Who is Miss Platnum

Miss Platnum is the flamboyant persona of twenty-seven year old singer, songwriter and musician Ruth Renner. Renner is Romanian born but has lived in Germany since 1989. She started off her musical career singing in the school choir after her family immigrated to West Germany. This was followed by church choir, school musicals and a stint as an apprentice to Jocelyn B. Smith. She worked as a back up singer for German bands like Moabeat and Cultured Pearls. Since the late 90s she's been writing, and performing her own music; first as Platnum, then in her new morphed form of Miss Platnum. Her voice is so versatile it allows her to play with a sophisticated range of musical styles from rhythm and blues, to jazz and soul, to hip hop and pop to Balkan folk.

I first came into contact with Miss Platnum's music through a YouTube video for a single off the Chefa album Give Me the Food. It is an rhythm and blues parody about a woman who wants to be left to eat what she wants to eat without anyone nagging her about it. It has grown in popularity abroad and in North America, thanks to it's dispersion through YouTube, blogs and other social networking avenues. Despite being tongue in cheek it's even garnished a following from the fat acceptance movement (and not because they all want to be left to fill their faces). There's another underlying message: Accept me as I am!

Myself, I instantly fell in love with Miss Platnum because she has one hell-of-a voice but also because of her gorgeous curves and her quirky mischievousness. Like that shown in Come Marry Me when she marries German rap artist Pete Fox so she can get away from her family. Or in Mercedes Benz when she wines about wanting the extravagant car because everyone else has one. Miss Platnum is not alone in her musical foray. She shares the stage with Vanessa Mason and Grace Risch.

As for the woman behind this gregarious persona, I get the impression she's a little quieter and subdued from the German interviews I've seen on YouTube (now if only I could interpret them). I look forward to watching this creative artist blossom into an international success and household name.

Albums:
Rock Me
Chefa
The Sweetest Hangover