Jane de Jong (born 1987), known professionally as Ruby Frost, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter from Auckland. In 2009, she won the nationwide music competition MTV 42Unheard, giving her a recording contract with Universal Music New Zealand.[1] Since then she has performed showcases at CMJ in New York and The Viper Room in LA;[2] toured with Mt Eden, Cut Copy, Evermore and Van She;[3] and opened for acts including Diplo, Nero, Kimbra, Digitalism and Garbage.[4] She was one of the four judges in season oneofThe X Factor NZ,[5] and was the runner-up mentor when her act Whenua Patuwai came second in the competition.[6]
Ruby Frost
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jane de Jong |
| Born | 1987 (age 36–37) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Origin | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Genres |
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| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Universal Music |
| Website | Official site |
In December 2011, Ruby Frost released her debut single "Moonlight" on bFM, which went to #1 and stayed in the radio station's top 10 for 10 consecutive weeks.[7] The accompanying video was directed by Veronica Crockford-Pound.[8]
Ruby Frost's song "O That I Had" (off her debut, self-released EP) was remixed by Mt Eden in 2010, receiving over one million views on YouTube.[9]
In 2010, Ruby won the Grand Prize of the Pop category in the international John Lennon Songwriting Contest: Section I. This was for her demo "Hazy".[10]
Ruby also came in third place in the Pop/Top 40 category of the International Songwriting Competition (2011), for "Hazy".[11]
In 2012, Ruby's song "Water to Ice" was shortlisted in the Top 20 for the NZ APRA Silver Scrolls.[12]
Frost's debut album Volition was produced in New York by Chris Zane and was released in New Zealand on 8 June 2012 by Universal Music New Zealand.[13] Physical copies of the album came complete with abstract short stories written by Ruby.[14]
The album was critically well received.[citation needed]
Ruby released "Water to Ice" in New Zealand in April 2012.[15] The single was playlisted by New Zealand mainstream radio stations The Edge and ZM, and peaked at #3 in The Official New Zealand Music Chart's NZ Singles category.[16] The single's video clip was directed by Joel Kefali and Campbell Smith of Special Problems, and was featured on the frontpage of Vimeo as a Staff Pick on 8 August.[17]
Her next single "Young" was released in New Zealand in September 2012, with a video clip made by Sam Kristofski. Home Brew Crew remixed the song, and it charted in The Edge's Fat 40 for two months, sparking off a national house party tour that the radio station sponsored (along with Vodafone and Glassons).[18]
Ruby was also featured on the Flight of the Conchords single "Feel Inside", which was released to raise money for the children's charity Cure Kids.[19]
In 2013, Ruby co-wrote 'The Wire', the second single on David Dallas's album "Falling into Place". She also sang guest vocals on his song 'The Gate'.[citation needed]
In 2014, she released her first single from her time in Stockholm - "Comeback Queen".[20]
In May 2018, the Manuwatu Standard reported that Frost is still working on a second studio album.[21]
| Year | Title | Details | Music Charts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ | ||||
| 2012 | Volition |
|
4 | |
| Year | Title | NZ Charts [22] |
Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ Singles |
Top 40 | |||
| 2010 | "Moonlight" | — | — | Volition |
| 2011 | "Odyssey" | — | — | |
| 2012 | "Water to Ice" | 3 | — | |
| "Young" | 6 | — | ||
| "Feel Inside (And Stuff Like That)" Flight of the Conchords charity single | 1 | 1 | Non-album single | |
| 2013 | "The Wire" (David Dallas featuring Ruby Frost) | 2 | 11 | Falling Into Place |
| 2014 | "Comeback Queen" | — | — | Non-album single |
| 2021 | "Never Be Your Baby" | — | — | Non-album single |
Her debut single Moonlight charted in the bFM Top 10 for 10 weeks straight