Lauren Bennett's Death Under Investigation: What to Know

Lauren Bennett, "Party Rock Anthem" Singer, Dead at 37

Content warning: This article includes mentions of suicide.

The search for answers to the question of what happened to Lauren Bennett is underway.

The 36-year-old's death was announced July 6 by her former girl group G.R.L., but coroner records state that the "Party Rock Anthem" singer died May 29 in Meopham, Kent, in the United Kingdom, according to BBC News. The Kent and Medway Coroner Service is conducting an investigation into her death ahead of an inquest to be held in October.

According to the Medway Council, coroner investigations and inquests can take place when a cause of death is unknown, as well as when a death is violent or unnatural, or when a person dies in prison, police custody or otherwise in state custody.

E! News has reached out to the coroner for comment but has yet to hear back.

TMZ reported July 7 that family and friends attended a private memorial service for Bennett about a week and a half earlier. Among the mourners were members of Paradiso Girls, the group she got her start with in 2007, and her subsequent band G.R.L., which was previously rocked by tragedy in 2014 when Simone Battle died by suicide at 25.

She competed on the U.K.'s X Factor in 2006, making it to the final 12, after which she was recruited to audition for Paradiso Girls, a multinational girl group gleam in the eye of Pussycat Dolls creator Robin Antin.

Paradiso Girls—Bennett, Crescendo, Chelsea Korka, Kelly Beckett and Shar Mae Amor—lasted from 2007 until 2010, with their biggest single being their debut, "Patron Tequila," featuring Lil Jon and Eve.

Bennett spent the next few years solo, releasing her debut single "I Wish I Wish" in 2011.

What was Lauren Bennett's biggest song?

While she was featured on the remix of will.i.am's "I Got It From My Mama" and Cee Lo Green's "Love Gun," Bennett's voice will forever be known from LMFAO's smash hit 2011 song "Party Rock Anthem," the British artist tasked with urging all revelers to "Get up / Get down / Put your hands up to the sound."

Her final single as a solo artist was 2016's "Hurricane," and she performed during the GIRLCULT Festival in August 2017 at Los Angeles' Fonda Theatre.

Bennett's most recent Instagram post was from Feb. 22, a clip of her performing a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" with Nashville-based country band Larkspur.

How long was Lauren Bennett with G.R.L.?

Bennett, Battle, Emmalyn Estrada, Natasha Slayton and Paula van Oppen got together as G.R.L.—another Antin creation—in 2013. Their first big song was "Vacation," from the Smurfs 2 soundtrack.

They released their self-titled debut album in July 2014. Two months later, Battle died by suicide.

The surviving members of G.R.L. stayed together for another nine months before disbanding.

As Van Oppen told People when they released "Lighthouse" in January 2015—their first new music in the wake of Battle's death—"It all just came to a stop."

What did Lauren Bennett say about Simone Battle's death?

"You can never prepare yourself for something like this, ever,” Bennett, then 25, told People in January 2015. “We’d just been in rehearsals the day before, learning choreography for our show, and the next day we were starting the morning as usual when we got the call. I still can’t believe it. I don’t think any of us can. It’s weird that we’re even sitting here, talking about it.”

Following Battle's death, G.R.L. teamed with the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Give An Hour to help raise awareness about mental health and recognizing the signs that someone is in crisis.

“There’s a lot of young people who are taking their own lives, and the music industry is so influential on youth,” Bennett told Billboard. “Hopefully, for us, we would love to help at least one person.”

At the time, G.R.L. planned to stay together. Though, as Bennett noted, they might always feel as if they were "missing a piece."

How did Lauren Bennett die?

Bennett died on May 29 in her hometown of Meopham, according to coroner records, though news of her death wasn't shared until July 6. She was 36.

"It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our beloved Lauren," G.R.L. alums Estrada, Slayton and Van Oppen said in a statement posted to the group's Instagram. "Our hearts are broken and we cannot begin to express how much she meant to us. We will forever cherish the love, laughter and countless memories she gave us."

"Her beautiful spirit touched so many lives, and she will be deeply missed and forever loved," they continued. "Rest peacefully, sweet Lauren. You will always be in our hearts."

A coroner's investigation is underway to determine cause of death, with an inquest scheduled for October, according to TMZ.