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 one of The X Factor NZ,[5] and was the runner-up mentor when her act Whenua Patuwai came second in the competition.[6]

Ruby Frost
Background information
Birth nameJane de Jong
Born1987 (age 36–37)
Wellington, New Zealand
OriginAuckland, New Zealand
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Years active2008–present
LabelsUniversal Music
WebsiteOfficial site

Early singles edit

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]

Songwriting competitions edit

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]

2012 releases edit

Debut album edit

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]

Singles edit

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]

Discography edit

Albums edit

Year Title Details Music Charts
NZ
2012 Volition
  • Released: 25 June 2012
  • Label: Universal Music NZ
  • Producer: Chris Zane
4

Singles edit

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

References edit

  1. ^ Scoop. "42Unheard winner". Scoop. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  2. ^ New Music: Ruby Frost - One Trick Pony | One Trick Pony
  3. ^ "RUBY FRÖST - Events - Facebook". Facebook.
  4. ^ "RUBY FRÖST - Videos - Facebook". Facebook.
  5. ^ "Melanie Blatt, Ruby Frost to judge X Factor NZ". 3 News. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Jackie Thomas wins X Factor NZ". 3 News. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  7. ^ "Ruby Frost - Moonlight EP Review". Music.net.nz. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2021. Her debut single Moonlight charted in the bFM Top 10 for 10 weeks straight
  8. ^ YouTube. "Moonlight". Moonlight video. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  9. ^ Ruby Frost and Mt. Eden - Oh That I Had. YouTube. 1 December 2010.
  10. ^ JLSC. "JLSC Winners". Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  11. ^ "International Songwriting Competition - The #1 Song Contest for Songwriters". songwritingcompetition.com.
  12. ^ "Top 20 NZ songs of the past year revealed". The New Zealand Herald.
  13. ^ "Ruby Frost's sparkling debut (+audio)". The New Zealand Herald.
  14. ^ "Ruby Frost - Of Her Own Free Will". nzmusician.co.nz. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014.
  15. ^ "Volition". iTunes. January 2012.
  16. ^ "Top 20 New Zealand Singles Chart - The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART.
  17. ^ "Vimeo on Twitter". Twitter.
  18. ^ "Ruby Frost Flat Party". theedge.co.nz.
  19. ^ "Red Nose Day Comedy For Cure Kids - Shows - TV3". tv3.co.nz.
  20. ^ www.zmonline.com, ZM |. "Ruby Frost - Comeback Queen". ZM. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  21. ^ "Pop star Ruby Frost visits Palmerston North Girls' High for songwriting class". 15 May 2018.
  22. ^ "Discography Ruby Frost". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2014.

External links edit