Sophie B. Hawkins is an American singer-songwriter famous in the 1990s. More recently, she is better known as an artist and activist who often speaks in support of political figures, as well as animal rights and environmental protection.
Sophie B. Hawkins Early Years and Early Career Steps
Sophie was born on November 1, 1964 in New York. The girl grew up in a wealthy family and loved music since childhood. Subsequently, she was even sent to study at a music school in Manhattan. She was trained in percussion class. But a year later, the girl dropped out of school in order to start her musical career as soon as possible. The girl already had all the prerequisites for this.
The aspiring singer collaborated with the major label Sony Music, which actively took up the development of the singer. After a series of singles, the debut solo album Tongues and Tails (1992) was released. The album almost immediately liked the audience and began to sell well.
Critics called Sophie a rising star and noted her voice in combination with excellent arrangements. Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover received significant attention. She hit many charts and for a long time held out at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. During the year, the singer received a series of prestigious music awards, including the Grammy in the Best New Artist nomination.
The Rising Popularity of Sophie B. Hawkins
After such success, Hawkins was invited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the start of the career of the famous singer Bob Dylan. The girl successfully performs the famous I Want You at Madison Square Garden. This allowed the young performer to significantly expand her audience and consolidate her success in her career.
1993 was the year of active concert activity. Taking a short break from recording new songs, Sophie visited a number of countries in the US, Canada and Europe. Then she returned to work on a new album.
The release was called Whaler and was released in 1994 on Sony Music. The album was executive produced by Steven Lipson. The main hit was the song As I Lay Me Down. The song went gold in US sales and was in the top 10 of the best tracks according to Billboard.
The album was also a significant success in Europe. In particular, the record hit the main national chart in Britain and entered the top 40. And some singles (for example, Right Beside You) got into the top 10 of the best. In the same year, the girl posed naked for Q magazine. Sophie claims that it was a spontaneous decision. According to her, the photographer specifically gave her an ugly dress so that Hawkins would take it off during the filming.
Conflicts in the life of singer Sophie Ballantine Hawkins
Despite the success of the second disc, the singer's third album was not released for a very long time. The release was accompanied by a number of conflicts and unpleasant situations. One of the documentaries talks about the singer's tours and shows several quarrels between Sophie and her mother and brother. From this, the journalists concluded that there were tensions in the family.
Then the singer had a conflict with the record company. The management of Sony Music was dissatisfied with the quality of the material provided and tried to convince the performer to redo several compositions again. This conflict lasted for a year, but Hawkins stood her ground.
Sophie believed that creativity does not tolerate such changes and stated that she was not going to remake songs just for the sake of commercial success. As a result, the release was released under the name Timbre. Despite the fact that Sony Music agreed to publish it in its catalog, they categorically refused to "promote" it. This led to an intensification of the conflict. Sophie left the label and decided to start her own record company.
Trumpet Swan Productions is the name of Hawkins' new label. It was here that she began to publish her songs. In particular, she began with the re-release of the third album, which in 1999 received almost no advertising and distribution. Several unreleased songs were added to the new edition, as well as a video.
By 2004, she had completed her first solo release, Wilderness. By this time, her popularity had already begun to decline. In addition, new genres appeared, because of this, the album was received very coldly. Sophie put her music career on hold for a while.
Sophie Ballantine Hawkins activities other than music
From that moment on, she began to engage in active social activities. In particular, she advocated for the rights of animals and LGBT people. In 2008, she actively supported Hillary Clinton during her nomination for US President.
The fifth disc was released after a long break - only in 2012. The Crossing album is at the crossroads of genres. But in general, it returns the listener to the sound of the first Hawkins albums. From time to time, the singer tries herself as an actress. She participates in performances, plays supporting roles or cameos (in the role of herself) in various television series. Periodically, Sophie performs her classic hits on TV shows.
