Virginia Blackmore (born 6 March 1986) is a singer and songwriter from

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. Blackmore's song, ''Bones'', has received regular airplay throughout the United States and she has also performed the song on Weekend Mixtape and the Ralphie Show on 95.5 WPLJ. The song also entered the

Billboard Music Charts 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, p ...

at No. 40 for Adult Pop Songs in March 2013, reached No. 1 on 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 ...

in July 2013 and certified platinum in the first week of August 2013.

Career

Blackmore left school at the age of 16 to become a musician. It was her principal who encouraged her to leave school and focus on her career which was also said to be supported by her parents. She began her career in London where she secured a publishing deal as a songwriter. She has previously written songs for artists such as

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

and

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

but decided that she wanted to sing the songs herself. She then wrote and performed the songs ''SFM'' and ''Bones''. She was said to have impressed music manager Mark Sudack and later signed with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. Blackmore performed "Bones" on ''Live with Kelly and Michael'' in June 2013. She opened for

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown, bassist and cellis ...

's concerts in Auckland and Wellington in November 2013. Blackmore is currently signed by

and appeared at a showcase with

L.A. Reid Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He is the founder and served as co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He also previously served as the chairman and CEO of Ep ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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 ...

held in her honour. In March 2015, Blackmore made an appearance on the second season of the New Zealand version of ''The X Factor'', serving as a guest mentor for

Stan Walker Stan Walker (born 23 October 1990) is an Australian-born New Zealand singer, actor, and television personality. In 2009, Walker was the winner of the seventh and last season of '' Australian Idol''. He subsequently signed a recording contrac ...

's category (Girls), and performing her song "Love Me Anyway" on the second live results show.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links