Prudence

Prudence is the stage name of Finnish-French singer-songwriter Olivia Bouyssou Merilahti. Born in Paris on February 25, 1982, she grew up in the suburbs and started attending the Sèvres conservatory at the age of 9. There, she mastered the violoncello, the piano, and the guitar, an instrument she used to write her first songs. After playing in a covers band during her teenage years and getting her high school diploma, Prudence relocated to Helsinki to study classical music and then to London to further advance her English studies. In 2004, she met musician Dan Levy during the writing and recording sessions for the soundtrack of the movie L'Empire des Loups. This fortunate encounter led to the creation of the indie pop duo The Dø, with whom she released the albums A Mouthful (2008), Both Ways Open Jaws (2011), and Shake, Shook, Shaken (2014) to great critical acclaim. In 2017, Prudence made her acting debut on Samuel Jouy’s Sparring, also contributing original music to the film’s soundtrack. Preceded by the singles “Never With U” and “Here & Now,” her first full-length Beginnings arrived in 2021.