Biography
A classically trained pianist as well as a singer and songwriter, Amy Lee first rose to prominence through her commanding vocal presence as co-founder and frontwoman of the Grammy-winning rock outfit Evanescence. Their 2003 debut Fallen achieved diamond certification after moving more than 17 million units worldwide, anchoring the group as a fixture on rock radio and major festival bills while delivering two U.S. number-one albums in 2006’s The Open Door and 2011’s Evanescence. Outside the band she pursued independent projects, teaming with Lindsey Stirling, Halestorm, Bring Me the Horizon, Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, and cellist-composer Dave Eggar on the 2014 soundtrack Aftermath; she also issued the children’s record Dream Too Much and steered Evanescence through its fifth LP, The Bitter Truth, in the early 2020s.
Raised in Riverside, California before moving frequently across the country, Lee draws from an eclectic palette that includes Mozart alongside Tori Amos, Danny Elfman, and Björk. Following Evanescence’s breakthrough she ventured further afield in the 2000s, appearing with Korn on an MTV Unplugged rendition of “Freak on a Leash” and supplying a cover of “Sally’s Song” to the 2008 Elfman tribute Nightmare Revisited. In 2011 she interpreted “Halfway Down the Stairs” for the Muppets tribute collection The Green Album.
During a break between Evanescence releases she created the largely electronic 2014 album Aftermath with Dave Eggar, which served as the official score for the independent feature War Story. A second Eggar collaboration, Indigo Grey: The Passage, arrived in 2015, followed by the title track “Voice from the Stone” for director Eric D. Howell’s film. After wrapping a brief Evanescence run late that year, Lee turned to a children’s project released in 2016 as Dream Too Much; recorded with her father, uncle, and sisters and inspired by her son Jack, the set mixed Sesame Street and traditional children’s material with originals such as “The End of the Book.” Also in 2016 she released the solo EP Recover, Vol. 1, featuring interpretations of songs by Portishead, U2, Led Zeppelin, and Chris Isaak.
Evanescence’s fourth album, Synthesis, appeared in 2017, with the live document Synthesis Live following in 2018 and sparking renewed interest in the band. Ahead of the next studio effort Lee lent her voice to Lindsey Stirling’s “Love Goes On and On” from 2019’s Artemis, Halestorm’s “Break In,” Body Count’s “When I’m Gone,” Wagakki Band’s “Sakura Rising,” and Bring Me the Horizon’s “One Day the Only Butterflies Left Will Be in Your Chest as You March Towards Your Death.” The Bitter Truth, Evanescence’s fifth album, surfaced in 2021; the group toured with Halestorm that year and joined Korn for summer dates in 2022. That June Lee joined Dave Stewart for a cover of the Everly Brothers’ “Love Hurts.”
Raised in Riverside, California before moving frequently across the country, Lee draws from an eclectic palette that includes Mozart alongside Tori Amos, Danny Elfman, and Björk. Following Evanescence’s breakthrough she ventured further afield in the 2000s, appearing with Korn on an MTV Unplugged rendition of “Freak on a Leash” and supplying a cover of “Sally’s Song” to the 2008 Elfman tribute Nightmare Revisited. In 2011 she interpreted “Halfway Down the Stairs” for the Muppets tribute collection The Green Album.
During a break between Evanescence releases she created the largely electronic 2014 album Aftermath with Dave Eggar, which served as the official score for the independent feature War Story. A second Eggar collaboration, Indigo Grey: The Passage, arrived in 2015, followed by the title track “Voice from the Stone” for director Eric D. Howell’s film. After wrapping a brief Evanescence run late that year, Lee turned to a children’s project released in 2016 as Dream Too Much; recorded with her father, uncle, and sisters and inspired by her son Jack, the set mixed Sesame Street and traditional children’s material with originals such as “The End of the Book.” Also in 2016 she released the solo EP Recover, Vol. 1, featuring interpretations of songs by Portishead, U2, Led Zeppelin, and Chris Isaak.
Evanescence’s fourth album, Synthesis, appeared in 2017, with the live document Synthesis Live following in 2018 and sparking renewed interest in the band. Ahead of the next studio effort Lee lent her voice to Lindsey Stirling’s “Love Goes On and On” from 2019’s Artemis, Halestorm’s “Break In,” Body Count’s “When I’m Gone,” Wagakki Band’s “Sakura Rising,” and Bring Me the Horizon’s “One Day the Only Butterflies Left Will Be in Your Chest as You March Towards Your Death.” The Bitter Truth, Evanescence’s fifth album, surfaced in 2021; the group toured with Halestorm that year and joined Korn for summer dates in 2022. That June Lee joined Dave Stewart for a cover of the Everly Brothers’ “Love Hurts.”
Albums
Singles
