Birdy is the professional name of UK singer-songwriter Jasmine van den Bogaerde, who is from Lymington in the United Kingdom. She is known for art pop, chamber pop, pop and singer-songwriter material, with earlier descriptions also placing her in folk and indie settings.

Early life and background

Born in 1996, Birdy grows up in a musical family. Her mother, Sophie Roper-Curzon, is a concert pianist, and her father, Rupert Bogarde, is a writer. She is raised in a mill house on the Pylewell Park estate in Lymington, on the land associated with her maternal grandfather, Baron Teynham. She attends Priestlands School in Lymington until the age of 16, then moves on to Brockenhurst Sixth Form College for her A-levels.

Career

Birdy first comes to wider attention after winning the under-18s category of the UK talent contest Open Mic UK at the age of 12. She is then offered a publishing contract by Good Soldier Songs Ltd, run by Christian Tattersfield, who is chairman of Warner Music UK.

In 2011, she releases a version of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love”, which reaches number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. The song later appears in an episode of The Vampire Diaries. It sells 259,000 copies in the UK in 2011 and is later reported to have sold almost 800,000 copies there by August 2016.

Albums and releases

Birdy’s self-titled debut album, Birdy, is released in 2011. It reaches number 1 in Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands, and number 13 in the UK. The album includes “Skinny Love”, “1901” and “People Help The People”, along with versions of James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” and “Terrible Love”.

In 2012 she releases the eight-track EP Live in London, which includes songs from her debut album, a version of Ed Sheeran’s “The A Team” and “Just a Game” from The Hunger Games.

Her second studio album, Fire Within, follows in 2013. It contains 11 original songs, all written or co-written by Birdy, including “Strange Birds”, which she co-writes with Sia. The lead single “Wings” becomes her first UK top 10 hit, reaching number 8. Other singles from the album are “No Angel”, “Light Me Up” and “Words as Weapons”.

In 2014 she contributes three songs to the soundtrack of The Fault in Our Stars: “Not About Angels”, “Tee Shirt” and “Best Shot”.

Her third album, Beautiful Lies, is released in 2016. It features the singles “Keeping Your Head Up”, “Wild Horses” and “Words”, and she writes or co-writes all 14 tracks. In the same year she appears on Sigma’s single “Find Me”, and her song “Ghost in the Wind” appears on the soundtrack of The Edge of Seventeen.

After a period away from music following touring in the USA and Asia, she returns in 2020 with “Open Your Heart”. The track appears on the four-track EP Piano Sketches.

Her fourth studio album, Young Heart, is released in 2021. The first single is “Surrender”. Birdy describes the album as a heartbreak record influenced by Joni Mitchell’s Blue.

In 2023 she releases her fifth studio album, Portraits. “Raincatchers” is the first single, followed by “Heartbreaker”, “Your Arms” and “Paradise Calling”.

Labels and influences

Birdy is associated with 14th Floor Records, Atlantic, Warner Bros. Records and Warner Records. She cites classical music and the pop her parents play at home among her early influences, and also names Bon Iver, George Michael and Keane as influences on her own music.