Jamiroquai ( (listen)) are an English funk and acid jazz band from London, formed in 1992. Fronted by singer-songwriter Jay Kay, the band is best known for the song "Canned Heat" (1999), featured in Napoleon Dynamite, and for the iconic music video for the 1996 single "Virtual Insanity" which was named Video of the Year at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. Their 1998 single, "Deeper Underground", reached number one in the UK. All eight of the band's albums have entered the UK top 10. Three of them, along with their greatest hits compilation, charted at number 1.
The band débuted with "When You Gonna Learn" under Acid Jazz records, which led to Kay signing a record deal with Sony Soho2. While under this label, the group released a string of million-selling albums containing singles that have entered various charts worldwide, while having moderate success in the US in the Dance Club charts. Over the years, Kay has consistently remained as the leader through several line-up changes.
With their sound influenced by black music, the group were one of the most prominent components in the London-based funk/acid jazz movement. They also drew from rock, electronica and Latin music, and have used live instrumentation over electronics. Their lyrics and visual concepts occasionally deal with social and environmental idealism. Although Kay had maintained these values, journalists have critiqued his lyrical motives on the group's more accessible material.
Jamiroquai have sold more than 26 million albums worldwide as of 2017. Their third album Travelling Without Moving (1996), received a Guinness World Record for the best-selling funk album in history. The group has won an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors, as well as one Grammy Award, two MTV Video Music Awards and two Billboard Music Awards. They have also received sixteen Brit Award nominations.
