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KerliEstonian singer and songwriter
Date of Birth: 07.02.1987
Country:  Estonia |
Content:
Biography of Kerli
Kerli is an Estonian singer and songwriter. She first appeared in 2004 on the Eurolaul contest with the song "Beautiful Inside." Her debut album, Love Is Dead, reached 126th place on the Billboard 200 chart in July 2008, and 2nd on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. In 2010, two of Kerli's compositions, including a duet with Tokio Hotel titled "Strange," were featured on the soundtrack album for the movie "Almost Alice," based on the film "Alice in Wonderland."
Early Life and Career
Kerli was born in Elva, Estonia, in a family of a social worker and an auto mechanic. Her great-grandmother, nicknamed "Beautiful May" for her beauty, worked as a maid for a German duke and gave birth to a child from him. Kerli has a younger sister, Eliza, who is also involved in music and participated in a season of the Estonian version of "Star Factory."
In her childhood, Kerli was dedicated to ballroom dancing. At the age of 16, she dropped out of school to pursue her musical abilities. As a teenager, she learned to sing, dance, and play the piano. In 2002, she participated in the singing competition Laulukarussell and won it with the song "Bridge over Troubled Water." That same year, she lied about her age to participate in the Fizz Superstar competition (Baltic version of American Idol), as the age limit was 15. Kerli won the competition and received a contract with the Swedish record label Universal Sweden. Unfortunately, the contract turned out to be unsuccessful as the person who signed it from Universal Music resigned. The Estonian media referred to this unsuccessful contract as the "Kerli Syndrome." However, Kerli stated that she had no regrets about leaving Estonia and experiencing failure.
Journey to the United States and Music Career
At the age of 18, Kerli moved to the United States where she auditioned for L.A. Reid and eventually signed a contract with Island Def Jam Music Group in 2006. In the same year, she signed a contract with Island Records. Kerli worked with producer and songwriter David Maurice. Her first recordings were released in a self-titled extended play (EP) called "Kerli."
In 2008, Kerli released her debut album titled Love Is Dead. The music video for the song "Love Is Dead" was released by Island Records on February 29, 2008, and the music video for "Walking on Air" was released on May 20, 2008. The song became the "Free Single of the Week" on iTunes from July 21 to 29, 2008. Kerli also performed the song at the 2008 Scream Awards ceremony. Her song "Creepshow" was featured in the soundtrack of the game Burnout Paradise, while the composition "Bulletproof" was included in the official soundtrack of the film "Punisher: War Zone."
In 2008, Kerli recorded the main theme for the video game "007: Quantum of Solace" called "When Nobody Loves You." In January 2009, she was scheduled to go on a joint concert tour with the band The Rasmus, but her participation was canceled as she began working on her second album. In July 2009, Kerli performed at the Estonian music festival Õllesummer in Tallinn, marking her first performance in Estonia after a long break.
Kerli has faced controversy and criticism in Estonia, particularly for discussing marijuana use in an interview with the local publication Postimees. The publications elu24 and Kroonika reacted strongly to her comments, leading Kerli to respond that she is indifferent to how people think and write about her. In September 2009, Island Def Jam announced the release of the "Kerli" iPhone application, and users of the app were able to listen to her new song, "Saima." Kerli also re-released her single "The Creationist," featuring Italian singer and songwriter Cesare Cremonini.
