London, UK · uk-garage · dance-pop

Katy B

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The voice that made dubstep and UK funky sound like radio pop — 'Katy on a Mission' is still the definitive pirate-radio-to-Top-5 crossover.

Katy B, born Kathleen Anne Brien on 8 May 1989, grew up in Peckham, south London, attending Lyndhurst Primary School and Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College before the BRIT School, and took dance classes at Glenlyn Academy. Her father, David O'Brien, sang with the Les Humphries Singers, who represented Germany at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest. She has a soprano vocal range.

She came up through the city's pirate radio and club circuit, recording with producers connected to the Rinse FM stable, among them Geeneus, Zinc and Benga, and guesting on other people's records before her own career began: DJ NG's "Tell Me" as Baby Katy, The Count & Sinden's "Hold Me", and Magnetic Man's "Perfect Stranger" and "Crossover". She released her own music through Rinse's label, in partnership with Columbia.

Her debut album, On a Mission, appeared in 2011, shortlisted for that year's Mercury Prize and reaching number two on the UK albums chart. It paired her clear vocal with dubstep, UK funky and house rhythms. "Katy on a Mission" reached number five on the singles chart, "Lights On", with Ms Dynamite, hit number four, and "Broken Record" reached number eight. She then toured, supporting Tinie Tempah before headlining dates of her own.

In 2012 she teamed with Mark Ronson for "Anywhere in the World", made for a Coca-Cola advert tied to the London Olympics, and featured Iggy Azalea and Diplo on "Light as a Feather", from her Danger EP.

The 2014 album Little Red topped the UK chart, led by the single "5 AM" and followed by "Crying for No Reason", a comparatively stripped-back ballad that reached the singles top five. A third album, Honey, followed in 2016, and she has continued to appear as a guest vocalist on dance records.

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