The voice behind ‘Ugly Hearts’ goes silent forever

British singer Lauren Bennett, whose voice powered "Party Rock Anthem" and who spent years in Girls Rock Life, passes away at the age of 37.

British singer Lauren Bennett, whose voice powered “Party Rock Anthem” and who spent years in Girls Rock Life, passes away at the age of 37.

Her former G.R.L. groupmates took the news to Instagram on Monday, July 6, in a statement through a collaborative post by Emmalyn Estrada, Natasha Slayton and Paula van Oppen. The post demonstrates that they are devastated by the news and says, “Our hearts are broken,”. However, the cause of death remains unknown, with no further details shared by neither her family nor friends.

Bennett rose to fame when she was featured on LMFAO’s 2011 chart-topper, a song that remained for six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the best-selling singles of its time. She later became one of the founders of G.R.L. (Girls Rock Life), a group popular for global hits like “Ugly Heart” and their collaboration with Pitbull, “Wild Wild Love.”

The band however, is not new to the loss, they faced tragedy once before. Deadline reported that G.R.L. had gone on break after member Simone Battle died by suicide in 2014, before Bennett helped reunite the group as a trio in 2016 alongside Slayton and newcomer Jazzy Mejia.

KTLA 5 also reported further personal details, sharing that Bennett left behind her six-year-old daughter, Harlow, whom she had with dancer Kenny Wormald. The outlet noted that Bennett’s career began in Kent, England, where she first became known with the Paradiso Girls before later joining G.R.L. under producer Robin Antin.

Despite the group’s ups and downs, Bennett continued making music in recent years, including a solo detour into country and rock with a duo she formed alongside her brother.

As of now, no official cause of death has been revealed, and tributes continue to pour in from fans and collaborators who remember Bennett as a warm, talented performer, whose voice became inseparable from one of the biggest pop anthems of the 2010s.