Laura Jansen

Laura Jansen at the Summer Square Festival 2010 in Hengelo

Laura Jansen (born March 4, 1977 in Breda ) is an American - Dutch singer and songwriter .

Live and act

Laura Jansen was born in Breda in 1977 to an American mother and a Dutch father. Therefore, she has both nationalities. While living with her family in Brussels , she started playing the piano at the age of five . In the following years she lived with her family in Zurich and Connecticut .

Jansen's favorite music was from Queen , Joni Mitchell and Barbra Streisand , but she also enjoyed listening to classical music and the Brazilian music her mother loved . In high school , she sang in the choir and performed in musicals .

Because of her passion for politics , Jansen worked for the United Nations in Geneva and studied political science at college . Her dream was to become the first woman Secretary General of the United Nations . However, she dropped out after a good friend, a human rights activist , was murdered in Africa .

Jansen spent the next two years at a music college in the Netherlands, gaining experience as a musician at weddings , before moving to the Berklee College of Music in Boston , Massachusetts on a scholarship .

After Jansen graduated, she moved to Music City Nashville , Tennessee to become a songwriter. However, she did not find her way around the city very well and instead worked in retail .

Jansen has lived in Los Angeles , California since 2003 . There she wanted to use her second chance to become a songwriter, because many well-known artists come from Los Angeles. At first, Jansen performed in the club The Hotel Café , a small but renowned music meeting place where many well-known singers and songwriters, such as B. Katy Perry , John Mayer and Sara Bareilles , started their careers.

Her first EP Trauma was released on February 26, 2007 . As a result, the television network MTV became aware of them and used several pieces from the EP for series such as The Real World and Newport Harbor .

In the same year she was discovered in the Hotel Café by the American singer Joshua Radin , who then took her on tour. In 2008 she appeared as a supporting act for six weeks , supported Radin as a background singer and accompanied him on the piano.

Laura Jansen at Vondelpark in Amsterdam 2010

On her return she became part of the national Hotel Café Tour alongside singers such as Ingrid Michaelson and Rachael Yamagata . After returning, she was invited to some gigs in her native Netherlands, which led to her being signed by Universal Music .

On September 4, 2009 she released her first album Bells . In the Netherlands, the album stayed in the charts for 95 weeks, has now reached sixth place and platinum status .

In September 2009, she toured with William Fitzsimmons as a member of his band and opening act by Europe .

Jansen had her greatest success so far with a cover version of the song Use Somebody by the Kings of Leon . She had rehearsed this piano version for a popular Dutch radio show and played it there. The response was so great that the label decided to record the song. The song stayed in the singles top 100 for 62 weeks and reached number eight. It stayed in the top 40 for 14 weeks and reached number 13. Outside the Netherlands, however, the title could not be placed in the charts, although it was a radio hit and was often covered on casting shows .

In 2011 she returned to the USA. First she went on tour through the USA and Canada again with Joshua Radin as opening act and band member . She then began her own tour with concerts in New York , Chicago , Los Angeles and several appearances at the Festival South by Southwest .

In August 2011, she was with the Belgian singer Milow on tour in Germany .

On December 4, 2012, Jansen released her single Same Heart , which she sang with Tom Chaplin , the front man of the English rock band Keane . This song was the anthem for the 3FM Serious Request 2012, an annual fundraiser. The song reached number six in the singles Top 100.

On March 22, 2013 Jansen then released her second album Elba . In the meantime it reached number five in the Netherlands and stayed in the charts for 22 weeks.

In 2015 Jansen started helping refugees in her city. Later she went to Lesbos (planned 10 days) and stayed for over 2 years. She organized help and support in setting up camps.

Discography (selection)

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		NL
2009	Bells	NL6th platinum (95 weeks)NL	First published: September 4, 2009
2013	Elba	NL5 (22 weeks) NL	First published: March 22, 2013

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		NL
2009	Single girls	-	First published: June 26, 2009
	Use somebody	NL13 (14 weeks) NL	First published: October 16, 2009
2010	Wicked World	NL22 (9 weeks) NL	First published: March 12, 2010
2012	Same Heart	NL25 (4 weeks) NL	First release: December 4th, 2012 feat. Tom Chaplin
2013	Queen of Elba	NL35 (4 weeks) NL	First published: February 22, 2013
	Stapje terug	-	First published: October 11, 2013 feat. Fit

Web links

Commons : Laura Jansen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of Laura Jansen
• Laura Jansen at Allmusic (English)
• The next right thing for refugees Ted Talks

Individual evidence

1. ↑ laut.de: Laut.de biography: Laura Jansen , accessed on December 26, 2012
2. ↑ thevinyldistrict.com: Laura Jansen Interview: SXSW accessed 17 March 2011 on December 26, 2012
3. ↑ all-access-lounge.de: Laura Jansen on tour with Milow ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 26, 2012 
4. ↑ Chart sources: Album Top 100
5. ↑ Awards for Music Sales: NL
6. ↑ Chart sources: Nederlandse Top 40