Mahalia (singer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mahalia
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Mahalia at Falls Festival in January 2019
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mahalia Burkmar |
| Born | 1 May 1998 |
| Origin | Leicester, United Kingdom |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2015–present |
| Labels | Asylum |
Mahalia Burkmar (born 1 May 1998), known mononymously as Mahalia, is a British singer, songwriter and actress. Mahalia has released several EPs and three albums, Diary of Me (2016), Love and Compromise (2019) and IRL (2023). She also acted in the film Brotherhood (2016). She had her breakthrough in 2017 with her performance of "Sober" for the YouTube channel Colors. In 2018, she was ranked number one on YouTube's Ones to Watch list.
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Life and career
Mahalia is from Syston, Charnwood, in Leicestershire. She was born to musician parents. Her father is British-Irish and her mother is Jamaican. Mahalia has described the town she grew up in as a predominantly white area with "a lot of racism". She has two brothers.
She attended Roundhill Community College until she signed a record deal aged 13, when she transferred to a performing arts school, Birmingham Ormiston Academy,where she took acting classes. Mahalia further expanded her actor training at Urban Young Actors, Leicester.
As a child she would often spend her summer breaks at home writing music—she wrote her first song at age eight and signed a deal with Asylum Records at age 13. She performed live for the first time aged "eleven, or maybe 12" at an open mic. She released her debut EP, Head Space, in 2012. Mahalia was later introduced to Ed Sheeran, who she went on to perform as a supporting act for, duetting with his on his song "Gold Rush". She supported Sheeran and Emeli Sandé in their 2014 UK tours. She sang on the title track of UK #1 album We the Generation by Rudimental in 2015.
In 2019, Mahalia was featured on BBC Radio 1's Brit List. Her album Love and Compromise was released on marketed as her debut album. The album concept was influenced by an interview with Eartha Kitt, which Mahalia's mother showed her when she was a child.
Mahalia won Best Female Act and Best R&B/Soul Act at the 2020 MOBO Awards.
In 2021, she released "Jealous", a collaboration with American rapper Rico Nasty. She was nominated for her first Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Mahalia was included in the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
In 2022, Mahalia was among the performers at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. She was also one of the opening acts in the all-female lineup at Adele's British Summer Time concerts in London's Hyde Park.
Influences
Mahalia has listed Corinne Bailey Rae, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Jill Scott, India Arie, Ed Sheeran, and Kate Nash among her musical influences.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK |
UK R&B |
SCO |
US Heat. |
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| Love and Compromise |
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28 | 4 | — | 23 | |||||
| IRL |
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31 | 2 | 81 | — | |||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
Compilation albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Diary of Me |
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Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Head Space |
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| Never Change |
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| Seasons |
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| Isolation Tapes |
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| Letter to Ur Ex |
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Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK |
UK R&B |
BEL (FL) Tip |
NZ Hot |
US Bub. |
US R&B |
US R&B/HH Airplay |
US Adult R&B |
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| "Borrowers" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Never Change | |
| "Back Up Plan" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Diary of Me | |
| "17" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Silly Girl" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Mahalia" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Roller Coaster" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "I Remember" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Marry Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Independence Day" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Begin Again" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Sober" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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Non-album singles |
| "Hold On" (featuring Buddy) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "No Pressure" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Proud of Me" (featuring Little Simz) |
2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "No Reply" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Water" (with Kojey Radical and Swindle) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "I Wish I Missed My Ex" | — | — | 43 | — | — | — | — | — |
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Love and Compromise | |
| "Surprise Me" | — | — | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | Seasons | ||
| "One Night Only" (featuring Kojey Radical) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Do Not Disturb" | 2019 | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | Love and Compromise | |
| "Grateful" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Simmer" (featuring Burna Boy) |
46 | 34 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — |
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Love and Compromise | |
| "Square 1" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "What You Did" (featuring Ella Mai) |
90 | — | — | 29 | 7 | 15 | 13 | 6 |
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| "BRB" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | Isolation Tapes | |
| "Jealous" (featuring Rico Nasty) |
2021 | — | — | — | 34 | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Whenever You're Ready" | — | — | — | 36 | — | — | — | 17 | |||
| "Roadside" (featuring AJ Tracey) |
93 | — | — | 37 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Letter to Ur Ex" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Letter to Ur Ex and IRL | |
| "Whatever Simon Says" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Letter to Ur Ex | ||
| "In the Club" | — | — | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Bag Of You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | IRL | ||
| "Terms and Conditions" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Cheat" (featuring JoJo) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Ready" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "We the Generation" | 2015 | Rudimental | We the Generation |
| "Keep It Pushin" | 2018 | Russ | Zoo |
| "All I Need" | 2020 | Jacob Collier, Ty Dolla Sign | Djesse Vol. 3 |
| "Energy" | Pa Salieu | Send Them To Coventry | |
| "Pretty" | col3trane | Non-album single | |
| "No One But You" | Justin Nozuka | Then, Now & Again | |
| "Closer" | 2022 | RM, Paul Blanco | Indigo |
| "Five Star Hotels" | 2023 | RAYE | My 21st Century Blues |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Organization | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | BRIT Awards | Critics' Choice Award | Herself | Nominated |
| BBC | Sound of 2019 | Included |
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| Metro | Ones To Watch 2019 | |||
| 2019 | MTV Push | Nominated | ||
| Soul Train Music Awards | Best New Artist | Nominated | ||
| Brit Awards | Critics' Choice Award | Nominated | ||
| 2020 | British Female Solo Artist | Nominated | ||
| NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding New Artist | Nominated | ||
| 2021 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Performance | "All I Need" (with Jacob Collier and Ty Dolla Sign) | Nominated |
Filmography
- Brotherhood (Noel Clarke, 2016) – as Thea
