“THERE AREN’T ANY CASTLES OR LEPRECHAUNS, ” says Laura Izibor, 21, about her native Dublin, Ireland. “It’s a normal state— very hip, and there’s a good music scene. It’s my favorite place.”
The curly-coiffed, Nigerian-Irish singer is relaxed and playful in a strapless sundress as she munches on tuna salad at New York
City’s chic Bar Milano. But her sound is serious, yearning even. And like her background, it’s a hybrid of influences— Joss Stone’s throaty vocals and gut-punch urgency with Jill Scott’s buttery lyricism. Her debut, Let the Truth Be Told (Atlantic, 2009), anchored by the feel-good single “Shine,” is powerful and sincere—a melodic pop tune socked by soul. The whole album is a marvel—her killer voice slicing through a passel of breezy R&B.
“My music comes from an honesty that I don’t think is being brought to the table anymore—so much is controlled and nonpersonal,” she says. “ This album, my words, it’s all real—this is my truth.” Izibor, a one-time WNBA hopeful, stumbled upon her talent as a 13-year-old tomboy in drama class when she was asked to sing Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey’s 1998 duet “When You Believe” (DreamWorks). “I knew it was bad,” she says now.
“Everyone sat quiet, looking at each other— then everyone was like, ‘Laura that was really good!’ I went home and told my
mother, ‘Apparently I can sing.’” Without question, she can. But Izibor’s background still surprises fans. “People always ask, ‘ Ireland?!’ she says, laughing. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, one or two.’”
home
