KT Tunstall (born 23.6.1975) is a Scottish songwriter and singer, who rose to fame following a performance on Later with Jools Holland, performing 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree'.
Childhood: KT Tunstall was born in Edinburgh, to an Irish father and a half Chinese / half Scottish mother. She has never met her biological father and was adopted as a child. Her adoptive father was a lecturer of Physics at the University of St Andrews and her adoptive mother was a school teacher.
KT was raised in St Andrews, in Fife, Scotland but spent her final year of school in Connecticut. She also studied at Royal Holloway College, London.
Career: KT played with a number of independent bands throughout her twenties, including Tomoko, Ella Drew. She also played with people involved in the Fence Collective, which included the band King Creosote and featured on Oi Va Voi's Laughter Through The Tears album.
KT's debut solo album, Eye To The Telescope, a mixture of folk, rock and pop music, was released in 2004.
When Nas cancelled his performance on Later with Jools Holland, KT was given 24 hours to prepare a performance for the show. Her album was re-released, following the TV appearance and peaked at number three, 70 places better than on its initial release. Eye To The Telescope was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize Award.
KT Tunstall was thrust in the USA's national consciousness when American Idol contestant Katherine McPhee asked to perform 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. Despite being critical of such talent shows, KT licensed the song as she correctly assumed that it was not one of the show's organizers that had suggested the song for Katherine. Following the performance, the song jumped to number 23 on the Billboard Chart.
In 2006, KT Tunstall released KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravangza, originally available only via her website, though it later saw a full worldwide release later that year.
In 2006, the song 'Suddenly I See' earned KT a prestigious Ivor Novello award (for 'Best Song Musically and Lyrically).
KT performed at the American leg of the Live Earth event in July 2007, playing her three biggest hits, 'Other Side of the World', 'Suddenly I See' and 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree'.
KT released her third album, Drastic Fantastic in September 2007. It reached number three in the UK charts and number nine in the US. Later that year, a KT Tunstall Christmas album was released by Target, in association with NBC.
Personal Life: KT Tunstall has been dating the drummer in her band, Luke Bullen, since 2003 and they have announced plans to marry at the end of 2008.
In 2005, KT almost sparked a public feud with the singer Dido, after publicly stating that Dido "can't f***ing sing." She later apologised for the remark.
Biography by Contactmusic.com
