FKA Twigs

Initially attracting attention with her eye-popping visuals, former backing dancer-turned-singer FKA Twigs then proved there was substance to her style with an intriguing blend of provocative lyrical themes, seductive breathless vocals and eerie ethereal R&B which positioned her as the natural successor to Aaliyah. Born in Gloucester, England in 1988 to an English-Spanish mother and a Jamaican father whom she didn't meet until she was 18, Tahliah Debrett Barnett grew up as the only mixed-race girl in her Catholic school and first began performing at various local youth clubs before moving to London to pursue a career as a dancer at the age of 17. While working with the likes of Plan B, Kylie Minogue and Jessie J, Barnett realized that her true calling was as a musician and began singing jazz standards in the style of Ella Fitzgerald and Etta James at several London cabaret clubs. Adopting the guise of Twigs, due to the way her joints crack, and then later FKA Twigs to avoid being confused with another similarly-named artist, Barnett first showcased her creative multi-media skills on 2012's EP1, a four-track fusion of atmospheric trip-hop, R&B and post-dubstep which was also accompanied by four mysterious and unsettling promo videos. After signing to indie label Young Turks, FKA Twigs released EP2 in 2013, another critically-acclaimed affair which saw her place high on both the BBC's Sound of 2014 poll and Billboard's 14 Artists To Watch in 2014. Produced by the likes of Paul Epworth (Adele), Arca (Kanye West) and Dev Hynes (Solange), her debut album, LP1, lived up to the hype, peaking at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 and receiving a nomination for the prestigious Mercury Prize.