Brooke Ligertwood

Brooke Ligertwood (December 15, 1983), better known by her maiden name Brooke Fraser, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter who performs in the contemporary Christian pop genre. In parallel with her solo efforts, she is also a frequent contributor to the Australian praise group Hillsong Worship and co-wrote the band’s 2017 Grammy-winning song “What a Beautiful Name.” Born in the city of Wellington, she took piano lessons from the age of seven and began writing her own songs when she was just 12 years old. After quitting her editor job at the Christian youth magazine Soul Purpose, she moved to Auckland to pursue a career in music. Soon enough, she found herself in a bidding war between labels, finally opting to sign a multi-album deal with Sony Music. What to Do With Daylight, her studio debut, appeared in late 2003 and debuted at number 1 in New Zealand, achieving gold status on the week of its release and eventually going seven times platinum. This success was followed by a tour of Australia and New Zealand, first with John Mayer and then with David Bowie. Inspired by a mission trip to Rwanda, her second full-length Albertine (2006) also achieved pole position in New Zealand and became her US debut, peaking at number 90 on the Billboard 200. The album was promoted through a lengthy world tour that ended with a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Preceded by the single “Something in the Water,” her first chart-topper in New Zealand, Flags saw the light in 2010 to great critical and commercial acclaim, reaching number 1 on the domestic charts and Number 3 in Australia. Shortly after Flags was released, Brooke Fraser changed labels to Vagrant Records and began working on her fourth studio LP, 2014’s Brutal Romantic. Recorded in London with David Kosten, the album signified a huge departure in terms of style, steering away from her earlier acoustic material and incorporating elements from electronic music. Unlike her previous releases, it bowed at number 6 in New Zealand. Following the release of the compilations A Sides (2016) and B Sides (2018), she began performing under her married name, remaining active through mostly non-album singles such as “King of Kings” (2019), “Awake My Soul” (2020), “Fresh Wind” (2021), and “A Thousand Hallelujahs” (2022), which entered Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart at number 44. Featuring contributions from Martin Smith and John Wilds, her sixth studio album Eight arrived in 2023 and peaked at number 21 on the Top Christian Albums chart.

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