* En anglais uniquement
Part
Feist and part
Joan Jett, genre-bucking Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Laura Pergolizzi, who operates under the stage name
LP, emerged in the early 2000s with a vibrant blend of vulnerability, swagger, and steely hooks. Known for her elastic and expressive voice, which invokes names like
Linda Perry,
Gwen Stefani, and
Chrissie Hynde, Pergolizzi has issued a string of acclaimed albums like Suburban Sprawl & Alcohol (2004),
Lost on You (2016),
Heart to Mouth (2018), and Churches (2021), and has written for the likes of
Christina Aguilera,
Rihanna, the
Backstreet Boys, and
Rita Ora, among others.
Raised in New York on a steady diet of
Joni Mitchell,
the Doors,
the Pretenders,
Nirvana, and
Jeff Buckley, Pergolizzi spent her formative years honing her craft in other bands before relocating to California and releasing her 2001 solo album,
Heart-Shaped Scar (produced by
David Lowery [
Camper Van Beethoven,
Cracker]). She began to hit her stride in 2004 with her second outing, Suburban Sprawl & Alcohol, which featured the track "Wasted," used as the theme song for seasons two and three of the Nickelodeon teen drama South of Nowhere. Her 2006 appearance at the South by Southwest Music Conference prompted a bidding war, resulting in a deal with Island.
With Island, Pergolizzi began writing songs for other artists, including
Heidi Montag,
Cher,
Leona Lewis,
Rihanna, and
Christina Aguilera. A 2011 Citibank television commercial, which featured excerpts from
LP's "Into the Wild," gained Pergolizzi a huge fan base as viewers eagerly looked to the Internet to discover the identity of the artist singing "Somebody left the gate open" -- the track earned enough attention to warrant a CNN news piece. Her Warner Bros. debut EP,
Into the Wild: Live at Eastwest Studios, appeared in April 2012 but it was another two years until her full-length debut album, the
Rob Cavallo-produced
Forever for Now, saw release. In 2016,
LP issued her much-anticipated fourth studio long-player,
Lost on You, via Vagrant Records. The album's opening track, "Muddy Waters," appeared during the taut closing scene of the season four finale of Netflix's Orange Is the New Black. Two years later, Pergolizzi returned with her fifth studio long-player
Heart to Mouth, which became an international success, spawning the hit singles "Girls Go Wild" and "Recovery." In 2021 Pergolizzi returned with the emotionally charged singles "The One That You Love," "How Low Can You Go," and "Goodbye" ahead of the arrival of her sixth full-length effort, Churches. ~ James Christopher Monger