 2013 , rowspan="3" , ''The Magic Gift Box'' , Estonian Music Award for Best Album , , - , Estonian Music Award for Best Debut Album , , - , Estonian Music Award for Best Pop Album , , - , rowspan="1" , Herself , Estonian Music Award for Best Female Artist , , - , "Weirdo" , Estonian Music Award for Best Music Video , , - , rowspan="1" , 2014 , "Tigerhead" , Estonian Music Award for Best Music Video ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iiris 1991 births Living people 21st-century Estonian women singers Estonian stage actresses Estonian child actresses Estonian child singers Estonian pop singers Estonian women pop singers Estonian pianists Estonian women pianists Estonian flautists Women flautists Indie pop musicians Synth-pop singers 21st-century Estonian actresses Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London English-language singers from Estonia