Indiana (singer)

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Indiana
Blonde haired young woman with noticeable eye make up wearing a blue top against an urban rooftop background and orange sky
Henson in 2014
Background information
Birth nameLauren Henson
OriginLoughborough, England
Genres
OccupationsSinger
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
Years active2011–present
Labels

Lauren Henson, better known by her stage name Indiana, is a British singer-songwriter from Loughborough. Her 2015 debut album, No Romeo, includes the UK top 20 single "Solo Dancing" (2014).

Biography[edit]

Henson grew up in Loughborough, Leicestershire.[1] She moved to Nottingham to live with her partner, with whom she has two children.[1][2] She worked as a printer in a T-shirt boutique and runs a fashion label called Some Kind of Nature, which specialises in streetwear, with her partner and a mutual friend.[1][3] The family had moved to Long Eaton in Derbyshire by 2015.[4]

Henson began writing songs in 2010, after she taught herself to play piano using one that she was storing temporarily for her sister.[5] She was approached by musician John Beck after she uploaded a cover of one of his compositions, "Gabriel", to the video sharing website YouTube.[6] They wrote their first song together, "Blind as I Am", which she performed at her first gig in April 2012, at the semi-finals of the live music competition Future Sound of Nottingham.[5] Henson took her stage name, Indiana, in memory of her late father, who was a fan of the Indiana Jones film series.[6][7]

"Blind as I Am" was released as Indiana's debut single in November 2012, followed by "Bound" in February 2013, "Smoking Gun" in June 2013, and "Mess Around" in October 2013.[8][9][10] Also in 2013, Indiana signed a record deal with Sony Music and played at the Splendour in Nottingham and Glastonbury music festivals, the latter on the BBC Introducing stage.[2] She performed for Queen Elizabeth II during the monarch's visit to BBC Radio 1, singing a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" with Irish band The Script.[2]

Indiana's fifth single, "Solo Dancing", became her breakthrough release, amassing substantial attention from music blogs and inclusion on Time magazine's mid-year "Singles of 2014" list.[7] Released commercially in April 2014, it reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart.[11] "Heart on Fire", its follow-up (in August 2014), was less successful, peaking at number 89 in the UK.[11] On 4 September 2014, Indiana appeared on BBC Radio 1's Innuendo Bingo.[12] and appeared again on 6 January 2015.[13] Indiana's debut album, No Romeo, was released in February 2015 and reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart.[11] John Beck co-wrote and produced the majority of No Romeo, which also features contributions from Joel Pott and Jesse Shatkin. Indiana embarked on a UK tour in May 2015 and performed for the second time at the Glastonbury Festival the following month.[14][15]

In July 2015, Indiana released an EP entitled State of Play, which features her track "Blind as I Am" alongside cover versions of George Michael's "Careless Whisper", Dolly Parton's "Jolene", and Blu Cantrell's "Breathe".[citation needed] In November, she was featured on the single "Dance on My Heart" by producers Mark Knight and Adrian Hour.[16]

In 2018, Indiana was featured on the title track for Gunship's "Dark All Day" album, also featuring prolific 80's saxophone sensation Tim Cappello.

Topless photo controversy[edit]

In September 2018, Indiana sparked controversy when she released topless photos of herself, her hands over her breasts, taken in front of a World War I memorial plaque in a London church.[17] She later explained that she did not realise it was a war memorial when the photos were taken, and defended her actions by saying, "Pretty sure those boys that gave their lives for this country would enjoy a casual bit of side-boob."[18]

Artistry[edit]

Indiana describes her music as "menacing and emotional electronica with 80s-inspired synths and haunting vocals".[19] She cites James Blake, Gary Numan, Frank Ocean, Portishead, The Weeknd, and the xx as her biggest musical influences.[6][19] She has mentioned the soundtrack of the 2011 film Drive as being a major inspiration for her work.[20]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[21] 		SCO
[22]
No Romeo
  • Released: 16 January 2015
  • Label: Epic
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
 17 22
Not Girlfriend Material
  • Released: 24 August 2018
  • Label: Audio Network Ltd
  • Format: Digital download
 — —

Singles[edit]

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
UK
[21] 		IRE
[23] 		SCO
[24]
2012 "Blind as I Am" — — — No Romeo
2013 "Bound" — — —
"Smoking Gun" — — —
"Mess Around" — — —
2014 "Solo Dancing" 14 85 9
"Heart on Fire" 89 — 60
"Only the Lonely" — — —
2017 "Bad Luck" — — — Not Girlfriend Material
2018 "Paper Cut" — — —
"I Like Drinking" — — —
2019 "Caroline" — — — Non-album single
"No Strings" — — —
"Sweet Things" — — —
"Tropical Daze" — — —
"Break the Habit" — — —
2020 "Physical" — — —
"Small Town Girl" — — —
2021 "Isolation" — — —
"Summer Lovin' Druggie" — — —
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Nadia Khomami (13 September 2014). "Indiana: 'After gigs you'll find me changing nappies'". The Guardian.
  2. ^ a b c "Notts music star Indiana on The Queen, Radio 1 and motherhood | Nottingham Post". 10 November 2013. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013.
  3. ^ "Spotlight: Indiana". Soundsphere magazine.
  4. ^ "Indiana: Check out the Derbyshire pop star who played Glastonbury and has a top-20 single and album | Derby Telegraph". www.derbytelegraph.co.uk. 24 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Indiana's already come a long way | Nottingham Post". 26 July 2015. Archived from the original on 26 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Andriana Albert. "Introducing: Indiana – The Line Of Best Fit". The Line of Best Fit.
  7. ^ a b "Indiana Interview: Your New Favorite Pop Artist On 'Solo Dancing,' Stardom and Her 'Dark, Twisted' Pop. – Billboard". Billboard.
  8. ^ "Indiana – Blind as I am is now available on iTunes, I... – Facebook". facebook.com.
  9. ^ "Smoking Gun – Single". iTunes. 11 October 2013.
  10. ^ "Mess Around – EP". iTunes. November 2013.
  11. ^ a b c "INDIANA". officialcharts.com.
  12. ^ "Indiana does Innuendo Bingo". YouTube. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Innuendo Bingo with Indiana". YouTube. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  14. ^ Alexandra Pollard. "Indiana announces UK headline tour for May 2015 – tickets". gigwise.com.
  15. ^ "Derbyshire artist Indiana returns to Glastonbury | Derby Telegraph". 24 June 2015. Archived from the original on 24 June 2015.
  16. ^ "Mark Knight & Adrian Hour Team up with Indiana for "Dance on My Heart" [Video]". 9 November 2015.
  17. ^ Petter, Olivia (6 September 2018). "Singer sparks controversy by posing topless in front of WW1 memorial". The Independent. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  18. ^ Gorman, Rachel (7 September 2018). "Photo of topless Nottingham singer at church war memorial causes controversy". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  19. ^ a b "Indiana Singer Interview Mess Around – Music News (Glamour.com UK)". glamourmagazine.co.uk.
  20. ^ "Indiana interview: 'I have to think about selling records now'". Digital Spy. 29 August 2014.
  21. ^ a b Peak chart positions in the United Kingdom:
  22. ^ Peak chart positions for albums in Scotland:
  23. ^ "Discography Indiana". irish-charts.com.
  24. ^ Peak chart positions for singles in Scotland:

External links[edit]

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