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Joy Crookes

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Joy Crookes
Crookes in 2022
Crookes in 2022
Background information
Birth nameJoy Elizabeth Akther Crookes
Born (1998-10-09) 9 October 1998 (age 26)
Lambeth, London, England[1]
OriginSouth London, England
Genres
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instruments
  • Voice
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active2015–present
Labels
Websitejoycrookes.com

Joy Elizabeth Akther Crookes (born 9 October 1998)[1][5][6] is a British singer-songwriter. She incorporates details about relationships, self-reliance, her culture, her South London roots, and her identity in her music. Crookes has released three extended plays since 2017 and was nominated for the Rising Star Award at the 2020 Brit Awards. Her debut studio album, Skin, was released in October 2021 to wide critical acclaim and reached the top five in the UK.[7]

Early life

[edit]

Joy Elizabeth Akther Crookes was born in the Lambeth district of South London on 9 October 1998 to a Bangladeshi mother from Dhaka and an Irish father from Dublin.[2][8][9][10] She grew up in Elephant and Castle[11] where she spent eight years at a Catholic state primary school.[12][2] Crookes attended the fee-paying Portland Place School in central London for secondary education.[13] Crookes gained interest in singing after attending a jazz and blues workshop and, by the age of 13, had started publishing covers of Laura Marling and reggae to YouTube.[12] Whilst a teenager Crookes taught herself how to play guitar, piano and bass, before writing her own music.[14] When she was 14, her parents separated and she moved with her mother to Ladbroke Grove.[12] In April 2013, Crookes uploaded a cover of "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles to YouTube at the age of 14.[15] The video gained the attention of over 600,000 viewers, notably including her current manager a few months later.[10]

Career

[edit]

2016–2017: Influence

[edit]

At the age of 17, Crookes released her debut single "New Manhattan" in February 2016,[16] as well as "Sinatra" in August 2016,[17] and "Bad Feeling" in June 2017.[18] "New Manhattan" is a love song that was named after the area in Brussels.[19] M Magazine wrote about Crookes at the start of her career, stating, "[She] may not be out of school yet, but what she lacks in experience she certainly makes up for in sonic dexterity."[20] When describing the aesthetic in Crookes' debut music video for "Sinatra", Pip Williams from Line of Best Fit wrote, "much like [her] sound, [the video] blurs the classic with the contemporary, blanketing the listener in nostalgia whilst teasing them with hints of something brand new."[21]

Crookes released her debut EP, Influence, with Speakerbox and Insanity Records in July 2017.[22][23] The five-track EP lasts less than 20 minutes and features "Sinatra", "Bad Feeling", "New Manhattan", "Mother May I Sleep With Danger?" and "Power".[22] Crookes performed "Mother May I Sleep With Danger?" along with her guitar player Charles J Monneraud on the global music platform, COLORS, in December 2017.[24] As of November 2019, the video gained over eight million views on YouTube.[24] She told BBC that she wrote the song by herself on New Year's Day of 2017 and began playing the song on tour, stating "When you tour a song you get to know it – you stay over at its house, you meet its mum, you get to know the sibling it doesn't like. So by the time we did Colors, it was a walk in the park. The video really changed everything. For about six months after that, everywhere I went people would say, 'Are you Joy from Colors?'"[14]

2018–2019: Reminiscence and Perception

[edit]
Crookes in August 2018

Crookes released the single "Don't Let Me Down" with an accompanying music video in November 2018,[25][26] before releasing her second EP, Reminiscence, in January 2019.[11] Clare O'Shea from The Line of Best Fit described the EP as "a collection of five distinct tracks melding pop, R&B and soul."[11] The EP features "Man's World", "Lover Don't", "Don't Let Me Down", "For a Minute" as well as the song "Two Nights",[27] which was added to the BBC Radio 1 playlist in February 2019.[28][non-primary source needed] Crookes made her first appearance in Vogue in March 2019,[29][30][non-primary source needed] before releasing the singles "Since I Left You": "a hauntingly stripped back break-up song,"[31] as well as "London Mine" in April 2019. "The song celebrates the invisible people and how London belongs to no one but everyone," Crookes told The Line of Best Fit about "London Mine". "It's a celebration of immigrants who make up this country."[32]

Crookes performed on the Introducing Stage at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in May 2019,[33] before releasing her third EP, Perception in June 2019.[34] The five-track EP features "Hurts", "No Hands", "London Mine", "Since I Left You", and "Darkest Hour".[27] Crookes made her first Glastonbury Festival appearance in June 2019.[35][12][36] In September 2019, Crookes self-produced released "Yah / Element" a medley of "Yah" and "Element" by Kendrick Lamar, before announcing her sold-out[37] headlining tour of Europe for October 2019.[38][39][non-primary source needed] She released the single "Early" with Irish hip-hop artist Jafaris in early October,[40] which later went on to reach No. 1 on the UK Asian chart. Crookes made her debut television appearance when she performed "Early" with Jafaris on Later... with Jools Holland in November 2019.[41] Crookes made an appearance on the Irish music TV series Other Voices in November 2019.[42] Crookes was shortlisted for Rising Star Award at the 2020 Brit Awards.[43] She was placed fourth in Sound of 2020, an annual BBC poll of 170 music critics who predict breakthrough acts for the coming year.[14][44] Crookes was praised her for her "South London stories filled with wit and romance".[44]

2020–present: Skin

[edit]

In April 2020, Crookes released her first single of 2020, "Anyone But Me", which debuted atop the UK Asian Top 40.[45] The song is about her battles with mental health and how she feels that "there's another person living in [her] head."[14][46] In September 2020, Crookes released a cover version of The Wannadies' 1994 single "You & Me Song", which was featured in an O2 TV advertisement,[47] consequently entering both the UK Singles Downloads and the UK Singles Sales charts.[48][49] Crookes released the single "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" in June 2021,[50] which became her third single to top the UK Asian Top 40 and is featured on the EASports video game FIFA 22[51] It served as the lead single from her debut album, Skin, which she revealed alongside the release of its title track in August 2021.[52] Its third single, "When You Were Mine", was released later that month and became her fourth single to top the UK Asian Top 40.[53][51] "Trouble" was released as the fourth single a few days before the release of Skin on 15 October 2021.[54]

On the album, Crookes incorporates samples on songs like "19th Floor" and "Kingdom". In an interview with Sound of Boston, Crookes explains the origins of both samples, and why she chose to include them: "The opening of 19th Floor is my grandma saying goodbye to me as she usually does when I leave her flat on the 19th floor of her block in south London. The voice call in Kingdom is my dad talking about the importance of punk music. I included these to contextualize my life at the time and where those songs were born from. I am a super family-orientated person and it felt like an important part of my narrative to include them on the album."[55]

On 18 October 2024, Crookes was featured on the song "Strength (R U Ready)" from The Blessed Madonna's album, 'Godspeed'.[56]

Personal life and artistry

[edit]

Crookes had the name of her Irish grandfather, Frankie Crookes, tattooed on her arm before he died in 2018.[42]

Crookes has cited Black Uhuru, Marvin Gaye, The Pogues, Sinéad O'Connor, Kendrick Lamar, Gregory Isaacs, and Kate Nash as some of the names incorporated with her first experiences with music.[20][57][11][31] She told BBC about the music she was exposed to whilst driving with her father to her Irish dancing lessons, "My dad wanted to give me a real education. From Nick Cave to King Tubby to all this Pakistani music. He'd say, 'This is from your ends of the world, you should hear this.'"[14]

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[58] 		IRE
[59] 		SCO
[60] 		BEL
(WA)
[61] 		FRA
[62] 		GER
[63] 		SWI
[64]
Skin 5 26 10 99 114 41 47

Extended plays

[edit]
Title EP details
Influence
  • Released: 21 July 2017[23]
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
  • Label: Speakerbox, Insanity
Reminiscence
  • Released: 25 January 2019[27]
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
  • Label: Speakerbox, Insanity
Perception
  • Released: 31 May 2019[66]
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
  • Label: Speakerbox, Insanity

Singles

[edit]
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
Asian
[51] 		UK
Down.
[48] 		UK
Sales
[49]
"New Manhattan" 2016 — — — Influence
"Sinatra" — — —
"Bad Feeling" 2017 — — —
"Don't Let Me Down" 2018 — — — Reminiscence
"Two Nights" 2019 19 — —
"Hurts" 19 — — Perception
"Since I Left You" 3 — —
"London Mine" 14 — —
"Yah / Element (Medley)" — — — Non-album singles
"Early"
(featuring Jafaris) 		1 — —
"Anyone But Me" 2020 1 — —
"You & Me Song" — 96 98
"Looking for a 10"
(with Fraser T. Smith) 		2021 — — — Produced By EP
"Feet Don't Fail Me Now" 1 — — Skin
"Skin" — — —
"When You Were Mine" 1 46 48
"Trouble" 2 — —
"19th Floor" 2022 — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Organization Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
BBC 2019 Sound of 2020 Herself
Fourth
 [14]
Brit Awards 2020 Rising Star Nominated [43]
MTV UK 2020 Push One to Watch Nominated [67]
UK Music Video Awards 2021 Best Pop Video – UK "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" Nominated [68]
Best Wardrobe Styling in a Video Won [68][69]
Best Hair & Makeup in a Video Won [68][69]
MOBO Awards 2021 Best Newcomer Herself Nominated [70]
BBC Radio 1 2021 Hottest Record of the Year "When You Were Mine"
Second
 [71][72]
Brit Awards 2022 Best New Artist Herself Nominated [73]
Best Pop/R&B Act Nominated [73]
Mercury Prize 2022 Album of the Year Skin Nominated [74]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Akther Crookes, Joy Elizabeth: Born 1998 in Lambeth, London, England". Findmypast. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Mathews, Gabriel (27 November 2019). "Exclusive interview with Brit-nominated singer Joy Crookes". Stylist. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  3. ^ Webster, Cleo (9 April 2019). "Joy Crookes". Notion. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Joy Crookes". Insanity Records.
  5. ^ "Joy Elizabeth AKTHER CROOKES – Personal Appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 8 January 2020. "Date of birth: October 1998" "Nationality: Irish" "Country of residence: England"{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  6. ^ @joycrookes [confirmed account] (9 October 2018). ""It's my birthday. Progression is one way of looking at it…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Joy Crookes – Skin Album Review". DIY. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  8. ^ Joshi, Tara (12 January 2019). "One to watch: Joy Crookes". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  9. ^ Abdul, Geneva (7 October 2021). "Joy Crookes's Introspective Soul Digs Deep Beneath Her 'Skin'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  10. ^ a b Dos Santos, Vanessa (31 May 2017). "Joy Crookes: Turning Bad Choices into Summer Jams". gal-dem. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  11. ^ a b c d O'Shea, Clare (22 March 2019). "On The Rise: Joy Crookes". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d Fishwick, Samuel (23 October 2019). "Joy Crookes: the soulful singer who's taken over 2019". Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Music at Portland Place". Music at Portland Place. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Savage, Mark (6 January 2020). "Sound of 2020: Joy Crookes grabs fourth place". BBC. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  15. ^ Hit The Road Jack-Ray Charles (cover by Joy and Paulo), 12 April 2013, retrieved 8 January 2020 – via YouTube
  16. ^ Buck, Courtney (6 February 2016). "Joy Crookes shares impressive debut single 'New Manhattan'". The 405. Archived from the original on 9 February 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  17. ^ Darville, Jordan (10 August 2016). "Joy Crookes Plays With Fire On Trip-Soul Single "Sinatra"". The FADER. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  18. ^ "Premiere: Joy Crookes – "Bad Feeling"". Wonderland Magazine. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  19. ^ Murray, Robin (4 February 2016). "Introducing... Joy Crookes". Clash. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  20. ^ a b "30 seconds interview: Joy Crookes". M Magazine. 18 November 2016. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  21. ^ Williams, Pip (29 September 2016). "Joy Crookes drops video for nostalgic pop masterpiece "Sinatra"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  22. ^ a b Blanchet, Benjamin (24 July 2017). "Joy Crookes Unlocks Soul, Class on 'Influence'". Respect. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  23. ^ a b "Influence EP by Joy Crookes". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  24. ^ a b "Joy Crookes – Mother May I Sleep With Danger? | A COLORS SHOW". COLORS Studios. 21 December 2017. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  25. ^ Ramos, Chuck (30 November 2018). "Don't Let Me Down – [Joy Crookes]". Lyrical Lemonade. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  26. ^ Dunn, Frankie (30 November 2018). "london singer joy crookes channels Lakshmi in her new video". i-D. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  27. ^ a b c "Reminiscence – EP by Joy Crookes". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  28. ^ "Joy Crookes is the latest addition to the BBC Radio 1 Playlist 🔥 You can hear her track Two Nights on-air all week! Find out more 👇". BBC Music Introducing. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019 – via Facebook.
  29. ^ Kim, Soey (22 March 2019). "Meet Joy Crookes – The Singer/Songwriter Guaranteed To Steal Your Heart". British Vogue. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  30. ^ "Vogue – @joycrookes". Instagram. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  31. ^ a b Byers, Rosie (2 April 2019). "Joy Crookes on her new video for Since I Left You". Wonderland Magazine. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  32. ^ Holdsworth, Bryony (30 April 2019). "Joy Crookes captures the beauty of diversity on "London Mine"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  33. ^ "Radio 1's Big Weekend 2019 – Joy Crookes". BBC. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  34. ^ Varghese, Sanjana (31 May 2019). "Joy Crookes is the south London singer-songwriter who's a born storyteller". gal-dem. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  35. ^ Joy Crookes [confirmed account] [@joycrookes] (14 April 2019). "I'm playing feckin glastonbury" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  36. ^ "Celeste tops BBC's Sound Of 2020 list". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  37. ^ Joy Crookes [confirmed account] [@joycrookes] (2 October 2019). "CHEERS – WE'VE ONLY GONE AND SOLD OUT MY FIRST HEADLINE TOUR. clink clink, time for champagne 🧪🧪🧪" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  38. ^ Peters, Jo (17 September 2019). "Joy Crookes covers Kendrick's 'Yah / Element' + new autumn tour dates". WithGuitars. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  39. ^ Crookes, Joy, my cover of Kendrick Lamar's ELEMENT / YAH is out everywhere now! I produced this number from my living room with the sweet add prod from prince J Moon. Hope you all love it (and Kendrick Lamar sees it) x 💕 🤔💕 smarturl.it/YAHElement, retrieved 5 December 2019 – via Facebook
  40. ^ Joshi, Tara (4 October 2019). "Five on it: Joy Crookes is low-key channelling her Irish side". gal-dem. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  41. ^ "BBC Two – Later... with Jools Holland, Series 54, Episode 4". BBC. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  42. ^ a b Clayton-Lea, Tony (14 December 2019). "Joy Crookes: 'I love a challenge – that keeps the fire in me'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  43. ^ a b Snapes, Laura (6 December 2019). "Soul singer Celeste named winner of Brits rising star award". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  44. ^ a b Savage, Mark (12 December 2019). "Yungblud and Celeste make BBC Sound of 2020 list". BBC. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  45. ^ Rose, Anna (10 April 2020). "Joy Crookes releases brand new single, 'Anyone But Me'". NME. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  46. ^ "Joy Crookes Shares New Track 'Anyone But Me'". BroadwayWorld. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  47. ^ "Joy Crookes soundtracks O2's new 'You & Me' TV advert". Sony Music UK. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  48. ^ a b Peaks on the UK Singles Downloads Chart:
  49. ^ a b Peaks on the UK Singles Sales Chart:
  50. ^ Smith, Niall (19 June 2021). "Joy Crookes Shares Visuals For New Single "Feet Don't Fail Me Now"". Complex. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  51. ^ a b c Singles on UK Asian Music Chart:
  52. ^ Hakimian, Rob (6 August 2021). "Joy Crookes offers reassurance and hope with the stately "Skin", announces debut album". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  53. ^ Ackroyd, Stephen (25 August 2021). "Joy Crookes shares new single 'When You Were Mine'". Dork. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  54. ^ Kenneally, Cerys (13 October 2021). "Joy Crookes previews debut album with new single "Trouble"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  55. ^ Bedian, Knar (31 March 2022). "Interview: Joy Crookes". Sound of Boston – Boston Music Blog. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  56. ^ @Blessed_Madonna (17 October 2024). "Godspeed. It's out tomorrow. Finally. Made with love by myself and friends including @kylieminogue, @atrak, @jamesvmcmorrow, @joycrookes..." (Tweet). Retrieved 23 November 2024 – via Twitter.
  57. ^ Migowski, Max (11 July 2017). "Rising R&B-star Joy Crookes gives it all for her dream". INDIE Magazine. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  58. ^ "Joy Crookes > Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  59. ^ "Discography Adele". Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  60. ^ "Discography Adele". Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  61. ^ "Discographie Joy Crookes". Ultratop. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  62. ^ "Joy Crookes – Skin". French Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  63. ^ "Discographie von Joy Crookes". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  64. ^ "Joy Crookes – Skin". Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  65. ^ "Skin by Joy Crookes". Apple Music. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  66. ^ "Perception – EP by Joy Crookes". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  67. ^ "Introducing Our MTV PUSH: Ones To Watch 2020 Shortlist…". MTV. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  68. ^ a b c "UK Music Video Awards 2021: all the nominations for this year's UKMVAs". Promonewstv. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  69. ^ a b "Here Are the Winners of the UK Music Video Awards 2021 | LBBOnline". www.lbbonline.com. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  70. ^ "The MOBO Awards Announce Their 2021 Nominees". mobo.com. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  71. ^ "BBC Radio 1 – Radio 1's Future Sounds with Clara Amfo – Radio 1's Hottest Record of the Year 2021 – Vote for your favourite!". BBC. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  72. ^ "Record of the Day – In tune. Informed. Indispensable". recordoftheday.com. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  73. ^ a b "The nominees for the 2022 BRIT Awards have been revealed". NME. 18 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  74. ^ Savage, Mark (26 July 2022). "Mercury Prize: All you need to know about this year's nominees". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
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