Known for her chart-topping 2010 hit “Something in the Water,” Brooke Fraser translated her intelligent folk-pop into massive commercial success in the early 2000s, emerging as one of the best-selling New Zealand singer/songwriters in history via her 2003 debut LP, What to Do with Daylight. She released three more acclaimed studio albums (Albertine, Flags, and Brutal Romantic) under her maiden name before releasing 2022’s live worship album Seven as Brooke Ligertwood. In addition to her solo work, Ligertwood is a member of the Australian Christian music group Hillsong Worship, and was the songwriter and lead vocalist for the collective’s 2017 Grammy-winning single “What a Beautiful Name.” The daughter of Bernie Fraser, a onetime star with the New Zealand All Black rugby squad, Ligertwood was born in Wellington on December 15, 1983, and studied piano from the ages of seven to 17. At 12, she composed her first original song, and a few years later she taught herself guitar. Following a breakout performance at the Christian music festival Parachute in 2000, she relocated to Auckland, signed a management deal with producer Matty J, and inked a multi-album deal with Sony. What to Do with Daylight was released in late 2003, debuting atop the Kiwi pop charts and ultimately going platinum seven times over. She became a member of Australia’s Hillsong Church in 2005 and joined the church’s worship band, Hillsong Worship. She appeared on the group’s 2006 album Mighty to Save. That same year, Ligertwood traveled to Los Angeles to record her sophomore effort, Albertine, that also debuted at number one. Although not as meteorically successful as What to Do with Daylight, Albertine went multi-platinum in her homeland and also charted well internationally, reaching gold status in Australia and cracking the Top 100 in America. In 2007, she co-wrote the single “None But Jesus” for Hillsong Worship’s United We Stand. Ligertwood left the group after the release of 2010’s A Beautiful Exchange and released her third solo effort, Flags, which included her first number one single, the ebullient “Something in the Water.” With the album and single receiving plaudits all around, the following year Ligertwood cleaned up at the 2011 New Zealand Music Awards, taking gongs for Album of the Year, Best Pop Album, Single of the Year, Best Female Artist, and the People’s Choice Award. Returning to the studio in 2014 — after 18 months of writing in various locations — Ligertwood set about recording her fourth album, with David Kosten co-producing. Recorded at his West London studio, with orchestral work done at the legendary Abbey Road, the release saw Fraser opting for a more experimental sound than that of her previous releases. Brutal Romantic was released in late 2014 and earned Ligertwood the Best Female Solo Artist trophy at the 2015 New Zealand Music Awards. She re-joined Hillsong Worship for the 2016 live outing Let There Be Light, which featured the Grammy Award-winning song “What a Beautiful Name.” A pair of Brooke Fraser compilation albums, A-Sides and B-Sides, appeared in 2016 and 2018, respectively, and in 2022 she released the worship album Seven, her first collection of songs under her married name, Brooke Ligertwood.
