Grimes is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer and visual artist with a unique personality, artistry and talent. She is quite an interesting and controversial artist who loves to take part in every aspect of her music. Aside from her relationship with tech billionaire Elon Musk which has added more glamour and general appeal to her personality, she is good in what she does and has come a long way in proving herself in her special brand of music.
Here is what we know about the enchanting singer.
Quick Facts about Grimes
1. Her real name is Claire Elise Boucher
Grimes was born Claire Elise Boucher in Vancouver, British Columbia on 17 March 1988. Her mother Sandy Garossimo is a former Crown Prosecutor and Arts Enthusiast while her father works in the Biotech industry.
2. She studied at a Catholic High School
Grimes actually grew up in a Catholic household and attended a Catholic High School although her present personality might belie this fact. She graduated in 2006and enrolled at the McGill University Montreal. After some period of indecision, Grimes eventually began to pursue a degree in Neuroscience and the Russian Language. However, she discovered a new interest in Music while at the university which has now dominated her life. She was a part of the Electroacoustics program which helped her understand how the brain interacts with music. She later dropped out in 2011 to focus more on her music.
3. Her Lisp made her a constant target for bullies
Grimes was often mocked for her lisp and abnormal facial features. She faced constant discrimination in High School as a result and many people didn’t want to talk to her. However, she has learnt to accept who she is and that aspect that makes her unique. Obviously, she is very content to remain as she is and has not welcomed any suggestion of speech therapy to help her overcome her lisp.
4. Grimes started out as a DJ
Grimes started out as a budding artist in 2007 when she began to perform as a DJ in Montreal’s clubs. She experimented with different genre and styles of music before creating a special kind of music. Subsequently, she began to arrange concerts alongside other young artists and was able to record two songs which were included in the Canadian Electronic Music Album.
5. Grimes first album was Geidi Primes
Grimes had three albums released under Arbutus records. She released her first album in 2010 titled Geidi Primes which was quickly followed by the sophomore album Halfaxa by the same record label in the same year. She further released another album with d’Eon in 2011 titled Darkbloom. She then went on to sign a contract with a new record company 4AD and dropped her third studio album ‘’Visions’’ in February 2012. The album received critical Acclaim and rode her to stardom. It also received many Best Albums of 2012 awards. Her fifth studio album is Miss Anthropocene which contains the single ‘Idoru’ based on the science fiction film of the same name.
6. Grimes is also a visual artist
Apart from music, Grimes is also involved in other artistic ventures such as Visual Art and some of her artworks have appeared in Gallery shows. All of her Album Covers were designed by her, including her posters and merchandise. She was invited to collaborate with Saint Laurent on their new collections and she illustrated five designs for the men’s collection.
7. Singing wasn’t her first career choice
Grimes actually wanted to become a producer but delved into singing by chance. She began to sing when a friend couldn’t find a backup vocalist for his band and she tried it and discovered that she was good. She has come a long way in Singing and has become very successful. Although she writes her own songs she can’t read music.
8. She is a fan of Tattoos
Grimes is a lover of the ink and has quite a number on her body including her lucky number ‘’8’’ on her chest. Among the multiple tattoos on her body is an alien that she now regrets. She got the drawing because it was in vogue and it was the fun thing to do at the time.
9. Grimes has a son for Elon Musk
Grimes put the internet on a spin in 2018 when it was revealed that she was dating tech Billionaire Elon Musk. The couple met on Twitter when Grimes made a joke concerning Rococo and the Roko’s basilisk. It happened that Elon Musk was planning on making the same comment but discovered that Grimes had already done so. The duo confirmed their relationship when both of them walked the red carpet together at the 2018 Met gala.
Furthermore, the singer gave birth to their first child on May 4, 2020. They wanted to name him X Æ A-12 but it was disallowed by the Californian Law because numbers were not accepted. They later came up with X Æ A-Xii by substituting 12 with the roman numeral Xii.
10. She is involved in all aspect of her music
Talk about a musical all-rounder and you’ve got Grimes. She not only sings, but she produces and does the artwork for her tracks. She is virtually in charge of every aspect of her music and enjoys doing so. Explaining to the Fader in an interview, she said she doesn’t want to be like the face of what she built but she wants to be the one who built it. Luckily, she is talented enough to be able to pull it off.
11. The ‘c’ in her name connotes the speed of light
Grimes had her name changed from Claire Boucher to c Boucher. The c is a mathematical symbol for the speed of light. She explained that she hardly says her name because of her lisp and that her birth name has been a struggle for so long.
12. She initially didn’t reveal the true origin of her name
When she became famous, Grimes felt too embarrassed to tell the world that the origin of her name was inspired by the cartoon character, Frank Grimes from The Simpsons and the Artist Ken Grimes. She used to say that she got her name when she filled out Grimes music in the three genres she was asked to describe herself in her MySpace artist’s page.
13. She dislikes hard drug
The singer has never hidden the fact that she used to do drugs. She has admitted to using amphetamines to stay up for three weeks during the making of Visions in 2012. It was in a bid to meet up with deadlines that she turned to drug use while eating nothing for the whole period. She is however now openly showing her huge dislike for the evil substance and doesn’t want it to be part of her narrative according to a Tumblr post in 2004.
14. Her song “Go” was originally meant for Rihanna
Grimes signed under Roc Nation in 2014 and it was the same management Agency that signed Rihanna. She wrote the song “Go” with Rihanna in mind but the artist turned it down. Grimes eventually made a go for it and it turned out really nice.
15. Her sense of dressing is unique
Grimes often dress in bright and colorful outfits and that has defined her personality. But did you also know that she does not wear anything with zippers or buttons? This is because she hates the feeling of a caged animal that it evokes in her. She rather wear stretchy and knitted material which makes her feel free and in control.
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