Samantha Kay, known professionally as Soulé (Stylised as SOULÉ, born 4 January 1995) is an Irish singer-songwriter who was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

but raised in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Early life

Soulé was born Samantha Kay in

, England to Congolese parents from the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. The family moved to Ireland and settled in

Balbriggan Balbriggan (; , IPA: �bˠalʲəˈbʲɾʲɪɟiːnʲ is a coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland, approximately 34 km from Dublin City. The 2016 census population was 21,722 for Balbriggan and its environs. ...

, County Dublin when Soulé was 12. She attended the Loreto school in Balbriggan. She auditioned for ''

The X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' in the UK at age 16, but did not progress through to the television show. In her early years, she was involved in music and performing arts in the

Foróige Foróige is an Irish organisation whose purpose is "to enable young people to involve themselves consciously and actively in their development and in the development of society". Macra na Tuaithe, the youth branch of Macra na Feirme, was formed o ...

youth club in the town, and was mentored by Messiah J. She was involved in organising the Nitrogen music festival in the town. She received a degree in Tourism from the

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological Un ...

Career

Soulé's singing was spotted online by a Dublin musician, Precious, in 2015 and she was invited to feature on a song he was recording at an experimental production house in Dublin. This is the studio in which Soulé has produced all of her music. She released her first single, "Love No More", in September 2016. Her music has been described as "fun

R'n'B Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

", taking inspiration from the genre in the 1990s. Her singles "Love No More" and "Troublemaker" were nominated for the Choice Music Awards' Song of the Year in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Her single "Love Tonight" featuring C Cane, was played on each episode of ''Love Island'' in 2019. This single was also nominated for the Choice Music Awards' 2019 Song of the Year and was the biggest song by an Irish female artist that same year. She was named one of

RTÉ 2fm (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

's Rising Stars in 2019. She performed at

Eurosonic Eurosonic Noorderslag is an annual four-day music showcase festival and conference held in January in Groningen, Netherlands. The first three days of the festival (Eurosonic) feature artists from all over Europe, the last day of the festival (No ...

in 2018, and has featured at

Electric Picnic Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority shareholding in ...

Longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

, and

Forbidden Fruit Forbidden fruit is a name given to the fruit growing in the Garden of Eden which God commands mankind not to eat. In the biblical story, Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and are exiled from Eden. As a ...

music festivals in Ireland. She was one of the acts featured at the Love Sensation festival in

Royal Hospital Kilmainham The Royal Hospital Kilmainham ( ga, Ospidéal Ríochta Chill Mhaighneann) in Kilmainham, Dublin, is a former 17th-century hospital at Kilmainham in Ireland. The structure now houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art. History A priory, founded in 11 ...

, the 2fm Christmas Ball in the

3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 December 2008. It was built on the site of the former Point Theatre, a smaller music ...

, and on '' The Late Late Show'' in 2019. She regularly performs with a dj. She collaborated with

Sorcha Richardson Sorcha Richardson (born 22 September 1990) is an Irish singer-songwriter from Dublin. Early life Sorcha Richardson grew up in Dalkey. She formed her first band aged 10 with schoolfriends. She went to Brooklyn to study creative writing. Career ...

and

Elaine Mai Elaine Mai is a songwriter, musician, and producer from County Mayo, Ireland, now based in Dublin. Mai has been referred to as "one of Ireland's top electronic music producers" by RTE Radio One and Today FM. In January 2022, her debut album ''Ho ...

on the single "Butterflies" in 2019 as part of the

Three Ireland Three Ireland, officially Three Ireland (Hutchison) Limited (formerly Hutchison 3G Ireland Ltd), is a telecommunications and internet service provider operating in Ireland as a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, operating under the global Three bran ...

''Made by Music'' campaign. In 2020, Soulé was part of an Irish collective of female singers and musicians called

Irish Women in Harmony "Dreams" is the debut single of Irish rock band the Cranberries. It was originally released in September 1992 and later appeared on the band's debut album, ''Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?'' (1993). The song reached the top 50 of th ...

, that recorded a version of the Cranberries song "

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, alth ...

" in aid of the charity SafeIreland, which deals with

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...

which had reportedly risen significantly during the

COVID-19 lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

. Their version of the song received Gold status; this was Soulé's first Gold disc. In 2022, Soulé parted ways with her management and became fully independent. Soulé released her single " Body" co-written with Irish artist Cian Ducrot at a Spotify songwriting camp. " Body" received critical acclaim and was number 1 on the Irish Breakers Chart at the same time amassing over 400,000 streams on Spotify. In April 2022, Soulé was announced as a support act for

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...

The Wild Dreams Tour The Wild Dreams Tour, originally known as the Stadiums in the Summer Tour, is the current concert tour by Irish pop vocal group, Westlife. It was first scheduled to begin on 17 June 2020 in Scarborough, England at the Scarborough Open Air Theatr ...

in the Aviva Stadium Alongside

Sugababes Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...

. With over 50,000 in attendance, this was Soulé's biggest stage to date and she received a positive response from critics. In 2022, Soulé was also announced as a judge on

Junk Kouture Junk Kouture is a television fashion competition for post-primary school students, where participants design, create and model fashion, made from recycled items. The competition has run in Ireland, since it was founded in 2010, by Troy Armour. T ...

a television fashion competition for secondary school school students. She was on the judging panel alongside

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s. He later bec ...

Rozanna Purcell Rozanna "Roz" Purcell (born 3 September 1990) is an Irish model, charity worker and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Ireland 2010 and represented Ireland at Miss Universe 2010. Miss Universe Rozanna Purcell competed in Miss Un ...

and Stephen McLaughlin.

Discography

* ''Love No More'' single (2016) * ''Troublemaker'' single (2017) * ''Good Life'' single (2017) * ''What Do You Know'' single (2017) * ''Don’t Hold Your Breath'' single (2018) * ''Love Tonight'' featuring C Cane single (2019) * ''Butterflies '' collaboration with

and

single (2019) * ''Love Cycle'' EP (2019) * ''Dreams'' as part of Irish Women in Harmony (2020) * ''Queenish'' single (2021) * ''Body'' single ( 2022)

References

External links

Soulé on Spotify
* {{authority control Irish women singers Irish hip hop musicians Black Irish people 1995 births Living people Irish people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent British emigrants to Ireland Singers from London People from Balbriggan