| Emilíana Torrini | |
|---|---|
Torrini performing at Paradiso, Amsterdam, 2009 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Emilíana Torrini |
| Born | May 16, 1977 |
| Origin | Iceland |
| Genres | Indie pop, Alternative |
| Occupations | Singer, Songwriter |
| Instruments | Voice |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | EMI, Rough Trade Records |
| Associated acts | GusGus, Kylie Minogue, Sneaker Pimps, Björk |
| Website | www.emilianatorrini.com |
Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir (born May 16, 1977) is an Icelandic singer, best known for her 2009 single "Jungle Drum", 1999 album Love in the Time of Science and for performing "Gollum's Song" for Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
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Torrini grew up in Kópavogur, where, at the age of 7, she joined a choir as a soprano, until she went to opera school at the age of 15. In 1994, she became well known in Iceland after winning the song competition of junior colleges in Iceland (Icelandic: Söngkeppni framhaldsskólanna), at the age of 17, singing "I Will Survive".
Her father is Italian and her mother is Icelandic. Because of name regulations in Iceland at the time, her father Salvatore Torrini had to change his name to "Davíð Eiríksson", which also implied that Emilíana Torrini had to use the surname after her father in the traditional way; "Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir". A few years later, the name regulations were changed,[1] and she was again allowed to use her original surname.[2][3]
She grew up with her parents in Iceland. Her father owns and operates a well-known Italian restaurant in Iceland (Italia, located at Laugavegur 11 in Reykjavik) where she once worked as a waitress. After playing a session of gigs in London, Torrini decided to stay and live there. She has one child, a son, who was born September 6, 2010.
She has been a member of Icelandic artist group GusGus, and contributed vocals to several songs on their debut Polydistortion (1997), most notably "Why", which she sometimes still performs live. She co-wrote Kylie Minogue’s "Slow" and "Someday" from her Body Language album in 2003. She also produced "Slow" along with Dan Carey; the two were nominated for a Best Dance Recording Grammy Award in 2005 for their work on the track. Prior to these, she contributed vocals to songs on Thievery Corporation's 2002 record The Richest Man in Babylon and was credited with composing the songs "Resolution", "Until The Morning", and "Heaven's Gonna Burn Your Eyes" from that album. Also in 2002, Torrini sang vocals on Paul Oakenfold's song "Hold Your Hand" taken from his Bunkka album.[4] Torrini has toured with Moby, Sting, Dido, Travis, Tricky, and Adem.
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICL | AUS | AUT | BE (FL) | BE (WA) | FIN | GER | NLD | SWI | UK[7] | |||
| 1999 | "Dead Things" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Love in the Time of Science |
| "Baby Blue" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "To Be Free" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001 | "Easy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 63 | |
| "Unemployed in Summertime" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 63 | ||
| "To Be Free" (reissue) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 44 | ||
| 2004 | "Lifesaver" | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Fisherman's Woman |
| 2005 | "Sunnyroad" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Heartstopper" | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "Me and Armini" | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Me and Armini |
| "Big Jumps" | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009 | "Jungle Drum" | 1 | 84 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 5 | 1 | 57 | 11 | — | |
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart or was not released in given territory. | ||||||||||||
| Year | Song | ICL | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "White Rabbit" | 34 | featured on various compilations |
| "Stephanie Says" | 47 | Merman | |
| "Chelsea Morning" | 50 | ||
| 2005 | "The Boy Who Giggled So Sweet" | 36 | |
| "Blame It on the Sun" | 69 | ||
| "Someone Knows" (remix) (with Björn Jörundur Friðbjörnsson) | 41 | featured on various compilations | |
| "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" | 84 | ||
| "Tvær stjörnur" | 85 | ||
| 2006 | "Nothing Brings Me Down" | 41 | Fisherman's Woman |
| "Today Has Been OK" | 47 | ||
| "Snow" | 51 | ||
| "Thinking Out Loud" | 56 | ||
| "Serenade" | 57 | ||
| "Next Time Around" | 59 | ||
| "Honeymoon Child" | 60 | ||
| "At Least It Was" | 63 | ||
| "Crazy Love" | 49 | Crouçie d'où là | |
| "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You" | 62 | Merman |