Judith Glory Hill is an American singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She has provided backing vocals for such artists as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

, and

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

. In 2009, Hill was chosen as Jackson's duet partner for the song " I Just Can't Stop Loving You" during his '' This Is It'' concerts. After Jackson's death in 2009, she, along with the rest of the ''This Is It'' cast members, performed at Jackson's memorial service and attracted global attention when she sang the lead on the song "

Heal the World "Heal the World" is a song recorded by American recording artist Michael Jackson from his eighth studio album, '' Dangerous'' (1991). It was released on November 23, 1992 as the fifth single from the album. It was written and composed by Jackson ...

". Hill's rise to fame is recounted in '' 20 Feet from Stardom'', a documentary film that tells the untold story of the backup singers behind some of the "greatest musical legends of the 21st century". She is also a featured artist on the film's soundtrack. She won the Grammy Award for Best Music Film for her performance in this film. A number of Hill's original ballads, including "Desperation" were featured in the 2012

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

film '' Red Hook Summer''. In March 2013, Hill became a contestant during the fourth season of '' The Voice''. Hill opened for

during the third leg of his

All That Echoes World Tour The All That Echoes World Tour is the fifth concert tour by American recording artist, Josh Groban. Promoting his sixth studio album, ''All That Echoes'', the tour performed over 60 shows in Australasia, Europe and North America. Background The t ...

(North America) in Fall 2013. She also performed two duets with him in his set for " The Prayer" and "Remember When It Rained", the latter of which was released as a single. She also toured with

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

on the UK leg of his '' #AllOfMe'' tour in the Fall of 2014. Her debut album '' Back in Time'', recorded at Paisley Park with

as co-producer, was officially released as a free download on Judith Hill's WeTransfer account on March 23 and made available until March 25, 2015, via a Livenation email with a note from Prince.

Life and career

Hill's mother Michiko Hill (née Yoshimura) is a pianist from Tokyo who met Hill's father Robert Lee "Pee Wee" Hill in a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

group in the 1970s. Judith's mother is Japanese and her father is

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

. She can speak and sing in both English and Japanese and is also fluent in French and Spanish. After a degree in music composition from

Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor's ...

, Hill went to France in 2007 to perform with the French singer

Michel Polnareff Michel Polnareff (born 3 July 1944, Nérac, Lot-et-Garonne, France) is a French singer-songwriter, who was popular in France from the mid-1960s until the early 1990s with his penultimate original album, ''Kāma-Sūtra''. He is still criticall ...

. She began a career as a singer-songwriter when she returned to the United States. According to Tom Meek of ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose par ...

'', Hill's voice is distinctive, soulful and has an earthy quality that makes it unique. She moves easily from R&B to funk to hip-hop to jazz to gospel. Hill is credited for singing backing vocals and/or choir for

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman ...

(''

Low Country Blues ''Low Country Blues'' is the seventh studio album by Gregg Allman, and the last studio album to be released during his lifetime. It was produced by T Bone Burnett, and was released through Rounder Records on January 18, 2011. The album reached No ...

'');

Anastacia Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and former dancer. Her first two albums '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred o ...

(''

Freak of Nature ''Freak of Nature'' is the second studio album by American singer Anastacia. It was released on November 23, 2001, by Epic Records and Daylight Records. The album was primarily produced by Ric Wake, Sam Watters, and Louis Biancaniello, with a ...

''); Patrizio Buanne ('' Patrizio'');

Andraé Crouch Andraé Edward Crouch (July 1, 1942 – January 8, 2015) was an American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor. Referred to as "the father of modern gospel music" by contemporary Christian and gospel music profes ...

(''The Journey'');

Harold Faltermeyer Hans Hugo Harold Faltermeier (born 5 October 1952) is a German musician, composer and record producer. Faltermeyer is best known for composing the "Axel F" theme for the feature film ''Beverly Hills Cop'', an influential synth-pop hit in the 1 ...

(''Copout'');

(''

All That Echoes ''All That Echoes'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Josh Groban, produced by Rob Cavallo. The album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 145,000 copies in its first week. The album has sold 532,000 cop ...

''); Taylor Hicks ('' Taylor Hicks'');

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

(''

A Holiday Carole ''A Holiday Carole'' (titled ''A Christmas Carole'' in the UK and Australia) is a holiday album, released on November 1, 2011, by American singer-songwriter Carole King. It is King's 17th studio album and her first studio album in 10 years since s ...

''); Evelyn "Champagne" King (''Open Book'');

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

(''

Man on the Rocks ''Man on the Rocks'' is the twenty-fifth studio album by British musician Mike Oldfield, released on 3 March 2014 on the Virgin EMI label. The album is Oldfield's second full album of exclusively songs with no long or instrumental pieces, the f ...

'');

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include " Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", " I Write the Songs", " C ...

('' 15 Minutes''); Dave Stewart (''The Ringmaster General'' and ''The Blackbird Diaries'');

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

('' Soulbook'');

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

(''

Intensive Care Intensive care medicine, also called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes pro ...

'');

Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...

(''

Trust Fall (Side A) ''Trust Fall (Side A)'' is a four-track EP by alternative rock band Incubus. It was released in 2015 on Island Records. It was the first release from the band since their 2011 album, '' If Not Now, When?''. A sequel to this EP was later releas ...

'', song "Dance Like You're Dumb"). She is a featured vocalist for albums such as '' Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole'' by

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

, ''I'll Take Romance'' by

Steve Tyrell ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

, ''

The Last Ai ''The Last Ai'' (stylized ''THE LAST A.I.'') is the eighth studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released on December 1, 2010, by Island Records and Universal Sigma. The album features guest appearances and collaborations from ...

'' by Ai and ''That's Life'' by

Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. (born August 11, 1974) is an American jazz singer from Logan County, West Virginia. He received national attention for winning the sixth season of the NBC reality show '' America's Got Talent''. Landau has released a t ...

She has also provided vocals for soundtracks such as '' Dr. Seuss' The Lorax: Original Songs from the Motion Picture'' and '' Happy Feet Two (Soundtrack)''. A number of Hill's original ballads, including "Desperation" produced by Brian West, were featured in the 2012

film '' Red Hook Summer'' which premiered at the

2012 Sundance Film Festival The 2012 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 until January 29, 2012 in Park City, Utah. 64 short films were selected for the festival from 7,675 submissions, including 27 international shorts from 3,592 submissions. Non-competition ...

. About Hill, Lee said to ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'': "She's a phenomenal talent. She can sing with the best of them." Hill signed a record deal with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

in 2013. On February 9, 2014, Hill appeared as a back-up singer in the CBS show ''The Beatles: A Night That Changed America''. Hill was the featured singer on

Gerard Way Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and comic book writer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and co-founder of the rock band My Chemical Romance. He released his debut solo album, ''Hesitant Alien'', i ...

's original song titled "Here Comes the End", released July 8, 2020 and which appears on the second season of ''The Umbrella Academy''.

Michael Jackson

In 2009, Hill was selected as

's duet partner for the ''This Is It'' concerts; she practiced for months with Jackson up until his death on June 25, 2009. Michael Jackson's death caused the concerts to be cancelled. Along with the rest of the ''This Is It'' cast members, Hill performed at Jackson's memorial service at the

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it was ...

in downtown Los Angeles on July 7, 2009. She attracted global attention when she sang the lead on the song "

" which was one of the climactic moments of the service. Hill also released a tribute to Jackson, "I Will Always Be Missing You", named after her duet with Jackson " I Just Can't Stop Loving You" in the to-be ''This Is It'' concert. It was given as a free download from her website starting late 2009, and was released on iTunes on January 26, 2010 (the same day as the ''This Is It'' DVD release) — with all proceeds going to Childhelp US.

''The Voice''

Hill auditioned for the fourth season of '' The Voice''. In the first episode of the season broadcast on March 25, 2013, she sang " What a Girl Wants" by

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

with all four judges, Adam Levine,

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

, Usher and

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...

pressing their "I Want You" button and turning their chairs. After a hard decision, she chose to join Team Adam. "She's going to be a Grammy-winning superstar, and she's on my team", Levine stated. For the battle rounds, Hill faced off with Karina Iglesias, singing "

It's a Man's Man's Man's World "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song written by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966, in a New York City studio and released it as a single later that year. It reached No. 1 on the '' Billboard'' R&B ...

", which along with Amanda Brown and Trevin Hunte's "Vision of Love" and also Jesse Campbell and Anthony Evan's "If I Ain't Got You", was considered one of the best battles in Voice history. Levine chose her to move on from his team, thus entering the Knockout Rounds. In the Knockout Rounds, Hill was paired against Orlando Dixon and won. Therefore, she entered the top 16, the start of the live shows. She was considered a frontrunner in the competition; however, after her Top 8 performance, she was eliminated on May 28, 2013. She and her teammate Sarah Simmons' eliminations at the Top 8 show was considered one of the most shocking of the season. Said Katy Kroll of ''Rolling Stone'': "It's a sad loss for the show, as Judith had the type of vocal chops and stage presence that should really be rewarded by such a competition." Performances on ''The Voice'': : – Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes

''20 Feet from Stardom''

Hill and several backup singers are featured in the documentary film '' 20 Feet from Stardom'', which debuted at the

2013 Sundance Film Festival The 2013 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 17, 2013, until January 27, 2013, in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah. The festival had 1,830 volunteers. Films A r ...

and opened in US theaters on June 14, 2013. The movie won the 2014 Oscar &

Critics Choice Award The Critics' Choice Movie Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American-Canadian Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Writ ...

for documentary feature and Hill won a

Black Reel Award The Black Reel Awards, or BRAs, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) to recognize excellence of African Americans, as well as the cinematic achievements of the Afr ...

for Outstanding Original Song for "Desperation". ''20 Feet from Stardom'' also won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Music Film, with the award being presented to the featured artists as well as the production crew.

Josh Groban

Hill sings backing vocals on three of

's songs for the album ''

'' and was the opening act during the third leg of his

(North America) in Fall 2013. She also performed two duets with him in his set for " The Prayer" and "Remember When It Rained", the latter of which was released as a single. She appears in Groban's official video for his song "Brave".

John Legend

Judith Hill was the opening act for

on his '' #AllOfMe'' Tour in the UK in the autumn of 2014.

Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band

Judith Hill is the featured vocalist on her composition "Party Rockers" which appears on

Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, or simply The Big Phat Band, is an 18-piece jazz orchestra that combines the big band swing of the 1930s and 1940s with contemporary music such as funk and jazz fusion. The band is led by Gordon Goodwin, who arra ...

's album '' Life in the Bubble''. The song was nominated for a 2015

Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ma ...

Prince

On March 22, 2015,

invited representatives from several Minnesota media outlets to preview Hill's debut album at Paisley Park. Six selections were played from '' Back in Time'', which Hill recorded in two or three weeks at Paisley Park with Prince as producer. "It's the fastest album I've ever made," he said. Surprisingly, Prince did not discover Hill on ''The Voice'' or in the Michael Jackson movie ''This Is It,'' where she was featured as a backup singer in rehearsal for his upcoming tour. He learned about her when he saw a video clip of her being interviewed on a

Revolt TV Revolt is an American music-oriented digital cable television network founded by Sean "Diddy" Combs and Andy Schuon that launched on October 21, 2013. History As part of its arrangement to acquire a minority interest in NBCUniversal, Comcast ...

show and she mentioned that she'd like to work with Prince.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2015: '' Back in Time'' * 2018: ''Golden Child'' * 2019: ''Studio Live Session'' * 2021: ''Baby, I'm Hollywood!''

Singles

*2009: "I Will Always Be Missing You" *2013: "Desperation" *2014: "Remember When It Rained" Duet with

*2014: "Party Rockers" on

Gordon Goodwin Gordon L. Goodwin (born 1954) is an American pianist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is the leader of Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. He has won four Grammy Awards and three Daytime Emmy Awards, and has received over twenty ...

's Big Phat Band's album ''Life in the Bubble'' *2015: "Cry Cry Cry" from the '' Back in Time'' album *2018: "Abracadabra" *2019: "Upside" *2020: "Here Comes the End" with

Soundtracks

*2012: '' Red Hook Summer (Songs from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)''

Filmography

Awards

*2014

– Outstanding Original Song, "Desperation", '' Twenty Feet from Stardom'' *2015

57th Annual Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time ...

– Grammy Award for Best Music Film *2016 Nominated for NAACP Award Outstanding New Artist

References

External links

Judith Hill official website
* *
Interview with Entertainment Tonight – July 9, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Judith Living people 20th-century African-American women singers American musicians of Japanese descent Singers from California Musicians from Los Angeles Grammy Award winners Biola University alumni The Voice (franchise) contestants 21st-century American women singers 1984 births 21st-century American singers 21st-century African-American women singers

Life and career

Michael Jackson

''The Voice''

''20 Feet from Stardom''

Josh Groban

John Legend

Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band

Prince

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Soundtracks

Filmography

Awards

References

Further reading

External links