Four British Female Musicians to Know
Photo: Joe Schildhorn/bfanyc.com1/4Paloma Faith
Anyone with a pretty voice can call herself a singer, but not every singer is a true performer. Paloma Faith? She was made for the stage. Paloma's not only a soulful vocalist and songwriter but also an actress (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) and dancer (she has a degree in contemporary dance). Both live and on her U.S. debut, Fall to Grace, Paloma is irresistible, channeling emotion in extremes and a vintagey sound. The Hackney-born singer broke out in the U.K. with her 2009 debut, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? and since then has been asked to share the stage with music icons like Prince and Cee Lo Green. With Fall to Grace's release, the spirited 27-year-old is ready to shine on our shores.
FOR FANS OF: Amy Winehouse, Adele
KEY TRACK: "Just Be"
Photo courtesy of Epic Records2/4Cher Lloyd
If you've seen nineteen-year-old singer Cher Lloyd's video for "Want U Back," you know that her pixie-troublemaker appeal—a fresh take on the poppy sass of Avril Lavigne or Lily Allen—is undeniable. As she sings in her first U.K. single, "Swagger Jagger" (a tune that blew up in England roughly the same way Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" did here), "You can't stop clickin' 'bout me, writin' 'bout me, tweeting 'bout me." And truly, as "Want U Back" dominates the airwaves, we can't. Back in 2010, the then-seventeen-year-old was chosen for the U.K. X Factor's seventh season, where over ten weeks she charmed the audience with her feisty persona and rap-vocal mash-ups. Most important, the fourth-place finalist impressed Simon Cowell, who immediately signed her to his label, Syco, and released her debut, Sticks + Stones, in the U.K. last fall. Now a version of that album is coming out in the States. It's been more than a decade since a Cher has been on the American pop charts, but this one is ready to swagger straight to the top.
FOR FANS OF: Katy Perry, Pink
KEY TRACK: "With Ur Love"
Photo: Jesse Jenkins3/4Charli XCX
When Charlotte "Charli" Aitchison was younger, she was obsessed with nineties pop girl groups. A natural performer, Charli XCX was signed in 2008 to the U.K. label Asylum, which worked with her on a set of brash sugar-sweet songs. But then her tastes shifted toward slinky electro-tinged grooves with lyrics that matched. And just like that, the game changed, and tastemakers like Pitchfork and V magazine took notice. For her first U.S. EP, out now, the singer teamed with Robyn producer Patrik Berger to come up with hooky title track "You're the One." The synthy, sleek songs, plus her Heartbreaks and Earthquakes mixtape, got the 20-year-old on the radar of Santigold and Coldplay, both of whom took Charli on tour this past summer. Not bad for someone who's just getting warmed up.
FOR FANS OF: La Roux and Robyn
KEY TRACK: "You're the One"
Photo: Rio-Romaine4/4Mz Bratt
Before Cleopatra Humphrey became Mz Bratt (an acronym for "Be Real and Teach Truth"), she was just a girl from East London who, inspired by her MC father, channeled her negative experiences into lyrics. At fourteen, she began competing in—and winning—local MC battles. And by the end of 2011, she'd been signed to Atlantic Records in the U.K. and toured the world as a support act for Tinie Tempah and Bruno Mars while recording with Ed Sheeran ("Sleeping With My Memories"). Now, after nearly a decade of perfecting her freestyle, the outspoken 23-year-old is working on her full-length debut. Critics have called her the next Nicki Minaj because she raps and sings. But Mz Bratt isn't following in anyone's footsteps—she's stomping down her own path.
FOR FANS OF: M.I.A., Nicki Minaj
KEY TRACK: "Fallin Down," featuring Khalaeliah
