Biography
Who is Feist?
Early life and background
Leslie Feist was born on February 13, 1976, in Amherst, Nova Scotia. Her parents, Harold and Lyn Feist, were both artists. Her father worked as an abstract expressionist painter and taught fine arts at a university in New Brunswick, while her mother studied ceramics. Following her parents' divorce, she moved with her mother and siblings to Regina, Saskatchewan, and later relocated to Calgary, Alberta.
During her youth in Calgary, she attended Bishop Carroll High School and Alternative High School. She developed a strong interest in writing and singing in various choirs. At the age of 12, she participated in the opening ceremonies of the Calgary Winter Olympics as a dancer, an experience she later used as inspiration for the music video for her song 1234. Because her father was American, she holds dual Canadian and U.S. Citizenship.
Early musical career
In 1991, at age 15, she founded a punk band in Calgary called Placebo and served as the lead vocalist. Her band won a local Battle of the Bands contest, which earned them an opening slot at the 1993 Infest festival, where they performed before the Ramones. This event was significant because she met Brendan Canning, who would later be a bandmate in Broken Social Scene.
After dealing with vocal cord damage in 1995, she moved to Toronto in 1996. During this period, she learned to play bass guitar for the project Noah's Arkweld. She subsequently became the rhythm guitarist for the band By Divine Right, touring with them for three years. She also performed live with the band Bodega and worked at popular Toronto music venues like The Rivoli and Lava Lounge.
Solo albums and collaborations
Her debut solo album, Monarch, was released in 1999. In 2001, she joined the Toronto indie rock group Broken Social Scene, contributing vocals to their album You Forgot It in People. While touring in Europe, she recorded home demos that eventually became her major label debut, Let It Die, released in 2004. This album earned her two Juno Awards.
Her third solo album, The Reminder, arrived in 2007. The track 1234 became a global success after appearing in an iPod nano commercial, peaking at number eight on the U.S. Charts. This album received multiple Juno Awards and Grammy nominations. She continued to release music, including the 2011 album Metals and several other studio projects over the following years.
Awards and achievements
Over the course of her career, she has received 11 Juno Awards. Her wins include multiple honors for Artist of the Year, as well as awards for Breakthrough Artist, Alternative Album, Pop Album, Songwriter, and Single of the Year. In 2012, she won three Juno Awards, including Adult Alternative Album of the Year for Metals and Music DVD of the Year for her documentary, Look at What the Light Did Now.
Her work has also been recognized by the Grammy Awards, where she has earned four nominations, including a nod for Best New Artist. Her music has appeared in various films and television shows, such as 500 Days of Summer, The L Word, and Skins. She has collaborated with various artists, including Peaches, Kings of Convenience, and Jane Birkin.
Birthday and age
Feist was born on February 13, 1976, which makes Feist 50 years old today. That birthday falls under the Aquarius sign. Feist shares the date with 23 other famous people.
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