Indiana

Lauren Henson, better known by her stage name Indiana, is a British singer-songwriter from Loughborough. Her 2015 debut album, No Romeo, includes the UK top 20 single "Solo Dancing".

Biography Henson grew up in Loughborough, Leicestershire. She moved to Nottingham to live with her partner, with whom she has two children. The family had moved to Long Eaton in Derbyshire by 2015.

Henson began writing songs in 2010, after she taught herself to play piano using one that she was storing temporarily for her sister. They wrote their first song together, "Blind as I Am", which she performed at her first gig in April 2012, at the semi-finals of the live music competition Future Sound of Nottingham. Henson took her stage name, Indiana, in memory of her late father, who was a fan of the Indiana Jones film series.

"Blind as I Am" was released as Indiana's debut single in November 2012, followed by "Bound" in February 2013, "Smoking Gun" in June 2013, and "Mess Around" in October 2013. Also in 2013, Indiana signed a record deal with Sony Music and played at the Splendour in Nottingham and Glastonbury music festivals, the latter on the BBC Introducing stage.

Indiana's fifth single, "Solo Dancing", became her breakthrough release, amassing substantial attention from music blogs and inclusion on Time magazine's mid-year "Singles of 2014" list. "Heart on Fire", its follow-up (in August 2014), was less successful, peaking at number 89 in the UK. and appeared again on 6 January 2015. Indiana's debut album, No Romeo, was released in February 2015 and reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart.

In July 2015, Indiana released an EP entitled State of Play, which features her track "Blind as I Am" alongside cover versions of George Michael's "Careless Whisper", Dolly Parton's "Jolene", and Blu Cantrell's "Breathe". In November, she was featured on the single "Dance on My Heart" by producers Mark Knight and Adrian Hour.

In 2018, Indiana was featured on the title track for Gunship's "Dark All Day" album, also featuring prolific 80's saxophone sensation Tim Cappello.

Topless photo controversy In September 2018, Indiana sparked controversy when she released topless photos of herself, her hands over her breasts, taken in front of a World War I memorial plaque in a London church. She later explained that she did not realise it was a war memorial when the photos were taken, and defended her actions by saying, "Pretty sure those boys that gave their lives for this country would enjoy a casual bit of side-boob."

Artistry Indiana describes her music as "menacing and emotional electronica with 80s-inspired synths and haunting vocals". She has mentioned the soundtrack of the 2011 film Drive as being a major inspiration for her work.

Discography Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions UK SCO No Romeo Released: 16 January 2015 Label: Epic Formats: CD, LP, digital download 17 22 Not Girlfriend Material Released: 24 August 2018 Label: Audio Network Ltd Format: Digital download — —

Singles Year Title Peak chart positions Album UK SCO 2012 "Blind as I Am" — — — No Romeo 2013 "Bound" — — — "Smoking Gun" — — — "Mess Around" — — — 2014 "Solo Dancing" 14 85 9 "Heart on Fire" 89 — 60 "Only the Lonely" — — — 2017 "Bad Luck" — — — Not Girlfriend Material 2018 "Paper Cut" — — — "I Like Drinking" — — — 2019 "Caroline" — — — "No Strings" — — — "Sweet Things" — — — "Tropical Daze" — — — "Break the Habit" — — — 2020 "Physical" — — — "Small Town Girl" — — — 2021 "Isolation" — — — "Summer Lovin' Druggie" — — — "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.