Florence and the Machine (or "Florence + the Machine") is a British rock, soul, and pop band fronted by lead singer Florence Welch. Welch has recruited a variety of other musicians to work as part of her band, and some of these artists have included Devonte Hynes, Robert Ackroyd (guitar), Tom Monger (harp), Isabella Summers (keyboard), and Christopher Lloyd Hayden (drums).http://www.contactmusic.com/info/florence_and_the_machine Florence and her rotating group of back-up musicians released their first album, Lungs, on July 6, 2009. The album was ranked number one in the UK and the album was one of the best sellers of 2009 and 2010 in the UK. It was also awarded the "Mastercard British Album" at the 2010 BRIT Awards.http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/5fee3020-513b-48c2-b1f7-4681b01db0c6 The sounds on the album included (in various songs) harps, drums, choirs, fireworks, lions, bits of metal, and more.http://florenceandthemachine.net/biography

Songs from the Lungs album were featured in the movie Jennifer's Body, and in trailers for the movie Eat, Pray, Love.http://www.fjgirls.com/f-biographies/703-florence-welch-biographyhttp://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2010-08-09-florenceOTV09_ST_N.htm A single, "Heavy in Your Arms", which was not part of the Lungs album, was released as a track on the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack.http://www.buzzsugar.com/Twilight-Eclipse-Soundtrack-Full-List-Songs-8400783

In December of 2010, Florence was nominated for her first Grammy. Nominated in the category of Best New Artist, she will go up against Justin Bieber, Drake, Mumford & Sons and Esperanza Spalding.http://florenceandthemachine.net/news/0-6/florence-bags-us-grammy-nomination/0-6

Florence and the Machine received the 2010 MTV Music Video Award for Best Art Direction in a Video for their video Dog Days Are Over. The award nomination for the directors, Louise Corcoran and Aldene Johnson, was among other group nominations for 2010. The group was also nominated for Video of the Year and Best Rock Video along with Best Cinematography in a Video.http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/2010/video-of-the-year/

Florence and the Machine had publicly announced that they were planning a second album and hoped to begin working on it in studio in late 2010 for release at an unspecified time.http://www.spinner.com/2010/05/18/florence-and-the-machine-second-album/ Florence told media outlets that some of the inspiration for her new yet-to-be-titled album has drawn some influence from science. One of the songs is said to be titled "Strangeness and Charm".http://www.nme.com/news/florence-and-the-machine/50308 Another new song, called "Spectrum", has to do with rainbows and crystals.http://www.spinner.com/2010/04/29/florence-and-the-machine-new-album-details/

In November of 2010, the group released a special edition of their 2009 album, Lungs, called Between Two Lungs, which features live performances and remixes.http://florenceandthemachine.net/news/6-12/between-two-lungs-out-now/0-6

• 2009: Lungs
• 2010: Between Two Lungshttp://www.allmusic.com/artist/florence-and-the-machine-p1062562/discography http://florenceandthemachine.net/news/6-12/between-two-lungs-out-now/0-6

"I guess we’ve got this grand tradition of sort of English eccentrics. Over there you’ve got artists like Lady Gaga you’ve got some really out-there artists. I’m not ever trying to be deliberately cheeky, I think I maybe haven’t been molded in a particular way. I think maybe we’ve been given more leeway. Maybe we get away with things more." — Florence Welch, interview with Hearty Magazinehttp://heartymagazine.com/features/florence-and-the-machine-interview-photos-with-hearty-magazine (Speaking about the difference between North American and English female musicians)

"I think now the boundaries between popstar and musician are becoming blurred, and I think that's a really good thing because it allows you to experiment with like, a look, or a style of performance, but still retain your musical integrity. You don't have to have one or the other now, you can have both." — Florence Welch, interview with The Quietushttp://thequietus.com/articles/03024-florence-welch-interview-rage-against-the-machine