Jennifer Carole Ledger (born 8 December 1989) is an English singer, drummer and co-vocalist for the American

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

band

Skillet A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab ha ...

. At the age of 18, she became Skillet's drummer when

Lori Peters Skillet is an American Christian rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1996. The band currently consists of husband John Cooper (lead vocals, bass) and wife Korey Cooper (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) along with Jen Ledger (dr ...

retired. Ledger released a solo EP in 2018 under the name Ledger. Several songs hit the Christian Rock chart and several other songs hit the

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

chart.

Early life

Ledger was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

and started playing the drums when she was 13. Ledger attended

Coventry Blue Coat Church of England School The Blue Coat Church of England School is a specialist secondary school and sixth form located in Coventry, England. It is a Cross Of Nails school, with links to schools all over the world. History Blue coat schools were mainly founded i ...

where she passed her

GCSEs The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

. She played drums in a local band and was a finalist for the United Kingdom Drummer of the Year competition in 2006. She relocated to the United States at age 16 to major in drums with a scholarship at Living Light School of Worship in

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

. She joined the band The Spark; since the band already had a drummer, she played bass.

Musical career

With Skillet

Band members from Skillet discovered Ledger when they attended church services in the United States, where she was living at the time, and asked Ledger to audition for an open drummer spot in the band. She has been Skillet's drummer and female vocalist since 2008, beginning with their promotional tour for the album ''Comatose''.

Solo

Ledger stated that she and bandmate Korey Cooper began to write music for her own pop-influenced solo-project album in about 2012. In March 2018, it was announced that her debut EP, ''Ledger'', was scheduled to be released on 13 April. She has signed a deal with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

and Hear it Loud, the imprint launched by Skillet's

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and Korey Cooper and manager Zachary Kelm. ''Ledger'' was produced by Korey Cooper along with writer and producer

Seth Mosley Seth David Mosley (born October 17, 1987) is an American Christian musician and record producer, who plays Christian pop and Christian rock. He was the frontman for the Christian alternative rock band Me in Motion. Mosley was awarded the Songwr ...

. Ledger was named the opening act for Skillet's Unleashed tour. On 6 April, she released an official audio for the song "Not Dead Yet" on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. In a 2018

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 ...

article, Deborah Evans Price stated that “Ledger wrote “Not Dead Yet” about a difficult time in her life when she was badly struggling with anxiety, fear and panic attacks.” On 8 October 2018, it was announced that Ledger would be performing at the 2019

Winter Jam Tour Spectacular Winter Jam Tour Spectacular, also referred to as simply Winter Jam (and formerly known as January Jam from 1995–2000), is an annual American music tour featuring contemporary Christian music artists of all genres, stunt and/or comedy Comedy ...

, along with

Newsboys Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, the band has released 17 studio albums, 6 of which ...

Danny Gokey Daniel Jay Gokey (born April 24, 1980) is an American singer and former church music director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the third-place finalist on the eighth season of ''American Idol''.

Mandisa Mandisa Lynn Hundley (born October 2, 1976), known professionally as Mandisa, is an American gospel and contemporary Christian recording artist. Her career began as a contestant in the fifth season of ''American Idol'', in which she finished in ...

and

Rend Collective Rend Collective (formerly known as Rend Collective Experiment) is a Northern Irish Christian folk rock worship band originating from Bangor, Northern Ireland. The current lineup consists of Gareth Gilkeson, Chris Llewellyn, Ali Gilkeson, Patr ...

. On 15 February 2019, Ledger released her non-album single, "Completely," followed by a music video published on 27 March. On 14 February 2020, Ledger released her second non-album single, "My Arms", which was accompanied by a lyric video the same day.

Personal life

Ledger became a US citizen on 1 April 2021.

Discography

With Skillet

* ''

Awake Wakefulness is a daily recurring brain state and state of consciousness in which an individual is conscious and engages in coherent cognitive and behavioral responses to the external world. Being awake is the opposite of being asleep, in which ...

'' (2009) * ''

Rise Rise or RISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world * Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3'' * Rise Kujikawa, a video ...

'' (2013) * ''

Unleashed Unleashed may refer to: Art and entertainment Film and television * ''Unleashed'' (2001 film), a film featuring Jeff Anderson * ''Unleashed'' (2005 film), a 2005 martial arts film starring Jet Li * ''Unleashed'' (2016 film), a film starring ...

'' (2016) * ''

Victorious ''Victorious'' (stylized as ''VICTORiOUS'') is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider (TV producer), Dan Schneider that originally aired on Nickelodeon, debuting on March 27, 2010, and concluding on February 2, 2013 after four seasons. Th ...

'' (2019) * ''

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

'' (2022)

As Ledger

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

As featured artist

* ''The Elements'' – "Neon Feather" remix –

TobyMac Toby McKeehan (born Kevin Michael McKeehan; October 22, 1964), better known by his stage name TobyMac (styled tobyMac or TOBYMAC), is an American contemporary Christian music singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He was first known f ...

featuring Ledger

Awards

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ledger, Jen 1989 births Living people English heavy metal drummers English heavy metal singers British women drummers 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers 21st-century drummers English rock drummers English rock singers Women heavy metal singers Skillet (band) members English Christians Musicians from Coventry Naturalized citizens of the United States