"Is it all about money? Is it all about fame? Is it all about cars & houses & everything? Nuhuh... that's not it... it's more than that..." These are the words Debbie uses to intro her 2004 Thai-language R&B jam Mak Kwa Nan (More Than That)” As her love and talent for music has proven; she is also more than that. Just listen to any of her four albums, each performed in a different language, and you’ll get the picture.
Born in Cosenza, Italy in 1978, Debbie Klongtruadroke had always been immersed in the arts. Coming from a multi-talented family adept, fascinated by and deeply involved in aesthetics, architecture, cinema, literature, music, poetry, song, theatre and dance, it's no surprise Debbie has evolved into the artist she is today—a powerhouse vocalist who brings forth deep meaning and feeling to her music by taking an active and participatory role in the evolution of her art.
Debbie's exotic features stem from her mixed Thai and Italian heritage. After relocating from Italy to Bangkok, Thailand at age 11, it was not long until those exotic features caught the attention of top modeling agencies working for companies such as Jantzen, Esprit, Benetton and Lee Jeans. By the time Debbie had graduated from High School, she already was a veteran model, feature-film actress and a television presenter. However, Debbie's foremost artistic passion was always music.
Right out of high school, she appeared as guest artist on albums and live performances for many renowned Thai singers, such as Mai Jarenpura, Kahn (Thaitanium), and Anchalee Jongkadikit. She also wrote lyrics for John Nuvo’s album which won the prestigious “Season Award” for “Album of the year” in 2000. She still loves to collaborate with many prominent Indie artists/producers and has appeared on Coolvoice.com’s successful R&B collection from independent artists, “Limousine 2” in 2005 and also recently featured on two tracks of “My Name is Dos”, Cyndi Seui’s latest album, with which he won the prestigious Fat Radio Award for “Best Male Artist of 2008”.
In collaboration with songwriters/producers PJ & Yam Hudson, Debbie released her eponymous Thai-language debut album in 2004. Her debut album "Debbie" showcases those distinctive vocal stylings and her uncanny ability to not only perform fluently in Thai, but in English as well.
After signing to North Records, late 2006 saw the release of Debbie’s first full-length English LP (her third, overall) which was--appropriately--entitled “Crossover”. Re-teaming with “Immaginando” co-writer and producer Bruno Brugnano (one of Thailand’s most successful and prolific producers and arguably the nation’s top foreign producer), as well as "Angolo di Cuore" collaborator Mike Agana Sawatsewi, Debbie has crafted an album that admirably pushes the boundaries of modern pop music by incorporating even more traditional Asian sounds and elements to her Western pop influences. As with “Angolo di Cuore”, “Crossover” sees Debbie once again delving into a variety of musical styles—some, uncharted territory—but again succeeding in delivering winning, melodic, intimate and poignant songs—the perfect backdrop to the beauty, power, and range of her rich mezzo-soprano. A last minute addition to “Crossover” as a bonus track, “Imaginacion”, triggered interest in adapting “Crossover” into Spanish, thus the release in 2007 of the full-length Spanish record version named after its title track “Imaginacion”.
“All This (For Me)”, the second single launched last October from “Crossover” is now being played by more than 40 Christian radio stations across the USA, and topped the Christian Radio Indie Chart for fourteen weeks, while the re-mix of “Imagination”, the first single, has jumped to 5 on the CRW IAA Chart just four weeks after its release.
Co-host of Thai nationwide television program “Jak Chai Tueng Chai (From Heart To Heart)”, Debbie has already successfully managed to amass a portfolio of songs performed in four different languages. Her continuing desire and interest to explore and fuse the many forms and guises of modern pop music with multi-ethnic flavors is a true representation of who Debbie is as an artist and musician. Her artistry truly is not about the money, not about the fame, cars and houses, and everything… as the heart and soul and inventiveness of her songs and versatile vocals have proven, Debbie is truly much more than that.