Jana Kirschner | |
|---|---|
 Kirschner in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Jana Kirschnerová (1978-12-29)29 December 1978 (age 47) |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | piano, guitar |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
Jana Kirschner (née Kirschnerová, born 29 December 1978) is aSlovak singer and songwriter. She is noted for exploring different music genres.
Jana Kirschner was born on 29 December 1978 inMartin, Slovakia. As a child, she attended singing and piano classes.[1] At 7 years old, Kirschner won the children's singing competition Zlatá guľôčka.[2]
At the age of 17 Kirschner competed in theMiss Slovakia pageant. Later in her career Kirschner said she regretted her foray into modeling because of the focus on staying thin, which led her to develop an eating disorder. She nonetheless acknowledged that the media attention associated with her appearance in the beauty pageant helped her in the beginnings of her music career.[3]
In 1996 Kirschner released her first albumJana Kirschner under thePolygram/Universal label. The album was only a modest commercial success. Nonetheless, she was noticed by critics and won the New Artist of the YearZAI Award.
Kirschner's second albumV cudzom meste (1999) was the one that launched her career. By the time of its release Kirschner abandoned the innocent romantic image of a former beauty queen by including explicitly sexual lyrics in several songs featured in the album and appearing topless on the title page of theKankán magazine.[4] V cudzom meste was an undisputed success, four of the songs featured on it became big hits that dominated the national charts and established Kirschner as the "queen" of pop music in Slovakia.[5][6]
In addition to the commercial success, Kirschner work was lauded by the critics. She received by three ZAI Awards - Album and Music Artist of the Year respectively (1999), and Female Singer of the Year (2000). In 1999, also won theSlávik poll–based award.[7] In 2007,V cudzom meste was declared by the jury ofThe 100 Greatest Slovak Albums of All Time the best Slovak album recorded by a female singer.[8]
In 2002 Kirschner released her third albumPelikán followed by her fourth album Veci čo sa dejú in 2003 to mixed reviews. Commercially, both albums were successful and with the passage of time, the critics recognized the quality ofPelikán in particular, placing it among The 100 Greatest Slovak Albums of All Time.
While her solo work failed to reach the heights ofV cudzom meste, Kirschner received much acclaim for her collaborations with predominently Czech musicians. In 2002 she released the singleBude mi lehká zem together with the composer and singerPetr Hapka, which became one of her most recognizable songs and introduced Kirschner to the Czech audience.[9] Building on the success of this collaboration, she appeared in several songs of Hapka's 2006 albumStrážce plamene including a duetPrvní noc v novém bytě together with the legendary Czech folk singerJaromír Nohavica.[10]
Deviating from her image as a pop singer, she teamed up with jazz musiciansPeter Lipa andBoboš Procházka to record a blues albumEosphoros in 2005.[11]
In the years 2003 and 2007, she won twoAurel Awards as Female Singer of the Year.
Kirschner albums released up to 2007 contained occasional English-language songs. Nonetheless all her big hits were either in Slovak or Czech and thus not accessible to the international audience. In 2007, the Universal Music label representing Kirschner decided to attempt to introduce Kirschner to the international audience and funded the production of her fifth albumShine produced byRoss Cullum, which was recorded in London entirely in English. The album received good reviews and was supported by a series of live performances, including one in theQueen Elizabeth Hall in London. However, it failed to achieve the intended commercial breakthrough and Kirschner future work has been predominantly performed in Slovak.[12]
In spite of the lack of success with international audience, Kirschner retained her popularity at home, winning theOTO Awards for best female singer in 2008, 2009, 2010.[13]
In spite of the commercial success ofShine, the stay in London represented a breakthrough in Kirschner's career because it led to a meeting with the producer, musician and composer and arrangerEddie Stevens who because the producer of all future albums released by Kirschner as well as her life partner. The collaboration with Stevens led to the transformation of Kirschner from a pop princess to analternative rock musician.[6]
The first album released with Stevens as a producent wasKrajina rovina recorded in the small town ofHranice in 2010. In spite of overwhelmingly positive reviews, Universal Music was very dissatisfied with Kirschner transformation away from pop music and perceived limited commercial potential of her new artistic direction. Following a highly medialized battle, Universal Music agreed to release Kirschner from her contract in exchange for the return of advance funds paid to Kirschner for the production ofKrajina rovina.[2]
Following the release ofKrajina rovina Kirschner took a career break due to the birth of her two daughters with Stevens. The pair settled in London.[2][14]
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Following the break, Kirschner returned under her new label Slnko records. She released a two-album project titledMoruša: Biela andMoruša: Čierna in 2013 and 2014 respectively produced by Stevens. The tracks from both albums were brought to life again in 2015 on the albumMoruša: Remixed which contains 12 songs remixed by various producers from Central Europe.[15] In 2016 and 2017 Kirschner released recordings of her live performancesTakmer sólo andŽivá.[16] Following the hiatus, she abandoned her signature short hair for a more femine image, which was reflected as well in the intimate nature of her lyrics on both albums.[6] The albums were met with a critical and commercial success, earning adouble-platinum and a limited vinil release.[17]
In 2018, Kirschner started a collaboration with the bandPara, resulting in the singleNašou krajinou, followed byPre tých, čo zostali in 2023.[18] Additionally, she served as a member of the jury in the Czech and Slovak edition ofThe Voice competition.[19] Together with Stevens, she recorded and performed music for the animated series for childrenTresky Plesky.[20]
By the late 2010s, Kirschner became engaged in civil activism, becoming the face of ecological initiatives[21] and headlining the memorial concert for the murdered journalistJán Kuciak.[22]
In 2024, after nearly ten years since theMoruša project, Kirschner released a new albumObyčajnosti, again produced by Stevens.[6]
Slávik
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Jana Kirscher | Singer of the year | Winner - Golden slávik |
| 2000 | |||
| 2001 | |||
| 2002 | |||
| 2003 | Silver slávik | ||
| 2004 | |||
| 2005 | Bronze slávik | ||
| 2009 | Silver slávik | ||
| Jana Kirscher – „Pokoj v duši“ | Hit of the year | Won | |
| Rádioslávik (for the most played artist on the radio) | Won | ||
| 2010 | Jana Kirscher | Singer of the year | Bronze slávik |
SOZA Awards[23]
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Jana Kirschner – „V cudzom meste“ | Award for the most successful composition by a young author in the field of popular music | Won |
| 2009 | Jana Kirschner – „Pokoj v duši“ | Award for the most played song | Won |
| 2014 | Jana Kirschner –Moruša biela | Award for the most successful audio recording by Slovak authors | Won |
| 2020 | Jana Kirschner | Award for a significant share of presentation of domestic music abroad | Won |
| 2021 | Jana Kirschner – „Láska neumiera“ | Award for the most played song | Won |
| Jana Kirschner | Lyricist of the most played musical works | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Jana Kirscher | Best female vocal performance of the year | Won |
| Jana Kirscher – „Na čiernom koni“ | Best song | Won | |
| 2007 | Jana Kirscher | Best female vocal performance of the year | Won |
| Ross Cullum –Shine (Jana Kirschner) | Best audio recording | Won |
Grand Prix Radio
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Jana Kirscher – „Na čiernom koni“ | Song of the year | Won |
| Jana Kirscher | Absolute winner | Won |
Panta Rhei Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Award | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jana Kirschner –Krajina rovina | The best-selling non-book work of 2010 | Nominated | [24] |
| 2013 | Jana Kirschner –Moruša biela | Top music title of the year | Won | [25] |
Radio_Head awards[26]
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Jana Kirscher –Moruša biela | Album of the year | Nominated |
| Album of the year / Critics Award | Won | ||
| Album of the year World music / Folk | Won | ||
| Jana Kirscher – „Sama“ | Single of the year | Nominated | |
| Jana Kirscher | Concert band / Performer of the year | Nominated | |
| 2014 | Jana Kirscher –Moruša čierna | Album of the year / Critics Award | Won |
| 2022 | Para – „To okolo nás“ (feat. Jana Kirschner & Matej Starkov) | Song of the year | Won |
TV Screen Personality (OTO)
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Jana Kirschner | Singer of the year | Won |
| 2008 | Won | ||
| 2009 | Won | ||
| 2010 | Won |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
