Virginia Claire Wigmore (born 6 June 1986) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

singer and songwriter. Featured on the

Smashproof Smashproof is a New Zealand hip hop group, consisting of Sid Diamond, Tyree, and Deach. The name "Smashproof" is a play on the word "Bulletproof". They are best known for the song "Brother", in which they show their version of what is going on i ...

single "

Brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

" in 2009, Wigmore went on to release four albums '' Holy Smoke'' (2009), ''

Gravel & Wine ''Gravel & Wine'' is the second album from New Zealand pop singer Gin Wigmore, released in New Zealand on 7 November 2011. The album was recorded in Santa Monica, California during the second quarter of 2011 under producer Butch Walker and count ...

'' (2011), '' Blood to Bone'' (2015) and ''

Ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...

'' (2018), with the first three having been chart-toppers on the

New Zealand Albums Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

. She is known for her high pitched and raspy voice.

Career

International Songwriting Competition

Inspired by David Gray's album ''

White Ladder ''White Ladder'' is the fourth studio album by English folk singer-songwriter David Gray. It was first released in March 1999 through Gray's own record label, IHT Records, but failed to chart. On 24 April 2000, the album was re-released by Dav ...

'', Wigmore wrote her first song, "Angelfire", at the age of 14. Two years later her father died of cancer and Wigmore stopped writing and playing music. She went to Argentina on an exchange program to teach at a kindergarten. On her return to New Zealand, she wrote "Hallelujah", a tribute to her father. Her sister entered the song in the US-based

International Songwriting Competition The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), founded in 2002, is an annual songwriting contest for both amateur and professional songwriters. There is no physical event to attend as the competition is held online, and anyone in the world can en ...

in 2004, and Wigmore beat 11,000 songwriting aspirants from 77 countries to become the youngest and only unsigned Grand Prize winner in the history of the competition. She also won the Teen category with "Angelfire".

Hallelujah was my way of telling my family I had dealt with dad's passing and honestly, I didn't want to share these feelings with anyone else. I wanted the moment for myself and my family. — Gin Wigmore

''Extended Play''

''Extended Play'' was Wigmore's first EP. It was produced by

Tony Buchen Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

(Blue King Brown, The Whitlams, Macromantics, Kid Confucius) and contains the tracks "Hallelujah", "These Roses", "SOS", "Under My Skin", and "Easy Come Easy Go". Australian musician

John Butler John Butler may refer to: Arts and entertainment *John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American performer *John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist * John Butler (author) (born 1937), British author and YouTuber *John Butler (born 1954), ...

played

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

on song "SOS". Released in 2008, the EP peaked at number ten in the New Zealand charts. It was certified Platinum in New Zealand on 2 May 2010, selling over 15,000 copies. ''Extended Play'' was released in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on 2 August 2008 by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. Wigmore was the first artist signed with Island Records, a partner company with

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

, Australia. She toured with Australian artist Pete Murray on his national tour in August/September 2008. Wigmore toured in 2008, including at the Cross Town Revue in Auckland, and in December 2008, toured with musicians

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

and

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

in New Zealand. Her hit single "Under My Skin" was featured on an

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacific ...

advertising campaign, ''Nothing to Hide''. Wigmore featured in the 2009 song and video of "

" by new group

, also from Auckland.

''Holy Smoke''

In 2009, Wigmore released her debut full-length album ''Holy Smoke'', recorded with

The Cardinals The Cardinals were an American R&B group of the 1950s. Sharing a legacy with the Orioles, The Cardinals are remembered as one of the best R&B ballad acts to come out of Baltimore. Origins The Cardinals’ career began in 1946 (one year before ...

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left ...

& the Cardinals fame. The first single from the album, " Oh My", debuted on the New Zealand Singles Chart at number twenty-one on 24 August 2009, moving to number seven the following week. It peaked at number four. Three other singles were released during 2010, "I Do" charted at no. 14 on the Official New Zealand Singles Chart, while third single "Hey Ho" missed out on a top 20 position by charting just outside at no. 21. The fourth single taken from ''Holy Smoke'' was "Too Late For Lovers", and despite hitting no. 3 on the NZ40 Airplay chart, the single failed to crack the national Top 40. During the week of 30 May 2010, all four of Wigmore's singles from ''Holy Smoke'' appeared on the NZ40 Airplay Chart 'Too Late For Lovers' #7, 'Oh My' #23, 'Hey Ho' #24, 'I Do' #37 The single "Oh My" is the theme track for the series

The Almighty Johnsons ''The Almighty Johnsons'' is a New Zealand fantasy comedy/drama television series, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang and was produced by South Pacific Pictures and aired from 7 February 2011 to 23 September 2013. Production ...

. Wigmore's single "Hey Ho" appeared during the closing scenes of the '' Weeds'' Season 6 Finale. In September 2011, Home Improvement Retailer

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. (), often shortened to Lowe's, is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States and Canada. A ...

began a new brand campaign featuring Wigmore's single "Don't Stop". Her song "Stealing Happiness" appeared in the TV movie "Tangiwai".

''Gravel & Wine''

Wigmore travelled for two months in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

to get a

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

inspiration for her second album which would be recorded in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

under producer

Butch Walker Bradley Glenn "Butch" Walker (born November 14, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist for the glam metal band SouthGang from the late 1980s to early 1990s as well as the lead vocalist ...

. In September 2011, Wigmore revealed the title and release of her new album ''

'' on her official Facebook page. The first single "Black Sheep" was released 26 September 2011, debuting at #13 in the

Official New Zealand Music Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Musi ...

. The album was released on 7 November 2011. It debuted atop the New Zealand charts, and at #29 on the Australian Albums Chart. Wigmore also released music videos for "Man Like That" and "If Only". "Black Sheep" appeared in episode 12, season 8 of television series ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

'', in episode 2, season 2 of ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed ...

'', in episode 5, season 5 of ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...

'', and in episode 1 season 1 of ''

Wynonna Earp Wynonna Earp is a horror Western comic book miniseries created and owned by Beau Smith. The series was initially published by Image Comics, and from 2003 by IDW Publishing. Plot summary Wynonna is a present-day descendant of the famous ...

.'' She appeared singing it on ''Gift of Revenge'', a segment of ABC's television show ''

Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

'' season 2, episode 7. The song was also used in television commercials for Guinness Black Lager and Nissan Rogue Midnight Edition (2017) in the United States. "Kill of the Night" was also featured during season 2 of ''Teen Wolf'', along with the series ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

'' and ''

666 Park Avenue ''666 Park Avenue'' is an American supernatural drama television series that aired on ABC from September 30, 2012, to July 13, 2013. The series was developed and produced by David Wilcox, and was loosely based upon the novel of the same name by ...

'', and

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** AM ...

during its annual airing of Halloween movies and shows titled '' FearFest''.
The track was also the theme song to the 2016 E4 and

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

mini series ''

Crazyhead Crazyhead are an English garage punk band from Leicester, England. Though lumped in with the largely media-created grebo scene, they were more influenced by the garage rock of the late 1960s, as well as bands like The Ramones, The Stooges and ...

''. Commercials with the song include

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...

in Australia,

Nationwide Insurance Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies, commonly shortened to Nationwide, is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. The company also operates regional headquarters in Scotts ...

in the United States, and a worldwide short by

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky now owned by Diageo that originated in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The brand was first established by grocer John Walker. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended ...

. Wigmore was featured in a ''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the villai ...

'' tie-in commercial from

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 Febr ...

performing the song "Man Like That", which also featured

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

portrayer

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

and

Bond girl A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest or female companion of James Bond in a novel, film or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Xenia Onatopp, o ...

Bérénice Marlohe Bérénice Lim Marlohe (born 19 May 1979) is a French actress. She played anti-heroine Bond girl Sévérine in the twenty-third ''James Bond'' film ''Skyfall''. Her television credits include ''Père et Maire'', ''Femmes de loi'', and ''Equip ...

. ''Gravel & Wine'' was released in the U.S. on 2 April 2013, and Wigmore appeared on the entire 2013

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

''Blood to Bone''

On 14 August 2014, Wigmore had confirmed she had begun studio production on her third LP. Throughout 15 to 22 August, Wigmore had worked in West Hollywood. But on 25 August 2014, Wigmore posted a picture of the beginning of her thirteen-day studio work at Blakeslee Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California. Stephen Rusch is engineering the album. On 29 January 2015, Wigmore posted the album cover and title of her the third LP, ''Blood to Bone'', which was scheduled for release by

on 26 June 2015. It was Wigmore's third straight chart-topper in New Zealand, and also debuted at #13 at the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, her biggest Australian performance. In the United States, ''Blood to Bone'' came out in August, and entered the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Alternative Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

chart the following month. Her song "New Rush" was featured on the soundtrack of ''

FIFA 16 ''FIFA 16'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android and iOS. The gam ...

''. On 6 June 2015, she released a new promotional single entitled "Willing To Die" featuring the American rapper

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

& the Australian rapper

Suffa Matthew David Lambert (born 6 May 1977), better known by his stage name Suffa, is an Australian rapper and producer best known as one of the members of the hip hop group Hilltop Hoods. He has produced tracks for other artists, such as Funkoars ...

of The Hilltop Hoods. The song samples the

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, sch ...

recording "Rosie", which

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

also sampled on his track " Hey Mama", released in March 2015.

''Ivory''

On 2 September 2016, Wigmore announced on Facebook she had begun work on her fourth studio album. Later on 3 November, Wigmore dropped "Dirty Mercy", the lead single from her upcoming fourth album, which she had expected to release in 2017. Wigmore said that she started working in May, and soon came up with ten new songs, while described the album as "a very eclectic mash of styles as I seem to struggle at settling for one particular genre of music with my albums." Also in November, Wigmore started another North American tour, beginning at the

Corona Capital Corona Capital is an annual music festival held in Mexico City, taking place in the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. It debuted in 2010 and is organized by Grupo CIE. It primarily features rock music, rock and alternative rock, alternative music. ...

festival in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, and extending to cities in the United States up until December. In 2017, she was a presenter at

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

ScottBase, filmed in New Zealand's Antarctic research facility. There Wigmore revealed another new song, "Thoughts of You". On 26 June, Wigmore released the album's second single "Hallow Fate". The song was inspired by an artist's individuality in the music industry. Later in the summer she released the promotional single, "Beatnik Trip" On 16 November, Wigmore released the promotional single "Cabrona", along with the announcement that her fourth album was titled ''

''. Released in April 2018, the album was named after Wigmore's son, even if all the songs were written prior to his birth.

''Others''

In addition, Gin has collaborated with

, with songs such as " Tomorrow" on the "Where to Next" ad campaign; her hit single, "Under My Skin", for "Nothing to Hide"; and, most recently, her rendition of

My Little Corner of the World "My Little Corner of the World" (sometimes recorded as "In My Little Corner of the World") is a 1960 love song with music written by Lee Pockriss and lyrics by Bob Hilliard. Anita Bryant version It was first recorded by singer Anita Bryant in 196 ...

on the "a Fantastical Journey" flight safety video in 2017.

Personal life

Wigmore was born in Auckland, New Zealand to Peter and Adrienne Wigmore. She has two older siblings: brothe
Oliver Wigmore
and sister

Lucy Wigmore Lucy Wigmore is a stage and screen actress from New Zealand. She played core cast member Dr '' Justine Jones'' in the long-running soap opera ''Shortland Street'', and has also starred as Lillian May Armfield in Underbelly: Razor, a 13-part d ...

, a professional actress known for starring as

Justine Jones Dr. Justine McKay (also Jones) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who appeared in numerous stints from 2005 to 2009. She was portrayed by Laurie Foell in 2005 for a guest stint before returning in 2006 as a ...

in the long-running New Zealand soap opera ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

'' and a role in '' Underbelly: Razor''. She married Jason Butler, ex-lead singer of the band

Letlive Letlive, stylized letlive., was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. The band's final lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jason Aalon Butler (son of Aalon Butler, vocalist and guitarist of the soul group Aalon), guitarist Jeff Sahyo ...

and currently lead singer of

Fever 333 Fever 333 (or the Fever 333) is an American rock band formed in Inglewood, California, United States, in July 2017. The three-piece band was founded by former Letlive vocalist Jason Aalon Butler, former the Chariot guitarist Stephen Harrison ...

, during a private ceremony in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

in September 2014. The couple's first child, Pascal Nashoba Butler, was born on 7 September 2017. Her second son, Izaiah River Butler, was born on 20 March 2020. Wigmore is vegetarian and, in 2015, was shortlisted for SAFE's "New Zealand's Hottest Vegetarians" award. Wigmore and her husband reside in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

, where they operate a boutique hotel.

Tours

*Tour with Jimmy Barnes (2009) *Holy Smoke Tour (2010) *The Grave Train National Tour (2010) *Gin Wigmore (2011) *The Winery Tour (2012) *

– United States (2013) * Homegrown Festival NZ (2014) * New Rush NZ Tour (2015) * '' Blood to Bone'' Tour (2015) * Willing to Die U.S. Tour (2016) * Let it Ride U.S. Tour (2016) * Ivory U.S. Tour (2018) * Ivory NZ Tour (2019) * Gin Wigmore with Tami Neilson and Hollie Smith — New Zealand (2020) * Summer Concert Tour NZ (2021) * Peachy Keen Festival (2021)

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Singles

Notes

As featured artist

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Gin Wigmore official websiteIsland RecordsRadio NZ interview with Kim Hill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigmore, Gin 1986 births Living people Alternative rock musicians Women rock singers Island Records artists New Zealand women pop singers New Zealand women singer-songwriters People from Auckland Pop rock singers 21st-century New Zealand women singers Dangerbird Records artists