Laura Izibor To Support John Legend

Officially nu-soul’s hottest prospect for 2009, Irish singer/ songwriter Laura Izibor has been confirmed to support to John Legend on his forthcoming European tour in March. She also releases her stunning debut album Let The Truth Be Told through Atlantic Records on May 18, preceded by the single ‘Shine’ – out March 2 (digitally), and March 9 physically.

Drawing stylistic comparisons to seminal soul singers such as Candi Staton, Roberta Flack, and Aretha Franklin, Let The Truth Be Told anchors itself firmly in classic R ‘n’ B, combining a reverence for the traditions of vintage soul with a thoroughly refreshing twist of modern sensibility, layered with Laura’s powerful, honey-tinged vocals.

Like any true performer, the stage is where Laura shines – in addition to wowing audiences at numerous sold-out headline shows in Ireland, Laura has also opened for luminaries such as Angie Stone, James Brown, The Roots, Jamie Cullum, Al Green and most recently – Aretha Franklin. Hot Press recently declared Laura to be "undoubtedly one of the greatest voices Ireland has ever produced, a brilliant soul singer, an exceptional performer and a fine songwriter”, and her live show acts is unarguably a fitting testimony to this.

If an undiscovered artist is a closely-guarded secret held by fans, then the word on Laura, it would seem, is out. Her sassy new single, ‘Shine’, is already enjoying strong radio support including spot plays on Radio 1 and 2, Kiss and 1Xtra, and is B-listed at Radio 2, Capital, Heart and the Hit Music Network. The accompanying video is on rotation at The Box, MTV Base, Chart Show, 4Music and Bliss. She’s also been hotly-tipped for success on both sides of the Atlantic - in the US, music bible Rolling Stone named her as one of the hottest ‘Artists To Watch’, whilst in the UK, she has been tipped across the board as an artist to watch this year.

Born and raised in Dublin, the piano-playing 21 year-old began working on her debut at 17, recording Let The Truth Be Told over the course of four years in a diverse range of cities: New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Dublin among them. From the breezy sunshine pop of ‘Shine’ - the forthcoming single to be taken from the album, to the dreamy love lament ‘If Tonight Is My Last’ and the gospel-infused ‘Mmm’, it’s Laura’s incredible ear for melody and feel for a groove that sparkles.

Her vision for the album was clear - “I’ve written this album because it’s my truth. It’s a sincere record and it has a feel of survival in it as well,” says Laura. “I didn’t want to be anybody’s protégé. It’s very tempting to put in the reinforcements, but for my debut album I wanted it to be 100% from me.”

Introduced to the piano at 13 years old and having played ever since, Laura made Irish music history in 2006 by becoming the first unreleased artist ever be nominated and to win a Meteor Irish Music Awards (Ireland’s Brit Award).

Having shaped and honed her signature sound, and about to release her much-anticipated debut, 2009 looks set to be an incredible year for Laura. Expect big things…