Florence Welch
Florence Welch is an English singer, songwriter, and poet best known as the lead vocalist of the indie-rock band Florence + the Machine. She first rose to fame after the release of the band’s debut album, Lungs, in 2009, which included hit singles such as “Dog Days Are Over” and “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)”. Since then, Florence and her band have gone on to release four more critically acclaimed albums, with their most recent, Dance Fever, being released in 2022.
Throughout her career, Florence has collaborated with a number of other artists and singers, such as Calvin Harris, The Weeknd, and Jack Antonoff. She has also performed at a variety of festivals, including Coachella, Glastonbury, and Lollapalooza. Her powerful and emotive voice has seen her win a Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist in 2011 and a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Lungs in 2011. 2015 brought an unexpected but thrilling partnership when Welch worked with Lady Gaga on “Hey Girl” for Gaga’s fifth studio album, “Joanne.” An undeniable highlight of Welch’s career was her involvement in the epic “Game of Thrones” soundtrack in 2019, where she lent her haunting vocals to “Jenny of Oldstones,” a track produced by Ramin Djawadi and Dan Weiss. In 2020, she united with visual artist Vincent Haycock to create a short film titled “The Odyssey,” which served as a visual album for her third studio release, “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.”
A first major recognition came in 2009, when she was awarded the Critics’ Choice prize at the Brit Awards, a testament to her rapidly growing success. She returned to the Brit Awards in 2012 to scoop up the Best British Album honor for “Ceremonials,” showcasing the powerful impact of her work with Paul Epworth. Her vocal prowess was further cemented in 2016 when the band’s album, “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful,” received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album. The following year saw her take home the Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement, an important recognition in the UK music industry. Furthermore, her contribution to the “Game of Thrones” soundtrack resulted in an Emmy nomination in 2019 for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. Welch’s contribution to music was given a royal stamp of approval in 2021 when she was named a British Empire Medal holder in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to music.