Lenka (born Lenka Kripac in 1978) is an Australian television actress turned ensemble musician with Decoder Ring, turned solo singer-songwriter, most famous worldwide for her song "The Show", which has been used in numerous advertisements, most notably for Old Navy.

Previously best known as an actress in Australia and as a host of a long-running children's breakfast cartoon program Cheez TV in Australia, she has appeared in numerous Australian television serials and feature films.

She is now based in Los Angeles.

Early life

Her father immigrated to Australia from the then-Czechoslovakia and her mother is Australian.[citation needed] She was born and raised in "the bush",[3] until age seven when her family moved to Sydney, where she received her schooling, music training, and started work as a musician.[3] Her boyfriend is James Gulliver Hancock.

Acting

Lenka starred in the Australian ABC-TV drama series GP as Vesna Kapek in the 1990's. She also hosted Cheez TV and has guest starred in other Australian TV series such as Home & Away, Wild Side, Head Start, and Spellbinder. She also starred in Australian feature films The Dish and Lost Things, and numerous theatre productions.

Music

Decoder Ring
Main article: Decoder Ring

As Lenka Kripac, she was a member of the Australian electronic-rock crossover band Decoder Ring for two of their albums. She then moved to California in 2007.

Solo career

After adopting her first name as her sole artistic name ("Lenka" is a common Slavic girl's name, and a common diminutive of the Slavic girl's name "Lena"), Lenka released an eponymous album on 24 September 2008, with "The Show," produced by Stuart Brawley, chosen to be the first single release from the set.  The album has thus far peaked at number 142 on the American Billboard 200.

Her vocal stylings offer a juxtaposition of catchy pop and layered, complicated world music influences. This juxtaposing is current in popular music, spreading through the internet.[citation needed] Similar layerings exist in the music of anti-folk Russian-born New York City-based musician Regina Spektor, French/Israeli/Tunisian tri-language singer-songwriter Yael Naim, and eclectic Italian violinist/mandolinist Alessandro Monti.

Commercial tie-ins and record company promotion

"Don't Let Me Fall" was featured in a television commercial for Telus in Canada. "The Show" has been featured as soundtrack for an Old Navy as well as an Ugly Betty commercial, the film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, the 2009 Spring Campaign of the Polish TV Station TVN (Poland), and was promoted as an iTunes Free Single of the Week. The songs "Trouble Is a Friend" and "Live Like You're Dying" were featured in Grey's Anatomy and "Trouble is a Friend", "Don't Let Me Fall", "The Show", and "We Will Not Grow Old" were featured in the teen drama 90210.

Lenka has performed on the late-night network television interview shows in America, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and The Tonight Show singing "The Show" with her full band.

On the week of 3 November 2008, "The Show" debuted at number 71 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.

The beginning of 2009 saw Lenka tour extensively throughout America and Canada. On February 2nd 2009 Lenka performed her first sold out show in Toronto, Canada which she played a remix version of "The Show" as her encore.

Summer 2009 will see Lenka's album released in Europe and Asia, with coinciding tours and festival appearances.

In Vietnam, "The Show" was a huge hit and became one of the most played songs in public.

In Poland, due to the huge popularity of "The Show" Lenka's debut album was certificated gold after 10,000 copies sold.

Indian television channel Zee Cafe uses a part of the song "The Show" featuring the lyrics 'Dum Di Dum... just enjoy the show' at the end of every commercial break.