Introduction
Lauren Maria "Ren" Harvieu (born 3 September 1990) is an English singer and songwriter from Broughton, Salford, Greater Manchester.
Early life and education
Harvieu was introduced to music by her mother. While in sixth form college, she performed in musical theatre and entered several talent competitions before uploading some of her own recordings to MySpace.
Career
Ren Harvieu was discovered on MySpace by a local music manager after uploading demo tracks. After being introduced to record producer Jimmy Hogarth (Amy Winehouse, Duffy) Ren began working on demo's and was signed to Universal Music aged 18.
Harvieu started recording an album in May 2011, but before it could be released, she broke her back in what she describes as a 'freak accident', "I heard it snap. I couldn't feel my feet," the singer recalled. After a 14-hour operation, Harvieu spent months recovering at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.
On 5 December 2011, the BBC announced that she had been nominated for their BBC Sounds of 2012 poll. After releasing the singles "Through the Night" and "Open Up Your Arms", her first album Through the Night was released on Island Records on 14 May 2012, entering the UK album chart at No 5.
Harvieu is currently working on her second album.
Discography
Albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | |||
| Through the Night |
| 5 | |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | |||
| "Through the Night" | 2011 | 178 | Through the Night |
| "Open Up Your Arms" | 2012 | 108 | |
| "Tonight" | — | ||
| "Do Right By Me" | — |
Guest appearances
| Year | Artist | Track | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Mark Owen | "S.A.D." | The Art of Doing Nothing |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Organisation | Award | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | BBC | Sound of 2012 | Nominated |