Lauren Bennett, the British singer whose voice helped make Party Rock Anthem one of the defining pop songs of the early 2010s, has died at the age of 37. Her former G.R.L. bandmates Emmalyn Estrada, Natasha Slayton and Paula van Oppen confirmed the news in a joint statement on Instagram, describing her loss as heartbreaking and her spirit as one that touched so many lives.
A cause of death has not been disclosed. An inquest is reportedly expected to take place.
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The career she built
Born in Meopham, Kent, Bennett began pursuing music as a teenager before joining the group Paradiso Girls in 2007. A solo career followed, with collaborations alongside CeeLo Green and will.i.am building her profile before her breakthrough moment arrived in 2011.
Her feature on LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem — which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks and became one of the most-streamed songs of its era — introduced her voice to a global audience. She later joined G.R.L., where she was part of a run of releases including Ugly Heart and a collaboration with Pitbull. In the years that followed, she continued recording solo material and formed a country, folk and blues duo with her brother Ryan.
Her final social media post, shared in February, showed her performing a cover of These Boots Are Made for Walkin’. It was a reminder of the breadth of what she could do.
Loss within loss
G.R.L.’s history carries its own grief. In 2014, member Simone Battle died by suicide at the age of 25. In her memory, the group released a tribute song and partnered with a mental health awareness campaign before disbanding in 2015. Bennett continued to reconnect with her former bandmates in the years since, and those bonds were clearly still intact at the time of her death.
She is survived by her six-year-old daughter Harlow, whom she welcomed in 2019.
If you or someone you know is struggling, contact the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) on 0800 21 22 23.
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