Joy Elizabeth Williams (born November 14, 1982)[1] is an American singer-songwriter. The winner of four Grammy Awards, Williams has released four solo albums and four EPs since her self-titled debut in 2001. She was half of the Civil Wars duo from 2009 until 2014.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 The Civil Wars 2.2 Music and acting 3 Personal life 4 Discography 4.1 Solo 4.2 The Civil Wars 5 Awards and nominations 6 References 7 External links Early life

Williams was born in West Branch, Michigan, and raised in a Christian home in Mount Hermon in Santa Cruz County, California, where her parents worked in ministry.[2] She attended Valley Christian High School in San Jose and graduated as the class valedictorian in 2001.[3]

In addition to singing in church, Williams began writing faith-based pop songs while living in Santa Cruz. At 17, she was signed by Reunion Records, a subsidiary of Sony/BMG based in Brentwood, Tennessee.[4]

Williams cites Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Massive Attack, and Portishead as being her influences.[5]

Career

Between 2001 and 2005 Williams was nominated for 11 Dove Awards, and the three records she released on Reunion cumulatively sold more than 250,000 copies.[6] In 2005 she left the label to expand her musical horizons.[7]

Williams traveled to Europe, worked briefly at Paste Magazine and then at a Nashville boutique. In 2006 she signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell music, and in 2008 she co-founded the artist development firm, Sensibility Music as a vehicle for her career development. That same year Oscar Mayer selected her song "It Doesn't Get Better Than This" for a 2008 marketing campaign.[8] Williams subsequently released three EPs through Sensibility Music. The songs "Charmed Life", "Speaking a Dead Language", and "Sunny Day", were featured on the TV show Grey's Anatomy.[4][9]

The Civil Wars Main article: The Civil Wars

In 2008, Williams attended a writing camp in Nashville, where she met John Paul White. They formed the folk rock duo The Civil Wars in 2009 and released their breakthrough album, Barton Hollow in 2011. The album was widely praised by critics[10] and went on to sell more than 650,000 copies in the U.S.[11] White and Williams won four Grammy Awards as The Civil Wars.

The duo announced an indefinite hiatus in November 2012, prior to the release of their 2013 self-titled album.[6][12][13] The duo was officially dissolved in August 2014[14][15] and in March 2015, Williams said her last conversation with White was after their Roundhouse show in London in November 2012.[5]

Music and acting

Late in 2013, Williams collaborated with Chris Cornell on the song "Misery Chain" which they performed on Late Night with David Letterman.[16] She also collaborated with Matt Berninger from The National on "Hush", the theme song for Turn.[17][18] Williams and Hayley Williams (no relation) of the rock band Paramore collaborated on a new version of Paramore's "Hate to See Your Heart Break".[19]

Williams began working on a solo album in 2015.[5][20]

Williams made her acting debut in 2016 in an episode of Roadies[21] and her recording of The Chainsmokers' "Don't Let Me Down" was used for a State Farm commercial in 2017.[22]

Personal life

On June 12, 2004, Williams married Nate Yetton. Williams and Yetton have a son, Miles Alexander, born June 30, 2012; and a daughter, Poppy Louise, born August 6, 2018.[23][24]

Discography Solo 2001: Joy Williams (Reunion) 2002: By Surprise (Reunion) 2005: Genesis (Reunion) 2005: Connect Sets EP (online only) (Reunion/Sony Connect) 2006: Every Moment: The Best of Joy Williams (Reunion) 2009: One of Those Days (EP) (Sensibility Music) 2009: Charmed Life (Remixes) Digital EP (Sensibility Music) 2009: Songs from This/Songs from That (2 EPs) (Sensibility Music) 2009: More Than I Asked For: Celebrating Christmas with Joy Williams EP (Sensibility Music) 2010: We Mapped the World EP (Sensibility Music) 2015: Venus (Sensibility Music) 2016: Venus (Acoustic) (Sensibility Music) 2019: Front Porch (Sensibility Music) The Civil Wars Main article: The Civil Wars discography 2009: Live at Eddie's Attic (Sensibility Music) 2009: Poison & Wine (EP) (Sensibility Music) 2011: Barton Hollow (Dine Alone Records) [25] 2011: "Tracks In The Snow" (Dine Alone Records) 2012: "Live at Amoeba" EP (Dine Alone Records) 2013: The Civil Wars (Sensibility Music/Columbia) 2013: "VH1 Unplugged" (Dine Alone Records) Awards and nominations Year Association Category Nominee Result Ref. 2006 Dove Awards Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year Genesis Nominated [26] Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year "Hide" Nominated 2011 CMT Music Awards Duo Video of the Year "Barton Hollow" Nominated Americana Music Association New/Emerging Artist of the Year The Civil Wars Nominated Duo/Group of the Year Nominated Country Music Association Awards Vocal Duo of the Year Nominated ASCAP Awards ASCAP Vanguard Award Won 2012 2012 Grammy Award Best Folk Album Barton Hollow Won [27] Best Country Duo/Group Performance "Barton Hollow" Won CMT Music Awards Video of the Year "Safe & Sound" (as featuring) Nominated Collaborative Video of the Year Nominated Duo Video of the Year "Poison & Wine" Nominated Americana Music Association Duo/Group of the Year The Civil Wars Won A2IM Libera Awards Album of the Year Barton Hollow Nominated Country Music Association Awards Vocal Duo of the Year The Civil Wars Nominated Musical Event of the Year "Safe & Sound" (as featuring) Nominated 2013 2013 Grammy Award Best Country Duo/Group Performance Nominated Best Song Written for Visual Media Won 2012 Golden Globe Award Best Original Song Nominated 2014 2014 Grammy Award Best Country Duo/Group Performance "From This Valley" Won