Edei (born Emma Deigman) is an English singer-songwriter and actress.
Music career
Edei's musical career began when she made her West End debut in Les Misérables, at aged seven, playing the young Eponine in the show's record-breaking opening run, before she went on performing at the Royal Variety Performance Show for ''
Annie'', when she was 10 years old. She also performed "
Hard Knock Life" alongside
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
on ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
''.
For the next few years she wrote to producers, seeking a solo career.
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
also played a significant role on her career, whom Edei said helped her break the States. She had the opportunity to perform in front of large crowds, and she began to receive offers to become a part of girl groups and audition for talent shows such as ''
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'' (2001–200 ...
''. However, she was determined to become a successful solo artist on her own, with her own music.
When she toured the UK as a supporting artist to
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British-Irish pop music, pop girl group that was created through the ITV (TV network), ITV talent show ''Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl (singer), Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, N ...
in 2009, Edei was using her birth, Emma Deigman.
Her debut single "In My Bed" was released through Alma Recordings on 12 July 2010, and the follow-up "Loved" was released on 16 January 2011 after much support from
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
(including a record of the week from
Ken Bruce
Kenneth Robertson Bruce (born 2 February 1951) is a Scottish radio and television presenter. He hosted a weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 between 1986 and 1990, then again from 1992 to 2023. Since April 2023, he has presented the same s ...
) and a nationwide tour with
JLS
JLS (initialism for Jack the Lad Swing) are a British boy band consisting of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill; Williams formed the band. They initially signed with Tracklacers production company New Tr ...
.
Edei's debut album was written with Boston-born, Dublin-based producer Misreid and singer-songwriter
Conner Reeves
Conner Reeves (born 8 April 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known for his 1997 album ''Earthbound'' which was released on Colin Lester's and Ian McAndrew's Wildstar label.
Reeves scored five consecutive Top 40 singles i ...
(whose writing credits include songs for
Joss Stone
Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...
,
Ava Leigh
Hayley Carline (born 22 November 1985), better known as Ava Leigh, is an English reggae singer.
Career
Leigh's career first began when she started performing with her school's jazz band. In her "mid teens" she acquired a manager, and tried o ...
and
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 ...
). Edei was not known as a celebrity in the US until 2015. She has been performing and acting in plays and playing small glitzy clubs, mostly for charity, and has donated her time and talent volunteering her services for charitable organizations.
Acting
Edei attended the Jackie Palmer Stage School and Hurtwood House School.
Edei first appeared as young saffron in
Fay Weldon's adaptation novel of Big Women. In the 2001 film
''Last Orders'', She and her sister Laura, was both playing the role of Sally,
Edei playing the 10-year-old and Laura the 5-year-old Sally. She later appeared in a 2002 drama series
Daniel Deronda
''Daniel Deronda'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans, first published in eight parts (books) February to September 1876. It was the last novel she completed and the only one set in the Victorian society of ...
. Edei is also known for her acting credits, especially in the U.K.
Personal life
Edei was born as Emma Deigman in Buckinghamshire, UK. Edei's mother, Vicky, is a former casting agent who produced
''Wild Bill'', and her late father Patrick, who died in 2019, was a property developer, came from
Helensburgh
Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996.
Histo ...
. She grew up in
Great Missenden
Great Missenden is a village and civil parish in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover. It adjoins the village of Little Kingshill, and is a mile from Lit ...
,
[ and has three siblings, of whom the youngest is a tennis player, who played in the 2011 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Singles.
Edei attended a boarding school in ]Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the River Bulbourne, Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which ...
, but left when her father got cancer to help look after her younger brother and sister.
References
{{Authority control
Living people
English women songwriters
People from Great Missenden
1988 births