Laura Mvula facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laura Mvula
Mvula at the Glastonbury Festival in 2024
Background information
Birth name	Laura Douglas
Born	(1986-04-23) 23 April 1986 (age 39) Birmingham, England
Genres	R&B soul jazz
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	2012–present
Labels	Atlantic RCA Sony UK

Laura Mvula (born 23 April 1986) is a talented British singer. She grew up in Birmingham, England. Before becoming famous, Laura sang in many groups. These included a cappella (singing without instruments), jazz, neo-soul, and gospel choirs. She also had classical music training.

In 2012, Laura Mvula signed with RCA Records. She then released her first collection of songs, called She. Critics loved it! Her first full album, Sing to the Moon (2013), also got great reviews. It won her two MOBO Awards and a nomination for the Mercury Prize. In 2014, she re-recorded the album with an orchestra. Her second album, The Dreaming Room (2016), was also a big hit with critics. It won an Ivor Novello award and another Mercury Prize nomination. Laura also wrote music for a play called Antony & Cleopatra in 2017. In 2021, she released the 1/f EP.

In 2018, Laura Mvula received a special award. Her old university, Birmingham City University, gave her an honorary doctorate in music. This was to celebrate her amazing work.

Early life and musical journey

Laura Mvula grew up in Birmingham, England. She lived with her two younger siblings. Her mother is a professor from Saint Kitts. Her father is from Jamaica and teaches about legal protection for young people.

Laura started playing piano and violin in primary school. She later went to Swanshurst School for girls. As a teenager, she sang with Black Voices. This was an a cappella group started by her aunt, Carol Pemberton. In 2005, they even toured Italy! In 2008, Laura started her own jazz/neo-soul group called Judyshouse. She was the lead singer and wrote songs for the band. She also led two community gospel choirs.

In 2008, Laura finished her degree in composition. She studied at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. After university, she worked as a music teacher. She also worked as a receptionist for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. During this time, she started writing her own songs. Her early song ideas caught the attention of composer Steve Brown. His manager, Kwame Kwaten, later became Laura's manager too. Laura has shared that she sometimes gets "crippling stage fright" before performing.

Music career highlights

2012–2015: Sing to the Moon album

Mvula performing at the 2014 Montreux Jazz Festival

In May 2012, Laura Mvula signed with RCA Records. This is a part of Sony. She released her first collection of songs, She, in November 2012. The song "She" was the very first song she ever wrote. In December, she was chosen for the Critics' Choice award at the 2013 BRIT Awards. She was also nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2013 poll. She ended up in fourth place. In February 2013, she sang "Green Garden" live on The Graham Norton Show. This was her first time performing on TV.

Her first full album, Sing to the Moon, came out in March 2013. She worked with producer Steve Brown on this album. The song "Green Garden" was released before the album. It was a tribute to her home in Kings Heath. Critics loved the album. The Independent gave it a perfect score! The album reached number 9 on the UK Albums Chart.

Laura Mvula won awards for Best Female Act and Best R&B or Soul Artist at the MOBO Awards in 2013. She was also nominated for two Brit Awards. Sing to the Moon was nominated for the Mercury Prize. In 2013 and 2014, she received over a dozen award nominations! She also recorded a cover of "Little Girl Blue" for the movie 12 Years A Slave.

In March 2014, Laura re-recorded her first album. She worked with the Metropole Orkest, an orchestra, and Jules Buckley. This new version was released in June and August 2014. In August, she performed with the Metropole Orkest at the Royal Albert Hall.

In July 2015, Laura performed with the Metropole Orkest at the North Sea Jazz Festival. This is a huge jazz festival. That same year, she recorded "You Work For Me." Director Guy Ritchie used it in his 2015 movie The Man From U.N.C.L.E..

2016–2020: The Dreaming Room album

In January 2016, Laura Mvula released "Overcome." This song was a collaboration with Nile Rodgers. It was the first song from her second album, The Dreaming Room. She also recorded "Sing to the Moon" with Snarky Puppy for their album. Laura promoted her new album by performing "Overcome" on TV shows. She also played the album live at the Jazz Maastricht Festival. In April, she released "Phenomenal Woman," the second single from the album.

Mvula performing for Global Citizen's #SheWill campaign in 2016

The Dreaming Room was released in June 2016. Music critics loved it! The album explores Laura's Jamaican and Caribbean roots. The song "Phenomenal Woman" is a happy song about women's strength. It was inspired by a book of poems by Maya Angelou. This album was made with producer Troy Miller and the London Symphony Orchestra. In June, Laura performed at the Glastonbury Pyramid stage again. In July, she performed for the "#SheWill" campaign. This campaign helps more girls around the world go to school.

The Dreaming Room was nominated for the 2016 Mercury Prize. In May 2017, it won an Ivor Novello award. Laura was also nominated for four MOBO awards. In January 2017, she shared that her record label, Sony, had decided not to work with her anymore. She then wrote music for the 2017 play Antony and Cleopatra by the Royal Shakespeare Company. In April, she talked about anxiety in a documentary.

In April 2018, she sang "I Put a Spell on You" at The Queen's Birthday Party in London. That same year, Laura Mvula worked with Carlos Santana on his band's album Africa Speaks.

Laura's song "Sing to the Moon" was performed at the 2019 BBC Last Night of The Proms. In that year, she received a special award from her old university.

2021: Pink Noise album

In February 2021, Laura Mvula announced new music was coming! She also held a live online concert called "Under a Pink Moon." During this concert, she played four new songs from her upcoming album. These songs were "Safe Passage," "Conditional," "What Matters" (with Simon Neil from Biffy Clyro), and "Church Girl." She also performed new versions of her older songs. These were included on the 1/f EP, released the next day. Critics praised the concert and the EP.

The 1/f EP also included a cover of Diana Ross' 1971 hit "I'm Still Waiting." Critics said this mini-album showed a "heartening musical comeback." They noted her music was still soulful but now had "balmy '80s beats."

On March 3, Laura released the single "Safe Passage." The second single, "Church Girl," came out on March 17. This also shared details about her third album, Pink Noise, which was released on July 2. "Got Me," the third single, was released in May.

Musical influences

When Laura Mvula was a young girl, she really wanted to be in the R&B girl group Eternal. She said this is when she started thinking about singing differently than in church. She and her siblings would perform in their garage. Her parents loved jazz and gospel music and encouraged them.

Laura has said that many artists influenced her music. These include Nina Simone, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Des'ree, Omar, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, The Jackson 5, and Diana Ross.

Discography

Laura Mvula has released several albums and singles. Here are some of her main works:

Studio albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Singles

Concert tours

• Sing to the Moon Tour (2013–2015)
• The Dreaming Room Tour (2016–2017)

Awards and nominations

Laura Mvula has won many awards for her music. Here are some of them:

Images for kids

• 

  Mvula performing for Global Citizen's #SheWill campaign in 2016

See also

In Spanish: Laura Mvula para niños