Alewya Demmisse, known artistically as Alewya (pronounced ah-leh-wee-yah), is a British singer-songwriter, producer, multidisciplinary artist, and model.

Biography

Demmisse was born in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

to a Sudanese-raised

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

father and an

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

mother. She was brought up in Sudan before her family relocated to the UK as refugees when she was five and then grew up in

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

. She is heavily influenced by her African and

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

roots. Her name means "the highest" in

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

. She released her debut single "Sweating" in mid-2020. The song was produced by UK and Ghana-based production duo Busy Twist and was mixed and mastered by

Shy FX Andre Williams, better known as Shy FX, is a British DJ and producer from London. He specialises in drum and bass and jungle music. Biography Shy FX's debut record was "Jungle Love", released in 1992 on the Permission to Dance label. Soon after ...

. The video accompanying the song includes some of her visual art and was directed by Jack Bowden. She later made a guest appearance in

Little Simz Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born 23 February 1994), better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British Rapping, rapper and Acting, actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums: ''A Cur ...

's track "Where's My Lighter". British entertainment website

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

included Demmisse in its fifth edition of "The NME 100: Essential emerging artists for 2021" selection. The artist's second single, "The Code", was released on 17 March. It is a collaborative record with British drummer, producer and composer Moses Boyd, who also stars in the song's live performance video. In the summer of 2021, she supported rapper Little Simz on a tour across the UK. Demmisse is also a sculptor and illustrator. In March 2021, she starred in ''Tall Are the Roots'', a short film directed by Fenn O'Meally for Byredo. In November 2021, Demisse performed "Ethiopia", a track from her EP ''Panther in Mode'' on ''

A Colors Show ColorsxStudios GmbH (formerly Colors Media UG), commonly known as Colors (stylized in all caps), is a German music performance platform that aims at introducing and showcasing emerging artist talent in the form of videos with minimalist aestheti ...

''.

Modelling

While dancing on the set of the film ''Kids in Love'', she was discovered by

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014, and List of award ...

, who got Demisse to sign with her modelling agency. At the time, Demisse had been accepted into King's College to study maths and philosophy and was working as a waitress and as a marketing assistant before the semester started. She was introduced and presented as "new model obsession" by ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' in September 2014, and at that time her agencies were

Women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

in New York and

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

in London. She walked the

DKNY DKNY is a New York City–based American fashion house for men and women, founded in 1984 by Donna Karan. The company specializes in a wide range of fashion products, including clothing, footwear, accessories and fragrances. A major misconcepti ...

runway at

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is a series of international fashion weeks sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, a brand of Daimler AG. Designers featured during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Weeks include notable designers such as Rosenthal Tee, Mary Katrantzou and Davi ...

Spring 2015 in September 2014.

Discography

EPs

* ''Panther in Mode'' (2021)

Singles

* "Sweating" (2020) * "The Code" (2021) * "Jagna" (2021) * "Sprit_X" (2021) * "Play" (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alewya British women singer-songwriters British models Living people British people of Ethiopian descent British people of Egyptian descent Sudanese emigrants to the United Kingdom Elite Model Management models Aboah family Year of birth missing (living people)