Laura Elizabeth Arabosa Izibor (born May 1987) is an Irish recording artist, musician and producer. She won the 2FM Song Contest while still in secondary school. She went on to win an award at the 2006 Meteor Music Awards. She also performed at that year's Electric Picnic music festival and Music Ireland 2007. Izibor has opened for

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

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, Estelle,

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, and

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on tour. Her debut album, '' Let the Truth Be Told'', was released in Ireland on 8 May 2009. Izibor has appeared in

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

television show, '' One Tree Hill'', where she plays Erin Macree.

Life and career

1987–2003: Early life and career beginnings

Laura Elizabeth Arabosa Izibor was born in May 1987 in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland. She is the fourth of five children born to Irish mother Trish and Nigerian father Saul. After singing "

When You Believe "When You Believe" is a song made for the 1998 DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks musical animated feature ''The Prince of Egypt'', with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. A pop single version of "When You Believe" performed by American singers ...

", a duet by

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

, in her drama class, she discovered her interest for music; she began writing songs at age 13 and taught herself how to play the piano at 14. At age 15, Izibor won the Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) 2FM Song Contest. Her winning song, "Compatible", received constant

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

after she won the competition. RTÉ also filmed a documentary of Izibor after winning the competition.

2004–present: ''Let the Truth Be Told''

At age 17, Izibor was signed to

Jive Records Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...

and dropped out of school to record her debut album. After a dispute with the label, she signed with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

and subsequently moved to New York after her mentor, Steve Lunt, was offered a job at the label. She won an award at the 2006 Meteor Music Award and became the first unsigned recording artist to receive a nomination. Izibor's debut album, '' Let the Truth Be Told'', was released in May 2009. The album debuted at number two on the

Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). The charts were previously compiled on behalf of IRMA by Chart-Track, and have been compiled by t ...

. The album debuted on the U.K Album Chart at 100 and number 27 on the U.S ''Billboard'' 200. Her single " From My Heart to Yours" had been released six months earlier, on 10 November 2008 and peaked at number twenty-five on the U.S Billboard

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. Her second single 'Shine' was released on 16 March 2009 and peaked at number twenty-one on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

. It remained in the charts for four weeks. The song had originally been written for the film '' The Nanny Diaries'' but was eventually added to the album. It featured on many television adverts, as well as television dramas. A third single " Don't Stay" was released on 11 May 2009 and peaked at number fifty-eight on the U.S Billboard

. 'If Tonight Is My Last' was announced as the album's fourth single but was never released. The song, however, featured on a commercial for U.S hit T.V show '' One Tree Hill'' and is considered one of Izibor's best songs. She was nominated for 'Best U.K Newcomer'at the MOBO Awards 2009 and 'Best Female Act' at the 2010 Meteor Awards, as well as 'Best Irish Pop Act'. She performed at Bestival 2009 on 11 September 2009 and at the Electric Picnic 2009 on 4 September 2009. She performed a new single 'Gracefully' at the Jazz Cafe in London, on 12 September. A little over a year later, on 19 October 2010, Izibor debuted her new single "Can't Be Loved" in the sixth episode of One Tree Hill's eighth season. The track was rumoured to be the lead single on Izibor's new album but she neither confirmed nor denied this. In an interview with music website Metromix, on 29 July 2011, Izibor revealed that the name of her second album would be ''Love, Learn, Live'' and would hopefully be released soon. However, by summer 2012, no album had been released. However, Izibor did release an EP on 7 August 2012, called ''The Brooklyn Sessions Vol. 1'', which continued three songs: "Gracefully", "He'll Never Know" and "Ring".

Film and television

* Her song " From My Heart to Yours" featured in an episode of

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

and the

Vh1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

reality series Tough Love. * Her single '' Shine'' was the lead track for the movie Nanny Diaries, is currently used in the

Hibernian Aviva Aviva Group Ireland plc is the Irish arm of British insurance firm Aviva plc. Its headquarters are in Dublin. The company also provides investment management and pension services. D&B Hoovers reported in October 2010 that Aviva is the ...

commercial in the Republic of Ireland and in the

Norwich Union Norwich Union was the name of insurance company Aviva's British arm before June 2009. It was originally established in 1797. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. On 29 April 2008, Aviva a ...

(soon to be

Aviva Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It has about 19 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general ...

) commercial in the United Kingdom. Withfirst-week sales in the United States.The CD's first-week chart position is 27 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums. Diana Ross is rumoured to have recorded a duet with Izibor for the European edition of her upcoming album. * Her song "Mmm..." is featured in '' Step Up 2: The Streets'', '' Why Did I Get Married?'',''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...

'', '' One Tree Hill'' and ''

Seven Pounds ''Seven Pounds'' is a 2008 American drama film directed by Gabriele Muccino, written by Grant Nieporte, and starring Will Smith as a man who sets out to change the lives of seven people; Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, and Barry Pepper also ...

'' starring Will Smith. * Her song "Carousel" is featured on the P.S. I Love You soundtrack. *Her song "If Tonight is my Last" was used as '' America's Best Dance Crew'' Season 4 elimination song. *A video of her performing her song "Mmm..." was featured in an episode of

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

called 'The Parts in the Sum of the Whole' as murder victim Gemma Arrington Laura debuts in One Tree Hill during the 8th Season (2010). Her song "Can't be Love", which she created specifically for the show, debuted during the 6th episode on 20 October 2010.

Musical style

Izibor cites

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

and

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

as her inspirations. Izibor music has been compared to recording artists

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; née Bailey; born 26 February 1979) is a British singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an a ...

and

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

. Nicole Frehsée of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine described Izibor's debut album, '' Let the Truth Be Told'', as "a sunny, chick-flick-worthy take on vintage soul". Noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of 'Blues & Soul' described the album as "Anchored firmly in classic R&B and effectively combining a reverence for the traditions of vintage, warm piano-driven soul with a fresh twist of modern sensibility". While Pete Daniel Smith of ''

Sunday Mercury ''Sunday Mercury'' is a Sunday Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid published in Birmingham, UK, and now owned by Reach plc. History The first edition was published on 29 December 1918. The first editor was John Turner Fearon (1869–1937), w ...

'' described the album as a "dazzling R&B debut", noting "a remarkable soul vocal that'll send shivers down your spine".

Discography

*'' Let the Truth Be Told'' (2009)

Awards and nominations

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MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Ba ...

, Best UK Newcomer , , style="text-align:center;", , - ,

Soul Train Music Awards The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards ceremony which honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the production company of '' Soul Train'', the program from which it takes its name, and ...

, Centric Award – Soul Approved/Underground , , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="text-align:center;", 2010 ,

BET Awards The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...

, Best UK / IRISH ACT , , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="text-align:center;", 2010 , CHOICE MUSIC AWARD , Best Album , , style="text-align:center;", , -

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Izibor, Laura 1987 births 20th-century Irish women singers Irish people of Nigerian descent 20th-century Irish pianists Irish pop singers Irish women pop singers Irish record producers Irish women record producers Irish women singer-songwriters Irish singer-songwriters Neo soul singers Atlantic Records artists Musicians from Dublin (city) Living people 21st-century Irish women singers 21st-century Irish pianists Black Irish people Irish pianists Irish women pianists 20th-century women pianists 21st-century women pianists Irish soul singers Irish contemporary R&B singers