Louisa Rose Allen (Foxes) | |
|---|---|
_(3%2c_cropped)_By_Daniel_%25C3%2585hs_Karlsson.jpg) Foxes atSommarkrysset in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Lou, Loui Rose[1][2] |
| Born | Louisa Rose Allen (1989-04-29)29 April 1989 (age 36) Southampton,Hampshire, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2011–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | iamfoxes |
Louisa Rose Allen (born 29 April 1989), known professionally asFoxes, is an English pop singer.[8] After her debut single "Youth" was noticed by German DJZedd in 2012, she was featured on the song "Clarity", which peaked at number eight on theBillboard Hot 100 and won aGrammy Award forBest Dance Recording. She has since released three albums:Glorious (2014),All I Need (2016),The Kick (2022) as well as two EPs:Warrior (2012) andFriends in the Corner (2021). She has achieved commercial success with the singles "Youth", "Let Go for Tonight", "Holding onto Heaven", "Body Talk", and "Amazing".
Allen was born inSouthampton,Hampshire, and grew up in the city'sSwaythling andSt Denys areas. She attended St Denys Primary School,Cantell School, andEastleigh College.[9] She began to write music when she was 14 years old and was a finalist in a local talent competition in 2009.[9] At 18 years old she considered training as a beauty therapist, however her sister persuaded her to move toLondon to pursue her singing ambitions.[10] She attended the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance but dropped out, preferring to write and perform music than study it.[11][12]
Allen devised a stage name to differentiate herself from British pop singerLily Allen. She considered the alias Foxes after a suggestion from a friend, the first song she had written being titled "Like Foxes Do"; her mother then told her that she had a dream the previous night "about these foxes running up our street and they were howling and making these beautiful noises", which she said reminded her of her daughter's music. Allen chose Foxes based on this connection.[13] She began performing gigs as Foxes in London in 2011.[9]
Foxes released her debut single, "Youth", in January 2012 onNeon Gold Records,[14][15] and the following month was signed to Sign of the Times, aSimon Fuller-owned UK imprint ofSony Music Entertainment.[16] "Youth" and its B-side, "Home", were featured in the American television seriesGossip Girl and anEP,Warrior (produced by Samuel Dixon, also known as Sam Kennedy, and later Maddox Dixon), followed in July 2012, which Foxes promoted with a US tour.[17][18][19]Paste magazine describedWarrior as "a beautifully ethereal EP that warrants all sorts of comparisons, but equally manages to stand on its own two feet",[20] whilePopMatters wrote that it was "a powerful, well-rounded set" andConsequence of Sound introduced the singer as "[i]fFlorence Welch andKaty Perry had a beautiful, brunette love child".[21][22] Later in 2012, Foxes toured withMarina and the Diamonds on herLonely Hearts Club Tour and released a second single, "Echo".[12]
"Youth" caught the attention of dance producerZedd, who invited Foxes to feature on his song "Clarity".[23] "Clarity" was released as a single in late 2012 and became a major hit during 2013, reaching number eight on the USBillboardHot 100 and number one on theHot Dance Club Songs.[24] The song was certified double platinum in Australia, platinum in the United States,[25][26] and gold in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 27 on theUK Singles Chart. At the56th Annual Grammy Awards, Zedd and Foxes won the award forBest Dance Recording.[10] Also in 2013, Foxes was featured onFall Out Boy's song "Just One Yesterday" from their albumSave Rock and Roll, on theRudimental single "Right Here" (a top 20 hit in the United Kingdom) and on theSub Focus track "Until the End", from his albumTorus.
Foxes' "teaser" single "Beauty Queen" was released in May 2013, followed by a US re-release of "Youth" in August 2013 after Foxes signed toRCA Records in the country.[23][27][28] In the United Kingdom, "Youth" reached number 12 on the singles chart in October 2013, concurrent to the song's use in a high profile advertising campaign for retailerDebenhams.[29][30][31] During late 2013, Foxes embarked on a headline tour of the United Kingdom.[9] A newly recorded version of "Let Go for Tonight", a track previously featured on theWarrior EP, was released as a single in February 2014, charting in the United Kingdom at number seven—Foxes' first top ten hit.[29]
On 17 April 2014, Foxes appeared on BBC Radio 1's Innuendo Bingo.[32] Foxes' debut album,Glorious, was released in May 2014 following the single "Holding onto Heaven" (number 14), and debuted at number five on theUK Albums Chart.[29] A fourth single, "Glorious", followed in August 2014 and was used in anITV advertising campaign promoting the network's autumn season of programmes.[33] During September and October 2014, Foxes served as the opening act for R&B musicianPharrell'sDear Girl Tour, playing to arenas across Europe.[11] Pharrell personally offered a support slot to Foxes after hearing her cover of his hit single "Happy" forRadio 1's Live Lounge;[34] Foxes later accused producers of the televised singing competitionThe X Factor for copying her arrangement of "Happy" for a performance of the song by contestantLauren Platt, as both versions interpolated theMassive Attack song "Teardrop".[35][36][37] Also in October, Foxes was featured in theeighth series of the BBC science fiction seriesDoctor Who, performingQueen's "Don't Stop Me Now" in the episode "Mummy on the Orient Express".[38][39] In December, Foxes toured the United Kingdom once again as a headliner.[34]
Foxes stated in a late 2014 interview that she had commenced work on her second album.[34] She also collaborated with veteran dance producerGiorgio Moroder on his 2015 solo album,Déjà Vu, featuring on the track "Wildstar".[40] In subsequent interviews, Foxes announced that the album was titledAll I Need and she hoped to release it in late 2015.[41] Recording sessions took place in America, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.[42][43]
All I Need was released on 5 February 2016.[44] The album's first single, "Body Talk", was released in July 2015 and reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.[29][45] Foxes debuted the track during a one-day tour of seven UK cities that earned her an entry to theGuinness World Records for the title of "most live concerts in 12 hours in multiple cities".[46] The album's track listing and the video for the song "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" were also released in July.[47][48] The second single, "Better Love", was released in September 2015.[49] After that Foxes embarked on a headline UK tour, supported byIzzy Bizu.[50] The third single "Amazing" was released on 4 December 2015. "Amazing" was used by ITV in an advertsiment to promote their Christmas programming. Foxes featured onKygo's track "Oasis" from his albumCloud Nine, which was released on 13 May 2016. "Cruel" was released as the fourth single fromAll I Need on 19 April 2016 with an accompanying music video released on the same date. In the same month, Foxes was announced to be one of the supporting acts of Britishalternative rock bandColdplay in the European and North American legs of theirA Head Full of Dreams Tour, alongsideAlessia Cara.[51]
In March 2017, ITV used Foxes' song "Scar" to promoteGrantchester's third series.[52] She performed at the Indonesian Television Awards on 20 September 2017, performing songs including "Better Love", "Let Go For Tonight", and "Clarity".[53] In February 2018, Foxes teased of new music saying, "Thank you for your patience with this next record... I will be releasing new music this year and I can't wait to share it with you".[54]
On 15 May 2020, Foxes teased new music on her social media platforms by sharing three videos, one each day, which consisted of her asking a question. The videos were accompanied by a phone number one could ring to answer the question.[55][56][57] The lead single from her upcoming project, "Love Not Loving You", was released on 20 May 2020, marking her first song release in four years.[58][59] On the same day, it was revealed that Foxes had signed a new record deal withPIAS Recordings; it made the single her first release on the label.[60] On 29 July 2020, the second single, "Woman", was released.[61][62] It was followed by the third and fourth singles, "Friends in the Corner" and "Hollywood" which were released on 2 September 2020 and 4 December 2020 respectively.[63][64] The latter was described as a "cathartic experience" byClash magazine.[65]
On 17 March 2021, Foxes released the single "Kathleen" and announced the release of her second EPFriends in the Corner, which would include all previously released singles and an additional two new songs.[66] The EP was released on 1 April 2021.[67]
Her third studio album,The Kick, was released on 11 February 2022, which included the single "Sister Ray", released in September 2021.[68]
In 2013, Foxes appeared in an advertising campaign promoting retailer Debenhams's autumn/winter collection.[30] She compiled a playlist to accompany theLondon Fashion Week premiere of Markus Lupfer's autumn/winter collection in 2014,[13] and later in the year advertisedAdidas's Energy Boost line of running shoes.[69][70][71] For stage outfits on her 2014 tours, Foxes collaborated with fashion brandRiver Island citingBjörk andPatti Smith as inspirations.[72] She fronted the 2015 poster campaign forFashion Targets Breast Cancer alongsideAbbey Clancy,Alice Dellal andLily Donaldson,[73] and the same year became the face of fashion retailerH&M's H&M Loves Music collection.[74]
Foxes has said that her fashion sense has been influenced by fellow singerCyndi Lauper and characters in films such asEmpire Records (1995) andRomy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), as well as bygrunge fashions andJapanese street fashion.[72][75] In 2014,ASOS.com declared Foxes "a total fashun [sic] muse" and praised herbangs as "great for hairspiration",[76] whileElle referred to the singer as a "fashion maven" and invited her to perform for their ELLE Sessions series.[69][77] Foxes is signed to the modelling agency Premier Models, has appeared in shoots forVogue andNylon magazines, and has been dressed for various red carpet events[clarification needed] by Mark Fast, Markus Lupfer, andMiu Miu.[13][76][78]
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2013 Video Music Awards | Artist to Watch – "Clarity" (withZedd) | Nominated | |
| 2014 | 56th Grammy Awards | Best Dance Recording – "Clarity" (with Zedd) | Won | [79] |
| 2014 Billboard Music Awards | Top Dance/Electronic Song – "Clarity" (with Zedd) | Nominated | ||
| 2014 Radio Disney Music Awards | Best Musical Collaboration – "Clarity" (with Zedd) | Nominated | [80] | |
| 2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards | EDM Song of the Year – "Clarity" (with Zedd) | Nominated | ||
| 2014 ASCAP Pop Awards | Most Performed Song – "Clarity" (with Zedd) | Won | [81] | |
| 2014 International Dance Music Awards | Best Electro/Progressive House Track – "Clarity" (with Zedd) | Nominated | [82] | |
| Best Commercial/Pop Dance Track – "Clarity" (with Zedd) | Nominated | |||
| Best Featured Vocalist Performance – "Clarity" (with Zedd) | Nominated | |||
| 2014 World Music Awards | World's Best Song – "Clarity" (with Zedd) | Nominated | [citation needed] | |
| World's Best Song –"Youth" – Herself | Nominated | |||
| World's Best Video – "Clarity" (with Zedd) | Nominated | |||
| World’s Best Female Artist – Herself | Nominated | |||
| World’s Best Entertainer of the Year – Herself | Nominated | |||
| World’s Best Live Act – Herself | Nominated | |||
| Glamour Awards | NEXT Breakthrough – Herself | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | Popjustice £20 Music Prize | Best British Pop Single - "Body Talk" | Nominated | |
| 2016 | Glamour Awards | Cointreau British Solo Artist[83] | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Best Art Vinyl | Best Vinyl Art -The Kick | Nominated | [84] |
1:52: "Hello, I'm Loui Rose"
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