The Leading Ladies was a British-American

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

formed in London, England in 2017. The group consists of three leading women from the London West End stage; American singer and actress

Amber Riley Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986), sometimes known mononymously as RILEY, is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her portrayal of Mercedes Jones on the Fox comedy-drama series ''Glee'' (2009–2015). For her perform ...

, who starred in '' Dreamgirls'', British soul singer

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and ...

, who featured in ''

The Bodyguard A bodyguard is an individual who protects another from harm or threats. Bodyguard may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * The Bodyguard (1944 film), ''The Bodyguard'' (1944 film), a Tom and Jerry short * Bodyguard (1948 film), ...

'', '' Memphis'' and ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

'' and British theatre star

Cassidy Janson Cassidy Janson (born 30 July 1980) is a British actress, known for her work in musical theatre. She won the 2020 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical for ''& Juliet''. Stage career In 2005 Janson appeared in '' Tick, Ti ...

, who took the leading role in '' Beautiful: The Carole King Musical''.

Formation

The idea for forming Leading Ladies came after Beverley Knight was approached by her label

East West East West (or East and West) may refer to: * East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

to record a musicals themed album. She was not sold on the idea of recording a solo album of show songs and turned down the idea. Knight subsequently formed Leading Ladies as she wanted to try something new after having a health scare, which resulted in her having a hysterectomy. After watching both Riley promoting '' Dreamgirls'' on ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...

'' and Janson performing in '' Beautiful: The Carole King Musical'', Knight asked East West to approach both women with the offer of recording an album together. Riley and Janson both agreed and the group was formed and signed to East West/Warner Music.

Debut album: ''Songs from the Stage''

The Leading Ladies' debut album ''

Songs from the Stage ''Songs from the Stage'' is the debut album from British-American girl group Leading Ladies, featuring Amber Riley, Beverley Knight and Cassidy Janson. The album was released on 17 November 2017. It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2018 ...

'' was released on 17 November 2017. The album features fourteen songs from musicals including ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

'', ''

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'', '' Dreamgirls'', '' Funny Girl'', ''

'', '' Memphis'' and '' Beautiful: The Carole King Musical''. ''Songs from the Stage'' was produced by

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 many as the most pres ...

-winning British producer Brian Rawling, who has previously worked with

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

and

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

. The setting-up of the music and vocal arrangements were done together as a group, while most of the recording occurred separately within a two-week period due to their busy individual schedules. During the album recording, Riley and Janson were still both contracted to perform in the West End, while Knight was recovering from surgery and due to go on her ''I Love Soulsville'' UK tour. " One Night Only" (originally from the musical '' Dreamgirls'') was released as the group's debut single on 6 October 2017. The song peaked on the A-list at

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

. "Songs from the Stage" debuted within the top 20 of the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and the

Scottish Albums Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

. The group promoted the album by performing the track "

Wind Beneath My Wings "Wind Beneath My Wings" (sometimes titled "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Hero") is a song written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. The song was first recorded by Kamahl in 1982 for a country and western album he was recording. Kamahl talk ...

" on '' BBC Children in Need'' and "

I'm Every Woman "I'm Every Woman" is a song by American singer Chaka Khan, released as her debut solo single from her first album, '' Chaka'' (1978). It was Khan's first hit outside her recordings with the funk band Rufus. "I'm Every Woman" was produced by Arif ...

" on ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

''. The second single from the album was revealed on 27 November 2017 to be a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

single of "I'm Every Woman" from ''

'' and " Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from '' Meet Me in St. Louis''. Since the release of ''Songs From the Stage'', there have been no further projects from the group.

Members

(2017-2018) *

(2017-2018)

Discography

The discography of the British-American

Leading Ladies consists of one studio album and two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

Studio albums

Singles

Promotional singles

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *
Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leading Ladies Pop music supergroups British supergroups English pop music groups English girl groups British pop girl groups Vocal trios English vocal groups American musical theatre actresses British musical theatre actresses English musical theatre actresses Musical groups established in 2017 2017 establishments in England Musical groups disestablished in 2018 2018 disestablishments in England