Janice Whaley is an American and experimental a cappella singer and songwriter from San Jose, California. Whaley's music is a combination of pop and indie pop. She is most well known for her 2010 multi-album solo work The Smiths Project, consisting of a capella covers of every song by British alt-rock band The Smiths.
Early life
Whaley was born and raised in Joshua Tree, California. Her father was a Baptist minister. She learned to play piano as a child, and was a member of her high school marching, symphonic and jazz bands. After high school, she studied electronic music at San Francisco State University.
Musical career
In 2010, Janice Whaley released The Smiths Project, a reimagining of the entire catalog of Smiths songs. The Smiths Project was meticulously constructed over the course of a year by Whaley on her own, building up each song in 20 or 30 layers of vocals, entirely a capella, taking up to 30 hours per song. Stephen Kelly of British newspaper The Guardian called The Smiths Project a "testament to just how charming, creative and arduous the modern tribute can be", and praised it as a sincere, heartfelt reinterpretation of the original Smiths catalog, saying that her "greatest achievement has been to highlight and detach the art from the artist." Music journalist Sam Taylor also praised Whaley's cover of "How Soon Is Now?" as "one of the song's more successful heirs", saying that Whaley's "a cappella harmonies capture the original's eeriness."
Discography
Albums
- The Smiths Project (2011), album series and box set including:
- The Smiths
- Hatful of Hollow
- Meat is Murder
- The Queen is Dead
- Louder than Bombs
- Strangeways, Here We Come
- Patchwork Life (2012)
Stand-alone cover versions and collaborations
- "Trees" (2011): re-recording of track from the Curt Smith (Tears For Fears) album Mayfield.
- "Ideas as Opiates" (2012): duet with actor James Roday, original version by Tears For Fears.
- "We Need You" (2012): cover version of Duran Duran original, as requested by Simon Le Bon.
| Year | Organisation | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | SF Bay Guardian | The Smiths Project | "Best of the Bay" | Won |
| SF Weekly | "Best of San Francisco" | Won | ||
| 2013 | Artist in Music Awards | n/a | Best Singer/Songwriter | Nominated |
| Best Adult Contemporary Artist | Nominated | |||
| Independent Music Awards | The Smiths Project | Best Tribute Album | Nominated | |
| Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards | Patchwork Life | Best Pop/Rock Album | Nominated | |
| "Tunnel Vision" | Best Electronic/Experimental Song | Nominated | ||
| Best Professional Original Song | Nominated | |||
| Best Song By A Solo Performer | Nominated |
References
- ^ Vaziri, Aidin (January 16, 2011). "Smiths Project: Janice Whaley sings entire catalog". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
- "Janice Whaley". Viberate. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
- ^ Kelly, Stephen (2010-10-12). "This charming plan (to cover every single Smiths song)". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- "The Smiths Project Remastered Box Set, by Janice Whaley". Janice Whaley. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- Taylor, Sam (2018-06-09). "The Life Of A Song: How Soon Is Now?". Financial Times. London.