For many of us, suffering a painful break-up means a journey through the famous five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Laura Jansen learned this unpleasant lesson five years ago as she struggled to make sense of the implosion of a very stormy romantic relationship. “The end came on Christmas Day, which was pretty awesome,” she says jokingly before turning reflective. “I thought the pain might literally kill me, but it’s amazing the little things you start to do to save your own life. It’s fascinating.” Jansen, a Dutch-born, Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and musician, chronicles those little things, like cutting her hair, buying pink floral sheets, and venturing out for a drink with the guy down the hall, on “Single Girls” — the deceptively simple, but emotionally devastating first single from her debut album Bells, a dreamy collection of piano-driven alt-pop songs with lush arrangements and intimate, intelligent lyrics reflecting the thoughts and hopes of an independent girl alone in the world. In the U.S., Jansen is a fixture in the constellation of artists associated with Los Angeles nightclub The Hotel Café — a musical haven, creative incubator, and ultimately, national launching pad for such confessional-minded artists as Sara Bareilles, Priscilla Ahn, and Joshua Radin, whom Jansen toured with in 2008 and will hit the road with again in 2011. Jansen’s songs were used in various television shows on MTV and ABC. Jansen, being half American, half Dutch, was invited to The Netherlands in 2009 for a series of appearances, which led to her signing with Universal Music. Debut album Bells (composed of Jansen’s two previously released EP’s 2007’s Trauma and 2009’s Single Girls, plus “Use Somebody”), has already gone platinum in Jansen’s native Holland and reached a #1 position on iTunes. Propelled by “Single Girls” and a stunning cover of Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody,” which has spent more than 6 months lodged in the Top 25 on the Dutch singles chart. Jansen hit the road in Europe with her pal William Fitzsimmons as a member of his band as well as his support act. In 2010 she sold out both headline tours of her own in The Netherlands, after which she toured in Germany, Austria, UK as fans spread the word. The year 2011 promises to be yet another exciting year, with Jansen’s debut album Bells being released in both the US and the rest of Europe and tours set up on both continents as well.