Jem

Jemma Griffiths, known professionally as Jem, was born in the small town of Penarth, Wales, on May 18, 1975. At school, she discovered and developed a love of music and began paving the way for a professional career after moving to Brighton and flexing her interests as a DJ and a club and festival promoter, largely on the city's drum 'n' bass scene. Griffiths spent the late 1990s pouring her passions into indie hip-hop label Marine Parade, which she co-founded with respected UK producer and DJ Adam Freeland, but her desire to make music came calling and she fled Brighton for Wales in 1999. After developing her craft in a homemade studio, Griffiths headed for the bright lights of London to kickstart her solo career. While there, she crossed paths with an array of writers, producers and managers. Among these was electronic producer Guy Sigsworth (Björk, Frou Frou), with whom she penned the song "Nothing Fails", used by Madonna for her 2003 studio album, American Life. After moving to the US in 2004, Griffiths scored a record deal with ATO Records and released her debut US-only EP in 2003, It All Starts Here... and a debut album in 2004, Finally Woken. The album, which went platinum in the UK and peaked at Number 6 on the UK charts, was also a success in the US, with various tracks appearing in US shows including Desperate Housewives. Griffiths released her second studio album, Down to Earth, in 2008 in the US and in 2009 in Europe. The album peaked at 48 on the Billboard 200 and 64 on the UK Albums Chart and contained the track "It's Amazing", which was featured in the Sex And The City movie. Griffiths' third album, Beachwood Canyon, was released independently in 2016.