CeCe Sammy-Lightfoot (born 30 May 1977) is a British

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

and performance coach,

singer-songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk- acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has ...

and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

. She has appeared on various television shows, including ''

S Club Search ''S Club Search'' was a CBBC reality television show that documents the audition process and formation for the pop group S Club 8, S Club Juniors in 2001. The original concept was that the children would perform at Wembley as a support act to S C ...

'' (2001), ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

'' (2001–2003), ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'' (2002–present) '' The X Factor: Battle of the Stars'' (2006), '' Just the Two of Us'' (2006-2007), '' The Choir'' (2006-2016), ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

'' (2006-present), ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing reality competition television series. Created by John de Mol and Roel van Velzen, it premiered on BBC One on 24 March 2012. Based on the original Dutch singing competition '' The Voice of Holland'', and ...

'' (2012–present) and '' Get Your Act Together'' (2015). She was the chairperson of the British jury for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2016 The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Heroes (Måns Zelmerlöw song), Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw. Organis ...

, and was a judge the following year for Eurovision: You Decide 2017. For

Eurovision 2023 The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, as , the winner of the with the song "Stefania (song), Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to host the eve ...

, she was a panellist on the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

countdown show ''Everyone's a Winner''.

Career

1990s and 2000s: Early career

Sammy is a graduate of the

London College of Music London College of Music (LCM) is a music school in London, England. It is one of eight separate schools that make up the University of West London. History LCM was founded in 1887 and existed as an independent music conservatoire based at ...

, and is a classically trained pianist. Her classical training led her to coach charting acts from the United Kingdom, including

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a British singer-songwriter, actress, and television presenter from Cardiff, Wales. As a child, Church was a popular classical singer with a less-successful attempt to mov ...

S Club 7 S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, are a British pop group formed in 1998 by Simon Fuller after he was fired as manager of the Spice Girls. Original members were Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, Ha ...

and

S Club Juniors S, or s, is the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and other latin alphabets worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. ...

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is an English singer, songwriter and actor. He came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Ido ...

and

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...

. Prior to coaching, Sammy began her career as a backing singer, touring with the likes of

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

and

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...

. She was also a member of the United Colours of Sound with vocal coach partner John Modi and celebrity vocal coaches

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and Carrie Grant. She has sung at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

and

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

, as well as recording several theme tunes for ITV,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

and

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

, including the official

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

song "Swing Low" with

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...

, before going on to become a

vocal coach A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (though this term often applies to those working with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano accompanist, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often al ...

to a roster of celebrity clients, such as

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

and

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

. Sammy appeared on the television series ''

'' as a vocal coach, and was a judge on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's celebrity duet show '' Just the Two of Us'' in 2006 and 2007 along with

Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the British rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with the Polic ...

and

Tito Jackson Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson (October 15, 1953 – September 15, 2024) was an American musician. He was a founding member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons), a group who rose to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s with the Motown la ...

. She appeared in the

TV documentary ''Be My Baby - The Girl Group Story'' which aired in August 2006. The show covered the history of girl groups, focusing specifically on

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

The Three Degrees The Three Degrees are an American female vocal group formed circa 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although 12 women have been members over the years, the group has always been a trio. The current line-up consists of Helen Scott, Valerie Ho ...

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge was an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consists of sisters Joni, Kim, Debbie, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. I ...

Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...

The Bangles The Bangles are an American all-female band, all-female pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 1981. They are known for hit singles during the 1980s that made them one of the most successful pop rock groups of the decade. The band’s biggest ...

and the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...

. In 2007 Sammy was a judge on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

's Choir of the Year competition. She was one of

Bruno Tonioli Bruno Tonioli (; born 25 November 1955) is a British-Italian television personality, choreographer and dancer. He has judged on the British television talent shows ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (2004–2019), ''DanceX'' (2007) and ''Britain's Got Ta ...

's panellists on

's ''

DanceX ''DanceX'' was a reality television show produced in the UK for BBC One in 2007. It was a live show in which two teams of male and female dancers competed to form a new dance group. Team Bruno won the show on 25 August. Presenter and team leader ...

''. She made a guest appearance on ITV's ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

'' in early 2009, where she was seen helping one of the groups that were selected to skate and sing at the same time. She has also appeared as a guest on television and in documentaries, including ''

The Wright Stuff ''The Wright Stuff'' is a British television chat show which was hosted by former tabloid journalist Matthew Wright from 2000 until 2018. It aired on Channel 5 on weekday mornings from 9:15 to 11:15am. The series characterised itself as "Br ...

'',

GMTV GMTV (an initialism for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ''ITV Breakfast, ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited'', was the name of the national ITV (TV network), ITV breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the Uni ...

, ''

BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is a British television breakfast news programme, produced by BBC News and broadcast on BBC One every morning from 6:00am. It is also broadcast on the UK feed of BBC News channel on weekends. The simulcast is presented live, ...

'', '' Let Me Entertain You'', and '' The Xtra Factor''.

2010s: Celebrity vocal coach, ''American Idol'' and ''America's Got Talent''

In 2010, Sammy founded an artist development and music management company with artist manager

Frank DiLeo Frank Michael DiLeo (October 23, 1947 – August 24, 2011) was an American music industry executive and actor, known for his portrayal of gangster Tuddy Cicero in Martin Scorsese's '' Goodfellas''. From 1984 to 1989, and again in 2009, he was Mi ...

. CCA Entertainment operates between London and Los Angeles. In 2014 and 2015, Sammy appeared as head

and judge on the second and third seasons of

Endemol Endemol B.V. (stylized in all lowercase) was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted gen ...

's ''

Your Face Sounds Familiar ''Your Face Sounds Familiar'' ( Spanish: ''Tu cara me suena'') is a Spanish interactive reality television franchise series where celebrity contestants impersonate singers. The format, similar to Dutch television series '' Soundmixshow'', was ...

'' Georgia. She reprised the role as vocal judge for a select number of episodes during the fourth season, which started in May 2015. In 2015, Sammy worked as a vocal coach on the new ITV series '' Get Your Act Together''. She has been a regular talent consultant for

and

. She also was the official vocal coach for 2015

Dubai Music Week The Dubai Music Week is a five-day music convention held at the Dubai International Convention Centre in Dubai during mid-September. The convention features a variety of concerts, conferences, and exhibitions. The event was established in 2013 by t ...

. In 2017, Sammy worked with manufacturer VTech to launch the Kidi Super Star, a

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...

microphone and stand which reduces the vocals on any song. The system features coaching from Sammy. In 2018, she worked as a vocal coach on two films, the

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...

-directed ''

Yardie Yardie (or Yaadi/Yawdie) is a term often used, particularly within the Caribbean expatriate and Jamaican diaspora, to refer to people of Jamaican origin; however, its exact meaning changes depending on context. The term is derived from the Jama ...

'' and

Gurinder Chadha Gurinder Kaur Chadha, (born 10 January 1960) is a Kenyan-born British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. The common theme in her work showcases the trials of Indian women residing ...

's ''

Blinded by the Light "Blinded by the Light" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on his 1973 debut album ''Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' A cover by British rock band Manfred Mann's Earth Band reached number one on the Billb ...

''. In February 2019, Sammy released her debut book, ''If You Can Speak You Can Sing'', through Eyewear Publishing. Also in 2019, BBC launched the "Bring the Noise" campaign, for which Sammy was a BBC Ambassador and gave her top tips for teaching singing to primary school children and teachers.

2020s: Masterclass

In February 2022, Sammy launched and created a short, free Masterclass series online called "Hack Your Voice" to support interviews, during which she shares some of the key lessons she learned as a professional vocal coach.

Personal life

Sammy was born in

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

, Trinidad and Tobago, home of the biggest carnival in the Caribbean. She grew up obsessed with Soca music until, one day, she spotted flamboyant piano impresario Liberace on the TV, which inspired her to learn to play the piano. She married Charles Lightfoot. Sammy has two children, her biological daughter Isabella and the stepson of her husband, Tristan.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sammy, Cece British vocal coaches Living people 1977 births