Ella McMahon (born 1 April 1994), known professionally as Ella Eyre, is a British singer and songwriter. She is known for her collaborations with

Rudimental Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle. They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and ...

on their UK number-one single "

Waiting All Night "Waiting All Night" is a song by English drum and bass band Rudimental. It features vocals from English singer Ella Eyre. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2013 as the fourth single from their debut studio album, ''Home (Ru ...

" (2013), which won the 2014 Brit Award for British Single of the Year, with

DJ Fresh Daniel Edward Stein (born 11 April 1977), better known by his stage name DJ Fresh, is an English musician, DJ, record producer, best known for making electronic music. He is one of the principal members of the drum and bass group Bad Company, ...

on his single "

Gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

" (2015), and with

Sigala Bruce Fielder, known professionally as Sigala, is a British DJ and music producer. He has had eight songs peak within the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, including his 2015 debut single " Easy Love", which samples " ABC" by the Jackson 5. C ...

on his singles "

Came Here for Love "Came Here for Love" is a song by English DJ and record producer Sigala and English singer-songwriter Ella Eyre. It was written by Klingande, Bryn Christopher and Scott Wild, with the song's production handled by Sigala, Klingande, White N3rd a ...

" (2017) and " Just Got Paid" (2018). Her debut EP, ''Deeper'', was released in 2013 and her debut album, '' Feline'', was released in 2015. Eyre's musical influences include

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

Basement Jaxx Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe. The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first rose to popularity in the underground house scene ...

and

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...

Early life and education

Eyre was born on 1 April 1994 and was raised in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...

. Her father was Jamaican and her mother is Maltese. Her father was a chef who lived in his home country of Jamaica, his health too poor to travel to the UK, and her mother, who raised Eyre in London, is a cake designer. Eyre trained as a competitive swimmer before she began singing professionally. Eyre was educated at

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding scho ...

in Somerset; refuting the idea that she came from a privileged background, she observed that her mother could not have afforded the fees, and she went there on a "massive swimming scholarship". She later attended the

BRIT School The BRIT School is a British performing and creative arts school located in Selhurst, Croydon, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, music, music technology, theatre, musical theatre, dan ...

for Performing Arts and Technology, where she studied musical theatre. Discovered by her management through a vocal coach in 2011, McMahon juggled school with songwriting. She signed to the publisher

Warner/Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

in July 2012 and a record deal with

Virgin EMI Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records. History Virgin ...

followed shortly after.

Music career

2012–2016: Breakthrough and ''Feline''

In December 2012, Eyre featured on

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...

's cover and mash up of

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

's "

No Scrubs "No Scrubs" is a song recorded by American girl group TLC as the lead single from their third studio album, ''FanMail'', on February 2, 1999, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The song was written by producer Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, forme ...

" and

the xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), a ...

's "

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

". Titled "No Angels", the song featured on the band's 2012

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

, ''Other People's Heartache, Pt. 2''. In April 2013, she featured on drum and bass band

's single "

", which peaked at number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, becoming Eyre's first chart entry. In August 2013, she appeared alongside rapper

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...

on the track " Think About It" from producer

Naughty Boy Shahid Khan ( ur, شاهد خان; born 1 January 1981), better known by his stage name Naughty Boy, is a British DJ, record producer, songwriter and musician. In 2012, Khan signed a three–year publishing deal with Sony ATV, as well as a rec ...

's 2013 album ''

Hotel Cabana ''Hotel Cabana'' is the debut studio album by British record producer Shahid "Naughty Boy" Khan, released on 23 August 2013 through Naughty Boy Recordings and Virgin EMI. Khan set up his Naughty Boy Productions record and production company. He ...

''. The song was released as the fourth single from the album in November 2013. Eyre also features on rapper

Tinie Tempah Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He has been signed to Parlophone Records since 2009, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his own entertainment compa ...

's album '' Demonstration'' on the track "

Someday (Place in the Sun) "Someday (Place in the Sun)" is a song by English rapper Tinie Tempah, featuring additional vocals from British singer Ella Eyre and production from Eshraque "iSHi" Mughal, iSHi. It was released on 1 November 2013 as part of Tempah's second studio ...

", which entered the UK Singles Chart at number 87 but was never released as a single. Eyre's first EP, ''Deeper'', was released in December 2013, and the title track reached number 72. She was the runner-up for the 2014 BRIT Critics' Choice Award and came second on the BBC Sound of 2014 shortlist. Her next three solo singles—" If I Go", " Comeback" (both 2014) and "

Together ''ToGetHer'' (, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions ( 可米國際影視事業股份有限公司) and directed by Linzi ...

" (2015)—reached the top twenty on the

. She co-wrote the UK number one single " Changing" for drum and bass duo

Sigma Sigma (; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; grc-gre, σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as ...

featuring British recording artist

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer and actress. Her debut studio album, ''Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?,'' was released in 2009 and was certified double platinum in the UK. The album spawned the sing ...

, which was released in the United Kingdom in September 2014. The following month, Eyre won Best Newcomer at the

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Af ...

2014. Eyre featured on the

single "

", released in February 2015. In May 2015, a song Eyre co-wrote, " Black Smoke", was used by

Ann Sophie Ann-Sophie Dürmeyer (born 1 September 1990), better known as simply Ann Sophie, is a German singer and songwriter. She represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song " Black Smoke". Her latest single "Phantom Pain" was rel ...

, the German participant of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

. Also during mid 2015, Eyre supported

Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television presenter. He was runner-up on the sixth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2009 and was subsequently signed to RCA Records and Sony Music in the United Kingdom, ...

on his 2015 arena tour and was announced as the "face" of the advertising campaign for an

Emporio Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and h ...

Diamonds fragrance. Her debut album, '' Feline'', was released in August 2015 (following the single "

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...

") and features contributions from

Wayne Hector Wayne Anthony Hector is a British songwriter who is best known for his work with pop artists such as Nicki Minaj, One Direction, the Wanted, Toše Proeski and Olly Murs. He co-wrote seven of Westlife's number one singles, including "World of O ...

Ilya Ilya, Iliya, Ilia, Ilja, or Ilija (russian: Илья́, Il'ja, , or russian: Илия́, Ilija, ; uk, Ілля́, Illia, ; be, Ілья́, Iĺja ) is the East Slavic form of the male Hebrew name Eliyahu (Eliahu), meaning "My God is Yahu/Jah." ...

, Paul O'Duffy and

Jarrad Rogers Jarrad Leith Rogers, aka "Mstr Rogers" is an Australian-British artist, songwriter and pop producer. Early life Jarrad played trumpet and classical piano from an early age. Studying piano under renowned concert pianist, Alexander Sumetski, he ...

. In September, Eyre released a cover of "

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is an African-American spiritual song and one of the best-known Christian hymns. Originating in early oral and musical African-American traditions, the date it was composed is unknown. Performances by the Hampton Singer ...

" in association with

England Rugby The England national rugby union team represents England in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasions ...

, to coincide with the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

. In November, Eyre won Best Female at the

2015. She then embarked on a UK tour. In 2016, she appeared on ''

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...

''.

2017–present: Forthcoming second studio album

On 18 February 2017, Eyre announced her comeback concert at KOKO, London on 4 April 2017. At the comeback concert at KOKO, Eyre performed four new songs: "LOV(E)", "Drink with Your Name on It", "I Swear" and "Ego". On 29 May 2017, Eyre and

announced a new collaborative single, "

", released on 9 June 2017. As of 29 June the official YouTube video has over 2.5 million views and 11 million streams on Spotify. On 31 July 2017, Eyre announced her new single 'Ego' featuring

Ty Dolla $ign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

, released on 11 August 2017. Eyre supported

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British ver ...

on their Summer Shout Out Tour and supported

The Script The Script are an Irish rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin, consisting of lead vocalist and keyboardist Danny O'Donoghue, lead guitarist Mark Sheehan, and drummer Glen Power. The band moved to London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint ...

on their "Freedom Child Tour" in early 2018. When supporting

, Eyre promoted a new song called "Answerphone" yet to be released. In February 2018, Eyre was confirmed for the celebrity version of the

Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, att ...

2018. On 5 March 2018, Eyre announced her new single " Answerphone" with

Banx & Ranx Banx & Ranx are a music production duo from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, formed in 2014. Members Soké (real name Zacharie Raymond) and KNY Factory (real name Yannick Rastogi) are producers, songwriters and remixers. They are currently signed to Un ...

which features

Yxng Bane Larry Cummings Kiala, better known by his stage name Yxng Bane (pronounced "young bane"), is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from East London. Early and personal life Kiala grew up in Custom House, an industrial district of East Lon ...

which was released on 16 March and peaked at number 5 on the UK Chart. On 20 June 2018, Eyre teased, whilst in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, a new song on her social media. On 7 September 2018, Eyre released another collaboration with

called " Just Got Paid" featuring

Meghan Trainor Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (born December 22, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached ...

and

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 13. ...

. It peaked at Number 11 on the UK Chart. In July 2019, Eyre announced she had signed to

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. She subsequently released her new single titled "Mama" featuring

and

Kiana Ledé Kiana Ledé Brown (born April 3, 1997), known professionally as Kiana Ledé, is an American singer, songwriter, actress and pianist currently based in Los Angeles, California. She starred as Zoe Vaughn on the second season of MTV's horror series ...

. In January 2020, Eyre released her new single "New Me", with a following UK tour in November and December the same year. Following the release of "New Me", Eyre announced the release of her third single from her second studio album, "L.O.V.(e)", to be released on 8 May 2020, having been performed numerous times prior to release and has been noted as a 'fan favourite'. Following this, Eyre dropped the singles "Dreams" featuring

and "Careless", before dropping her

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

"Quarter Life Crisis" in August 2020.

Personal life

In February 2017, Eyre and Lewi Morgan, from the British

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band

Rixton Push Baby (stylised in all lowercase) are a British pop duo from Manchester, England consisting of singer Jake Roche and multi-instrumentalist Charley Bagnall. They are signed to their own indie label, Wow, Big Legend. In 2012, the band started ...

, ended their two-year relationship. A week after the comeback show at KOKO in April 2017, Eyre announced the death of her father. Eyre revealed she suffered from a kidney infection during the making of her 'New Me' music video.

Discography

* '' Feline'' (2015)

Tours

Headlining: * Feline Tour (2014–15) *2021 UK Tour (2021) – rescheduled from June 2020 due to coronavirus. Supporting: * Never Been Better Tour (2015) * Summer Shout Out (2017) *Freedom Child Tour (2018) (

)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website

Elite London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyre, Ella 1994 births Living people Brit Award winners Electronic dance music musicians English people of Jamaican descent English people of Maltese descent British contemporary R&B singers English women singer-songwriters English drum and bass musicians English soul singers 21st-century Black British women singers People educated at Millfield People educated at the BRIT School People from Ealing Singers from London Virgin Records artists English women pop singers Neo soul singers