Annastasia Anneve Baker (born 16 November 1988) is a British gospel singer and songwriter. She first gained notice as a contestant who progressed into the top six female contestants (14 to 24 ladies) in the 2008 edition of ''The X Factor'' series 5. In 2010 she rose to the same level in series 7. In 2013, Baker auditioned for and won the UK Gospel talent competition '' Time2shine''. On 24 December 2013, Baker launched the video to her first single release titled "First Love". This was followed on 15 June 2014 by the video for her second single release "Let Me Go". Touched by the tragedy of the

Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christianity, Christian female students and also Muslim students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School in the tow ...

in Nigeria, this was Baker's contribution to the #bringbackourgirls awareness campaign. Baker was invited to perform at Barbados Gospelfest, the Caribbean's premier Christian music and arts festival. She also completed the recording of her first album titled "You Turn" which was preview launched at London's Jazz Café to a sold-out audience on 14 September. Baker was nominated for a

MOBO Award The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Bant ...

in the "Best Gospel Act " category in September 2014.

Early life

The oldest of four siblings, Baker was born in

Mandeville, Jamaica Mandeville () is the capital and largest town in the Manchester Parish, parish of Manchester in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. In 2005, the town had an estimated population of 50,000, and including the immediate suburbs within a radius of t ...

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, but grew up in London.

Career

During her time competing on ''The X Factor'' in 2008 and 2010, Baker was mentored by

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. She rose to fame as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: The R ...

. In 2013 Baker won the '' Time2shine'' gospel talent search competition and gained access to the development focus she had always craved to best hone her craft. Baker undertook her first US tour during September 2014. As with her Jazz Cafe preview launch earlier that month, Baker performed songs from her upcoming album during this tour. Baker was the Critics Choice Award winner, 2014, of the Gospel Touch Music Awards. GTMA is an organisation that celebrates the achievement of gospel artists. Baker became a

nominee in the Best Gospel Act category for 2014. In 2015 Anastasia Baker embarked upon a multiple date UK-wide tour, including an appearance at the Copper Box Arena supporting the US Gospel artist

Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American Gospel music, gospel musician. One of the List of best-selling gospel music artists, best-selling gospel music artists, his accolades include 20 Grammy Awards. ''Variety (magazine), Var ...

, culminating in her own headline date at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire later that year. In 2022, Baker was a contestant and finalist on the ITV talent show Starstruck, impersonating and performing as

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

''You Turn'' (2015)

On 1 June 2015, Annastasia Baker released her debut album titled "You Turn". A single titled "First Love" was the lead track taken from the album and released some months in advance of this date. The album featured a duet with Sunday Best (TV series) winner Joshua Rogers who also appeared in the video for the track, filmed in Atlanta during Baker's US tour in September 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Annastasia 1988 births Living people British gospel singers Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom Musicians from London People from Mandeville, Jamaica Musicians from Manchester Parish The X Factor (British TV series) contestants 21st-century British singers