Karen Harding (born 18 November 1991) is an English singer and songwriter from Consett, County Durham. Her first single, " Say Something", released in February 2015, entered the top 10 of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Early life

Born to an English father and

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

mother, Harding grew up in Consett and attended Moorside Community Technology College. She used to work at her parents' oriental food store and, in 2008, won a regional music competition called Music Means Life. One of her first recordings was a cover version of the anti-racism song " Strange Fruit", made famous by

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

. She is a supporter of Newcastle United.

Music career

In 2010, she competed on the television programme '' Eurovision: Your Country Needs You'', the national final deciding who would represent the United Kingdom in that year's Eurovision Song Contest. She was eliminated in the penultimate round after singing Kylie Minogue's " What Do I Have to Do". Harding was a contestant on the tenth series of the television singing competition ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'', but was eliminated at the boot camp stage during the controversial six-chair challenge. Following ''The X Factor'', Harding was approached by the producer

MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK (, ), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Award, and has received the ASCAP Vangua ...

, who had seen a video she uploaded onto the Internet of her covering

Disclosure Disclosure may refer to: Arts and media * ''Disclosure'' (The Gathering album), 2012 *Disclosure (band), a UK-based garage/electronic duo * ''Disclosure'' (novel), 1994 novel written by Michael Crichton ** ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American ...

's "

Latch A latch or catch (called sneck in Northern England and Scotland) is a type of mechanical fastener that joins two (or more) objects or surfaces while allowing for their regular separation. A latch typically engages another piece of hardware on t ...

". She was subsequently signed by Disclosure's record label, Method Records. Her first single, the MNEK-produced "Say Something", was released in January 2015 by Method and Capitol Records and attracted notice from '' Fact'' magazine, ''MuuMuse'', '' Noisey'' and '' The Singles Jukebox''. "Say Something" entered the

and peaked at number seven, with frequent airplay on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

and its sister station,

1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been co ...

. It spent 26 weeks on the official charts and achieved platinum status. Harding has worked with producers and songwriters such as Tom Aspaul, CocknBullKid,

Mark J. Feist Mark J. Feist (born in Melbourne) is a multi-platinum producer/songwriter who has contributed to the sale of over 25 million records worldwide. Feist currently resides in Los Angeles. Early age Mark Feist began expressing himself musically a ...

, Rodney Jerkins,

Jimmy Napes James Napier (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Jimmy Napes, is an English songwriter and record producer. He has won a number of awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, 3 Grammy Awards, and 2 Ivor Novello Award ...

and Richard Stannard. She is featured on the house duo Arches' single "New Love", released in April 2015, and on Blonde's single "Feel Good (It's Alright)", released in August 2015. Harding played at several festivals during mid-2015, including Birmingham Pride, Ibiza Rocks, Lovebox,

Manchester Pride Manchester Pride is a leading charity that campaigns for LGBTQ+ equality across the United Kingdom, predominantly in Greater Manchester. The Charity offers dialogue, training, research and policy analysis, advocacy and outreach activities focus ...

and

Parklife ''Parklife'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 25 April 1994 on Food Records. After disappointing sales for their previous album '' Modern Life Is Rubbish'' (1993), ''Parklife'' returned Blur to prominence i ...

. Harding's influences include female solo artists such as Mariah Carey,

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

, Janet Jackson and

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

, as well as dance and

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

acts

Artful Dodger Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist''. The Dodger is a pickpocket, so called for his skill and cunning in that occupation. He is the leader of the gang of child criminal ...

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ''Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, after which he has re ...

and Madison Avenue. She has also cited house music of the 1990s as an influence. In May 2016, Harding was selected to perform the English national anthem at the

2016 FA Cup Final The 2016 FA Cup Final was an association football match between Crystal Palace and Manchester United on 21 May 2016 at Wembley Stadium in London, England, organised by the Football Association (FA). It marked the 135th final of the Footbal ...

. However, she missed her cue, and only managed to join in with the crowd for the last few lines.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Songwriting credits

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Karen 1991 births Living people Capitol Records artists English dance musicians English house musicians English people of Filipino descent British contemporary R&B singers Musicians from County Durham People from Consett The X Factor (British TV series) contestants Filipino British musicians 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers