Brooke Fraser | |
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.jpg) Fraser in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Brooke Gabrielle Fraser |
| Also known as | Brooke Ligertwood |
| Born | (1983-12-15)15 December 1983 (age 41) Wellington, New Zealand |
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| Years active | 2002–present |
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| Spouse | |
| Website | brookefraser |
Brooke Gabrielle Ligertwood (néeFraser; born 15 December 1983) is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. She uses both her maiden and married names professionally.[1][2] After signing withSony BMG in 2002, she gained recognition for her debut album,What to Do with Daylight (2003) and followed withAlbertine (2006) andFlags (2010). All three debuted at number one on theRMNZ chart and gained her the number one single "Something in the Water". She later releasedBrutal Romantic (2014), various compilation albums, the live albumSeven (2022) andEight (2023). The latter two were released byCapitol CMG under her married name,Brooke Ligertwood.
Fraser became a member of the Australian Christian music groupHillsong Worship, where she wrote and performed several songs for the collective. She rejoined the group from 2016 until 2023, where she had performed on various songs including "Who You Say I Am", "King of Kings" and "What a Beautiful Name". Fraser co-wrote and performed the latter live track, and won theGrammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance in2018.
Fraser is the eldest of three children born to former rugby playerBernie Fraser,[3] who was born inLautoka, Fiji, and his wife Lynda.[4] Her father is ofFijian,Portuguese, andScottish descent.[5] She has two brothers: Matthew, who lives inWellington, and Shea, who lives inDunedin.[6][7] Fraser grew up inNaenae,Lower Hutt and attended Dyer Street School, Naenae Intermediate School andNaenae College.[8]
Fraser tookpiano lessons between the ages of seven and seventeen. She started writing songs at age twelve and taught herself theacoustic guitar at age fifteen. She began writing for theSoul Purpose magazine at age fifteen and was later made editor in 2002. She gave up her job as editor shortly after moving toAuckland in late 2002 in order to pursue her music career.[9] In 2002, at the age of 18, Fraser signed a multi album deal withSony Music, after a fierce bidding war between labels.[10]
Fraser's first album,What to Do with Daylight, was released in New Zealand in late 2003, which debuted at No. 1 and achieved gold status the same week. The album eventually went seven times platinum,[11] which sold over 105,000 copies in New Zealand alone.[12] It remained on the album charts for sixty-six weeks.[13] All five singles from the album reached the top twenty in theNew Zealand Singles Chart.[14] Her album also topped the New Zealand Top 50 Albums for all of 2004.[15] The album also achieved gold status in Australia.[citation needed]
Following the release ofWhat to Do with Daylight, Fraser toured Australia and New Zealand with American recording artistJohn Mayer and then toured New Zealand with veteran English rock artistDavid Bowie.[16][17]
In 2005, prior to writing and preparing her follow-up album, Fraser went to Rwanda before visiting herWorld Vision sponsor children in Tanzania. Fraser wrote the song "Albertine" about a young genocide victim (named Albertine), whom she met while in Rwanda. This song became her second album's title track.[18] For this album, Fraser decided to enlist a new band of American session musicians who had worked with an array of notable artists, both live and recorded.[19]
In 2006, Fraser and the band went into the studio inLos Angeles to record the album with producerMarshall Altman. The first single, "Deciphering Me", reached No. 4 in theNew Zealand single charts in 2006.[citation needed] On 4 December 2006, the album,Albertine, was released in New Zealand, which achieved double platinum status less than a month after its release. The album was released in Australia and internationally on 31 March 2007. In Australia, it charted at No. 29 in its first week on 9 April and has achieved Gold sales status.Albertine also became Fraser's US debut, released on 27 May 2008. It entered theBillboard 200 at No. 90 on 19 July 2008. The album was propelled by online sales after being chosen as Editor's Choice oniTunes.[20] In 2008, Fraser undertook a major world tour, culminating theMontreal Jazz Festival and the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, UK.
Already part ofHillsong Church since 2005, Fraser joined the Australian church's worship band—Hillsong Worship—where she participated under her married name: Brooke Ligertwood.[21] The first album she was included on was the 2006 albumMighty to Save, on which she co-wrote "None But Jesus" fromUnited We Stand, released in 2006. Her last live album with the band was the 2010 albumA Beautiful Exchange, after which Fraser left Hillsong Worship.
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Flags was recorded at East West Studios inHollywood in mid 2010[22] and released on 12 October 2010, in New Zealand, Australia and North America. Fraser celebrated with sold-out tours in all territories.Flags reached No. 1 on the New Zealand album chart,[23] No. 3 in Australia[24] and entered at No. 59 on theBillboard 200 in the US.[25]Flags has been certified Gold in Australia and 3× Platinum in New Zealand, where it was also the sixth-highest-selling album of 2010.[26] The first single, "Something in the Water", achieved extensive radio success across the globe; notably, it received BBC Radio 2 A-list rotation in the top 10 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Finland and Belgium and is a gold single in Germany and Italy.[27] The single achieved double platinum sales in NZ where it spent 21 weeks in the 2010 singles chart.[28]Flags was released in July 2011 in Europe and debuted in the album charts at No. 6 in Germany, No. 33 in Austria and No. 24 in Switzerland. A month after its release,Flags remained in the German top twenty at No. 13 and "Something in the Water" on the singles charts at No. 8.Flags was released in October 2011 in Hungary and reached No. 15 on the national album chart by the second week of release.[29]Flags was later released in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland on 7 November 2011.[30]
In its review ofFlags,Glide Magazine said: "Brooke Fraser's third release,Flags, is a wonder. From the stunning lyrical imagery throughout to the impressive guest vocalists who join her (Cary Brothers,Jon Foreman andAqualung among them), from Fraser's ethereal and breathy performances to the wide-ranging soundscapes, this record is drenched in beauty and stands as one of the more remarkable achievements of 2010."[31]
After the release ofFlags, Fraser signed a recording contract withVagrant Records and started recording her fourth studio album. On 13 August 2014, Fraser released a "taster track" titled "Psychosocial" onSoundCloud.[32] The song marked a shift in musical direction for Fraser, as she moved from more acoustic and singer-songwriter based tunes to more electronic sounds. Her single "Kings and Queens" went to radio on 22 September 2014 and was available for digital download on 26 September 2014. On 1 October, she announced her fourth studio album,Brutal Romantic, would follow in November.[33][34] The album was released in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia on 14 November 2014 and in North America on 17 November 2014. The album was produced by Fraser and David Kosten, except the track "Magical Machine" which was produced by Fraser, Kosten and Dan Wilson.[35] In September 2015, Fraser performed a song titled "Team, Ball, Player, Thing" as a part of acharity supergroup #KiwisCureBatten. It was an official supporters' song of theAll Blacks in the2015 Rugby World Cup. It was also in aid of research intoBatten disease via the New Zealand charity Cure Kids. It was released as a single on 11 September 2015.[36] The day after it was released, the single debuted at No. 6 on theNew Zealand Top 40 chart.[37]
In 2016, she released the single "Therapy", which featured on her first compilation album,A Sides, released in November.[38] This was followed by her second compilation album,B Sides, in November 2018.[39][40]
The 2016 live albumLet There Be Light marked Fraser's return and her first live recording with Hillsong Worship since her departure in 2010.[21] She co-wrote and sang lead vocals on the song "What a Beautiful Name" for the 2016 live album.[21] At the2018 Grammy Awards, the group won theBest Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song award for "What a Beautiful Name".[41]Billboard ranked the song as the top Christian Song of 2017[42] and third of the 2010s decade.[43]
On 25 February 2022, Fraser releasedSeven. It is her first live solo album, her first solo work since rejoining Hillsong Worship and the first to be released under her married name.[44] On 28 April 2023, she releasedSiete, an EP consisting of 5 songs fromSeven in Spanish.[45] Her first studio album in nine years, titledEight, was released on 20 October 2023, once again under her married name.[46] Fraser revealed during the album's press cycle that she had stepped away again from Hillsong followingseveral controversies and major changes within the church.[47]
On June 22, 2024, she performed with theAuckland Philharmonia Orchestra for a one-night only concert at theSpark Arena in Auckland; the concert became the venue's largest crowd ever for a solo New Zealand act.[48] However, during this show, she thanked music executive Paul McKessar, which attracted controversy due to his involvement in the #MeTooNZ probe on harassment and abuse in the New Zealand music industry.[49]
On August 8, 2024, she releasedInfinity, a live album with songs fromEight, with Benjamin Tennikoff.[50]
On November 23, 2024, she released live version of Shadowfeet on her Brooke Fraser You Tube channel. Video was recorded in Spark Arena with Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
After the success of her first album, Fraser moved toSydney in 2004. On 17 March 2008, she married Scott Ligertwood, in Sydney.[51] They moved to Los Angeles in 2010.[3] She continued to perform under her maiden name "Brooke Fraser" for her solo career[52] until the release of her live albumSeven in 2022, at which point she began simultaneously using her married name "Brooke Ligertwood."
In March 2015, Fraser announced she was pregnant with their first child.[53] Their daughter was born on 18 September 2015.[54] Fraser currently lives inLos Angeles, where she was occasionally on the Sunday worship team at theHillsong Church Los Angeles campus prior to her departure from the church.[55] Another daughter was born on 10 July 2017.[56][57]
Fraser's music tends to contain Christian themes and imagery while "her work with Hillsong allowed her to fully express her faith."[58] Her genres includefolk-pop with more recentpop elements incorporated into her work.[59] Fraser's image as an artist is described as a "dark-haired, wide-eyed, eternally innocent Christian who sang of happy feet, being thrown a lifeline and things in the water."[60] As an artist who writes her songs, she is described as "fast-paced and diligent; she throws herself into everything," fashion and lyric-wise.[60]
In aNewshub interview, Fraser noted that "pop music is music that everyone can connect to and get on board with, and that's really the same with worship music. Ideally, it's music that you can come into a church and sing, whether you're a mechanic or a singer or a doctor or a stay-at-home mum, that you would find a connection point in those lyrics which uplifts you, connects you to God and helps you on your own journey".[58] She has also cited New Zealand artistLorde as an influence.[58]
In late 2010 whilst on tour in the US promoting her third albumFlags, Fraser, in conjunction withcharity: water, ran a birthday campaign asking her fans to donate $27 in honour of her 27th birthday. The goal was to raise $50,000 to build clean water wells in Ethiopia.[61] Fraser has worked withWorld Vision as an Artist Associate since 2001. She has visited Cambodia and Tanzania with World Vision, the Philippines withOpportunity International and independently travelled to Rwanda in June 2005, in June 2006 as part of charity event "Hope Rwanda", and in May 2007 when she filmed the music video for the song "Albertine" off her second studio album of the same name.[62] Fraser was one of many New Zealand performers to work alongside New Zealand comedy bandFlight of the Conchords in their 2012 New Zealand Red Nose Day charity song "Feel Inside (And Stuff Like That)".[63]
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "What a Beautiful Name" | Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Brooke Fraser | Female Vocalist of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Seven | Worship Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| Recorded Music Packaging of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 2023 | "Honey in the Rock" (withBrandon Lake) | Worship Recorded Song of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2024 | "Eight" | Worship Album of the Year | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Something in the Water" | New Zealand On Air Radio Airplay | Nominated |
| 2015[67] | "Kings & Queens" | Won | |
| 2018[68] | "Therapy" | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004[69] | "Better" | Most Performed Work in New Zealand | Won |
| 2007[69][70][71] | "Deciphering Me" | Won | |
| APRA Silver Scroll | Nominated | ||
| "Albertine" | Won | ||
| 2011 | "Something in the Water" (shared with Scott Ligertwood) | Most Performed Work in New Zealand | Won |
| 2013 | Won | ||
| Most Performed Work Overseas | Won |
| Year | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2004[72] | People's Choice Award | Nominated |
| Album of the Year (What to Do with Daylight) | Nominated | |
| Best Female Solo Artist | Won | |
| Breakthrough Artist of the Year | Won | |
| Single of the Year ("Lifeline") | Nominated | |
| Songwriter of the Year | Nominated | |
| People's Choice Award | Nominated | |
| 2007 | Album of the Year (Albertine) | Nominated |
| Best Female Solo Artist | Nominated | |
| Highest Selling Album (Albertine) | Won | |
| Single of the Year ("Deciphering Me") | Nominated | |
| Airplay Record of the Year ("Deciphering Me") | Won | |
| 2009[73] | International Achievement Award | Won |
| 2011 | Album of the Year (Flags) | Nominated |
| Best Pop Album (Flags) | Won | |
| Best Female Solo Artist | Nominated | |
| Single of the Year ("Something in the Water") | Won | |
| People's Choice Award | Won | |
| 2015 | Best Female Solo Artist (Brutal Romantic) | Nominated |
| 2018 | International Achievement Award (for winning Grammy for "What a Beautiful Name") | Won |
... She even went to her first Parramatta Eels rugby league game. Fraser's younger brothers remain in New Zealand (Matt in Wellington; Shea in Dunedin) ...
Despite the success of What a Beautiful Name, from the album Let There Be Light, she still plans to perform under the name Brooke Fraser. "When I'm singing as Brooke Fraser, it can be more about me; when I am with Hillsong, I am simply part of the church and it's not about me," she said.
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| National | |
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