Jorja Smith facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jorja Smith
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Smith performing in 2018
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Jorja Alice Smith
11 June 1997 Walsall, West Midlands, England
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| Years active | 2016–present |
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Jorja Alice Smith (born on June 11, 1997) is a talented singer from England. She grew up in Walsall, West Midlands, and started writing songs when she was just 11 years old. In 2012, a friend shared her cover of Labrinth's song "Earthquake" on YouTube. This helped her get noticed by a music producer named Guy Moot.
After her first two songs became popular, Jorja signed with Sony/ATV in 2016. She then released two shorter music collections called EPs in 2016 and 2017. Her first full album, Lost & Found, came out in 2018. It was loved by critics and reached number three on the UK music charts. That same year, she won the Brit Critics' Choice Award. In 2019, she was named Best British Female Artist at the Brit Awards and was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Her third EP, Be Right Back, released in May 2021, also received good reviews.
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Jorja Smith was born on June 11, 1997, in Walsall, England. Her father, Peter, is from Jamaica and used to be a musician. Her mother, Jolene, designs jewelry. Jorja has a younger brother named Luca. She is also the cousin of Rangers football player Kemar Roofe.
Jorja started taking piano lessons when she was 8 years old, encouraged by her father. She earned a music scholarship to Aldridge School. There, she learned to play the oboe and studied classical singing. When she was 15, a manager discovered her after she posted videos of herself singing cover songs on YouTube. Soon after, she began traveling to London for songwriting sessions while still in school. After finishing school, she moved to London at 18. She worked as a barista to support herself and continued to write songs.
Music Career Highlights
Early Songs and First Album
In late 2015, another musician, Maverick Sabre, publicly supported Jorja Smith. In January 2016, Jorja released her first song, "Blue Lights", on SoundCloud. It quickly gained 400,000 plays in just one month. Her second song, "Where Did I Go?", released in May, was even praised by the famous rapper Drake.
Because of this worldwide attention, Jorja caught the eye of Guy Moot, a music executive. He signed her to a publishing deal in late 2016. In November 2016, she released her first EP, Project 11, which had four songs. That same month, BBC Music chose Jorja as one of the top rising artists for their Sound of 2017 list, where she placed fourth.
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Jorja performed as a special guest on Drake's Boy Meets World Tour in early 2017. She also sang on two songs from his mixtape More Life (2017). On International Women's Day, she released a song called "Beautiful Little Fools." In May, she was featured on Kali Uchis' song "Tyrant." Two months later, Jorja and grime artist Preditah released a song together called "On My Mind." In September 2017, she started dating singer and producer Joel Compass.
She also opened for Bruno Mars on his 24K Magic World Tour in late 2017. In December, it was announced that Jorja would receive the Brit Critics' Choice Award. This award is special because she was the first independent artist to win it.
In January 2018, she released the song "Let Me Down" with rapper Stormzy. Jorja also helped write and perform the song "I Am" for the Black Panther movie soundtrack album. Later that month, she performed at the BRIT Awards with Rag'n'Bone Man. In April, she performed "Blue Lights" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which was her first time on US television.
Her first full album, Lost & Found, was announced in April and released in June 2018. She had worked on the album for five years. After the album came out, Jorja started touring in Europe and Japan. The North American part of her tour began in November and ended in December, with Ravyn Lenae joining her.
In 2019, Jorja announced a tour in North America with Kali Uchis. In August 2019, Jorja released the song "Be Honest" featuring Burna Boy.
Recent Projects
In early 2020, Jorja Smith started hosting a 12-part BBC Radio 3 show called 'Tearjerker'. This show explores how music can help us feel better. That year, she released two new songs: "By Any Means" and "Come Over" featuring Popcaan.
On May 14, 2021, she released her third EP, Be Right Back. This collection of songs received many positive reviews.
On May 11, 2023, Jorja released the song "Little Things." On May 18, 2023, she announced that her next album, Falling or Flying, would be released in September 2023. On August 4, 2023, she released "Go Go Go," which was the third song from her new album. In November 2023, Jorja released her own version of East-17's 1994 song "Stay Another Day" as part of the Amazon Music Originals series.
Musical Inspirations
Jorja Smith grew up listening to many types of music, including reggae, punk, hip-hop, and R&B. She wrote her first song when she was 11. As a teenager, she was "obsessed" with Amy Winehouse's first album, Frank. She was inspired by Amy Winehouse's honest way of writing songs.
Jorja says her songs often talk about important social issues. She believes that as a musician, she can make people listen and think about what's happening in the world. She looks up to artists like Lauryn Hill, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Sade, Nina Simone, Alicia Keys, Mos Def, and the Streets. For fashion, Jorja says Rihanna is her style icon.
Albums
- Lost & Found (2018)
- Falling or Flying (2023)
Tours
Headlining Tours
- Lost and Found Tour (2018)
- Falling Or Flying Intimate Headline Shows (2023)
Co-headlining Tours
- The Kali & Jorja Tour (with Kali Uchis) (2019)
Awards and Recognitions
Jorja Smith has won and been nominated for many awards for her music.
- In 2018, she won the Brit Critics' Choice Award.
- In 2019, she won the Best British Female Artist at the Brit Awards.
- She was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2019.
- In 2021, her music video for "Home" won Best Music Video at the British Short Film Awards.
See also
In Spanish: Jorja Smith para niños
