local faces
Kelli-Leigh: south London’s rising star ― Cara Cummings
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inger-songwriter Kelli-Leigh should be one of the most famous British artists in music right now. The vocalist on number one singles I Got You by Duke Dumont and I Wanna Feel by Second City, she’s already smashed the international charts - but struggled to gain recognition as an artist in her own right. Not for long. With her own flourishing record label and new single Feelin’ U scoring more than a million streams already, Kelli-Leigh won’t be in ‘the next big thing’ for long. She talks to the South Londoner about growing up in Gypsy Hill, touring with Adele and changing the music industry from within. Tell us about you - were you born with a microphone? I'm south London born and bred. I grew up in Gypsy Hill and Crystal Palace, in a working class home. My mum is a singer, my uncle is a singer and another uncle is a drummer. Music is in my blood, really. Singing has been my everything. I was badly bullied at school, but the one thing they wouldn’t bully me for was my singing. It was my safety net. Growing up, I always dreamt of being a singer, but wasn't sure how to get there. I went to the Brit School, which at that time was the only free performing arts school in the UK. My class had Leona Lewis, Katie Melua, Luke from The Kooks… It was a mental class to be in, watching everyone blow up and do amazing things. I was a backing singer first, touring with Leona and Adele at the Grammys, the Oscars, the Royal Albert Hall. Then in 2013, I had a car accident in south London, on the road between Catford and Bromley. I was in a wheelchair with a severely prolapsed disc. But everything happens for a reason - my backing singing career was stopped in its tracks, and then Duke Dumont asked me to sing I Got U and it went to number one. I decided to take a chance on myself at that point. How would you describe your music, and influences? My music is quite eclectic - I call it ‘anthemic pop’. I took inspiration from stealing my mum’s
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