Joy Crookes

Joy Elizabeth Akther Crookes (born 9 October 1998)[1][5][6] is a British neo soul singer-songwriter of Bangladeshi-Irish heritage. 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. She has been included in various lists of predicted breakthrough acts for 2020 by publications such as BBC, MTV, NME, Vevo and Amazon Music.

Joy Crookes
Crookes in November 2018
Background information
Birth nameJoy Elizabeth Akther Crookes
Born (1998-10-09) 9 October 1998
Lambeth, London, England[1]
OriginSouth London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instruments
  • Voice
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active2016–present
Labels
Websitejoycrookes.com

Early life

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 north Dublin.[2][7][8] She grew up in the area of Elephant and Castle,[9] where she spent eight years at a Catholic state primary school.[10][2] Crookes gained interest in singing after a attending a jazz and blues workshop, and by the age of 13, had started publishing covers of Laura Marling and reggae to YouTube.[10] Whilst a teenager, Crookes taught herself how to play guitar, piano and bass, before writing her own music.[11] When she reached age 14, her parents separated, and she moved with her mother to Ladbroke Grove.[10] In April 2013, Crookes uploaded a cover of "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles to YouTube at the age of 15.[12] The video gained attention of over 600 000 viewers as well as her current manager.[8]

Career

2016–2017: Influence

At the age of 17, Crookes released her debut single "New Manhattan" in February 2016,[13] as well as "Sinatra" in August 2016,[14] and "Bad Feeling" in June 2017.[15] "New Manhattan" is a love song that was named after the area in Brussels.[16] 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."[17] 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."[18]

Crookes released her debut EP, Influence, with Speakerbox and Insanity Records in July 2017.[19][20] The five-track EP lasts less than 20 minutes and features "Sinatra", "Bad Feeling", "New Manhattan", "Mother May I Sleep With Danger?" and "Power".[19] 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.[21] As of November 2019, the video gained over eight million views on YouTube.[21] 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?'"[11]

2018–2019: Reminiscence and Perception

Crookes released the single "Don't Let Me Down" with an accompanying music video in November 2018,[22][23] before releasing her second EP, Reminiscence, in January 2019.[9] 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."[9] The EP features "Man's World", "Lover Don't", "Don't Let Me Down", "For a Minute" as well as the song "Two Nights",[24] which was added to the BBC Radio 1 playlist in February 2019.[25] Crookes made her first appearance in Vogue in March 2019,[26][27] before releasing the singles "Since I Left You": "a hauntingly stripped back break-up song,"[28] 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."[29]

Crookes performed on the Introducing Stage at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in May 2019,[30] before releasing her third EP, Perception, on the eve of June 2019.[31] The five-track EP features "Hurts", "No Hands", "London Mine", "Since I Left You" and "Darkest Hour".[24] Crookes made her first Glastonbury Festival appearance in June 2019.[32][10] In September 2019, Crookes self-produced released "Yah / Element" a medley of "Yah" and "Element" by Kendrick Lamar, before announcing her sold-out[33] headlining tour of Europe for October 2019.[34][35] She released the single "Early" with Irish hip-hop artist Jafaris in early October,[36] 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.[37] Crookes made an appearance on the Irish music TV series Other Voices in November 2019.[38] Crookes was shortlisted for Rising Star Award at the 2020 Brit Awards.[39] She was placed fourth in Sound of 2020, an annual BBC poll of 170 music critics who predict breakthrough acts for the coming year.[11][40] Crookes was praised her for her "South London stories filled with wit and romance".[40]

2020–present: Debut album

In April 2020, Crookes released her first single of 2020, "Anyone But Me", which debuted atop the UK Asian Top 40.[41] The song is about her battles with mental health and how she feels that "there's another person living in [her] head."[11][42] Crookes told BBC that she would be releasing her debut album before her "self-imposed deadline" of May 2020.[11]

Personal life and artistry

Crookes currently voices her anger at certain injustices and topics such as gentrification, racism, xenophobia, Brexit and feminism through Twitter.[9][43] As of December 2019, Crookes has over 130 thousand followers on her Instagram account.[44] Crookes tattooed the name of her Irish grandfather, Frankie Crookes, onto her arm before he passed away in 2018.[38] In 2019, Crookes signed to the talent board of London modelling agency, Models1

Crookes has cited Black Uhuru, Marvin Gaye, The Pogues, Sinead O'Connor, Kendrick Lamar, Gregory Isaacs and Kate Nash as some of the names incorporated with her first experiences with music.[17][45][9][28] 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.'"[11]

Discography

Extended plays
Title EP details
Influence
  • Released: 21 July 2017[20]
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
  • Label: Speakerbox, Insanity
Reminiscence
  • Released: 25 January 2019[24]
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
  • Label: Speakerbox, Insanity
Perception
  • Released: 31 May 2019[46]
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
  • Label: Speakerbox, Insanity

Singles

As lead artist
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
Asian
[47]
"New Manhattan" 2016 — Influence
"Sinatra" —
"Bad Feeling" 2017 —
"Don't Let Me Down" 2018 — Reminiscence
"Since I Left You" 2019 3 Perception
"London Mine" 14
"Yah / Element" — TBA
"Early"
(with Jafaris)		 1
"Anyone But Me" 2020 1

Other charted songs
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
Asian
[48]
"Two Nights" 2019 19 Reminiscence
"Hurts" 19 Perception

Awards and nominations
Year Organization Award Work Result Ref.
2019 Vevo Artists to Watch for 2020 Herself Included [49]
Amazon Music Ones to Watch 2020 Included [50]
BBC Sound of 2020 Fourth [11]
2020 Brit Awards Rising Star Nominated [39]
NME The NME 100 Included [51]
MTV Brand New for 2020 Nominated [52]
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gollark: <#800374599945551892> is <#800374599945551892> you.
gollark: Not as planned.
gollark: <@398575402865393665> is like bee.
gollark: ++magic reload_ext discord_link

References
  1. "Akther Crookes, Joy Elizabeth: Born 1998 in Lambeth, London, England". Findmypast. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  2. 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"
  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. Joshi, Tara (12 January 2019). "One to watch: Joy Crookes". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  8. Dos Santos, Vanessa (31 May 2017). "Joy Crookes: Turning Bad Choices into Summer Jams". gal-dem. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  9. O'Shea, Clare (22 March 2019). "On The Rise: Joy Crookes". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  10. Fishwick, Samuel (23 October 2019). "Joy Crookes: the soulful singer who's taken over 2019". Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  11. Savage, Mark (6 January 2020). "Sound of 2020: Joy Crookes grabs fourth place". BBC. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  12. "Hit The Road Jack-Ray Charles (cover by Joy and Paulo)", YouTube, 12 April 2013, retrieved 8 January 2020
  13. 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.
  14. Darville, Jordan (10 August 2016). "Joy Crookes Plays With Fire On Trip-Soul Single "Sinatra"". The FADER. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  15. "Premiere: Joy Crookes - "Bad Feeling"". Wonderland Magazine. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  16. Murray, Robin (4 February 2016). "Introducing... Joy Crookes". Clash. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  17. "30 seconds interview: Joy Crookes". M Magazine. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  18. Williams, Pip (29 September 2016). "Joy Crookes drops video for nostalgic pop masterpiece "Sinatra"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  19. Blanchet, Benjamin (24 July 2017). "Joy Crookes Unlocks Soul, Class on 'Influence'". Respect. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  20. "Influence EP by Joy Crookes". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  21. "Joy Crookes - Mother May I Sleep With Danger? | A COLORS SHOW". COLORS Studios. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  22. Ramos, Chuck (30 November 2018). "Don't Let Me Down – [Joy Crookes]". Lyrical Lemonade. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  23. Dunn, Frankie (30 November 2018). "london singer joy crookes channels lakshmi in her new video". i-D. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  24. "Reminiscence - EP by Joy Crookes". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  25. "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 👇". Facebook. BBC Music Introducing. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  26. Kim, Soey (22 March 2019). "Meet Joy Crookes – The Singer/Songwriter Guaranteed To Steal Your Heart". British Vogue. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  27. "Vogue - @joycrookes". Instagram. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  28. Byers, Rosie (2 April 2019). "Joy Crookes on her new video for Since I Left You". Wonderland Magazine. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  29. Holdsworth, Bryony (30 April 2019). "Joy Crookes captures the beauty of diversity on "London Mine"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  30. "Radio 1's Big Weekend 2019 - Joy Crookes". BBC. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  31. Varghese, Sanjana (31 May 2019). "Joy Crookes is the south London singer-songwriter who's a born storyteller". gal-dem. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  32. Joy Crookes [confirmed account] [@joycrookes] (14 April 2019). "I'm playing feckin glastonbury" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. 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.
  34. Peters, Jo (17 September 2019). "Joy Crookes covers Kendrick's 'Yah / Element' + new autumn tour dates". WithGuitars. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  35. 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, Facebook, retrieved 5 December 2019
  36. Joshi, Tara (4 October 2019). "Five on it: Joy Crookes is low-key channelling her Irish side". gal-dem. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  37. "BBC Two - Later... with Jools Holland, Series 54, Episode 4". BBC. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  38. 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.
  39. Snapes, Laura (6 December 2019). "Soul singer Celeste named winner of Brits rising star award". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  40. Savage, Mark (12 December 2019). "Yungblud and Celeste make BBC Sound of 2020 list". BBC. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  41. Rose, Anna (10 April 2020). "Joy Crookes releases brand new single, 'Anyone But Me'". NME. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  42. "Joy Crookes Shares New Track 'Anyone But Me'". BroadwayWorld. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  43. Clark, Symphreona (24 May 2019). "Women on the Rise: 7 Acts We're Excited About". Youth Radio. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  44. "Joy Crookes (@joycrookes) • Instagram photos and videos". Instagram. @joycrookes [confirmed account]. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  45. Migowski, Max (11 July 2017). "Rising R&B-star Joy Crookes gives it all for her dream". INDIE Magazine. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  46. "Perception - EP by Joy Crookes". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  47. Singles on UK Asian Music Chart:
  48. Other songs on UK Asian Music Chart:
  49. "Vevo Reveals Its 2020 'Artists to Watch'". Variety. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  50. Paine, Andre (25 November 2019). "Amazon Music reveals Ones To Watch 2020 line-up". Music Week. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  51. Smith, Thomas (3 January 2020). "The NME 100: Essential new artists for 2020". NME. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  52. Paine, Andre (20 November 2019). "Yungblud, Aitch, Celeste make MTV Push 2020 list". Music Week. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
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