Celeste

About

Also known as: Celeste Epiphany Waite, Celeste Waite, Celeste Epiphany Waite, Celeste Waite

Not many artists can say their debut album went straight to number one, but Celeste pulled it off with Not Your Muse in 2021, a record that also landed her nominations for Album of the Year, Best Female Solo Artist and Best New Artist at the Brit Awards, plus a shot at the Mercury Prize. Her sound sits somewhere in the overlap of soul, jazz and contemporary R&B, drawing comparisons to Billie Holiday, and she carries a vocal presence that feels both vintage and completely her own. Before all that, she was quietly building a following by lending her voice to tracks by Avicii and Tieks, uploading to SoundCloud, and doing a residency at a small London venue where Riz Ahmed, Idris Elba and Spike Lee all turned up. Her first proper solo release came through Lily Allen's label Bank Holiday Records, and she signed with Polydor in 2018. In 2019 she topped the BBC Sound of... poll and took home the Rising Star Award at the Brits. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for co writing "Hear My Voice" from The Trial of the Chicago 7.