She might be Melbourne-based and an honourary Aussie these days – but Kimbra won’t be changing her international football code allegiances any time soon.
The indie songstress – who was born in Hamilton, New Zealand – said there is no chance she’ll be rocking up to a rugby match in green and gold, especially when it comes to matches against her mother country.
“Are you kidding mate… All-Blacks all the way!” she chuckles.
“NZ will always be my home – it’s where I grew up, but Melbourne is where I’m based now and kinda represents where I am at the moment…so it’s flattering that the Aussies want to claim me.”
An All-Blacks game was also the scene of one of Kimbra’s first big performances – where she belted out the National Anthem at age 13.
“We were playing Ireland and there were 27,000 people there – it was so nerve wracking,” she said.
“But it was good I got that out of the way when I was a kid, because I don’t get nervous when I’m performing any more now!”
And local fans can get a taste of Kimbra’s nerve-free performance style when she embarks on her biggest Australian tour to date in May.
After popping up on the festival circuit throughout summer, Kimbra will do a series of solo shows with her full band in theatres across the country.
Kimbra said the solo shows will give her a chance to experiment a bit more with her live setup.
“I’m planning some great visuals and projections and there’ll be some new songs as well,” she said.
“We’ve done a lot of festivals lately but not our own shows, so it’s a chance to indulge a little more and hopefully we’ll make it a really special experience for the people who come along.”
Prior to the tour, Kimbra is spending time in the USA – where she’s currently doing showcases at SXSW in Texas and launching a collaboration song with Mark Foster (Foster The People) for iconic shoe brand Converse.
She’s also heading around the country supporting Gotye – the man who invited her to guest on his all-conquering hit Somebody That I Used To Know.
Kimbra admits that her profile has undoubtedly received an extra boost from appearing on the track – which has clocked up over 100 million hits on YouTube and easily won last year’s triple j Hottest 100.
“Oh yeah, obviously things would be different if I wasn’t on there,” she said.
“But I still would have been gigging and promoting the album regardless… I had the album (Vows) ready to go when Wally (De Backer, aka Gotye) called me up.”
“So it was awesome to be part of that experience… and obviously because the track has skyrocketed I’ve been able to make the most of the opportunity.”
And, Kimbra hasn’t ruled out creating another future hit with Gotye while they’re on the road.
“Totally…we both really click so it would be great to do something again,” she said.
Vows is out now through Warner Music. Kimbra plays shows in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth during May – for all the details click here.
