Leah McFall (born 1 July 1989) is a British singer-songwriter from

Newtownabbey Newtownabbey ( ) is a large settlement north of Belfast city centre in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course, but it still forms part of the Belfast metropolitan area ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. She finished as the runner-up on the second series of 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 ...

talent series '' The Voice''.

Early life

McFall began her singing career at her local church, Glenabbey, at the age of six. She was a pupil at

Antrim Grammar School Antrim Grammar School is a co-educational grammar school in Northern Ireland. It is in County Antrim, in the North Eastern Region of the Education Authority. It is more commonly known by locals as "AGS". It has two neighbouring schools, Parkhal ...

. During her childhood she listened to

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

which was played around the family home, and influences both her vocal and song writing style. After years of gigging around

, Leah moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to attend college. After six months there, she began playing at the

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...

Career

2013: ''The Voice UK''

In 2013, McFall auditioned for the second series of '' The Voice'', where she chose to join Will's team. In the battle round, she sang against CJ Edwards. The pair duetted on the

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

song "

The Way You Make Me Feel "The Way You Make Me Feel" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on November 9, 1987, as the third single from his seventh studio album, '' Bad''. It was written and composed by Jackson and produced ...

", and McFall was chosen to proceed. In the Knockout round, will.i.am gave his Fast Pass to McFall and she performed

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American soul singer and songwriter best known for her 1974 single " Lovin' You", her five-octave vocal range, and her use of the whistle register. Born in 1947, Riperton grew ...

's "

Lovin' You "Lovin' You" is a song recorded by American singer Minnie Riperton from her second studio album, '' Perfect Angel'' (1974). It was written by Riperton and her husband, Richard Rudolph, produced by Rudolph and Stevie Wonder, and released as the ...

". In the first live show, McFall sang "

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song recorded by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 by Polydor Records as the second single from her sixth album, ''Love Tracks (Gloria Gaynor album), Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Pe ...

" by

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Fowles (born September 7, 1943), known professionally as Gloria Gaynor, is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), "I Have a Right, Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), "I Am What I Am (Broadway mus ...

. The studio version of her performance charted at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, selling 19,213 copies within a week. A week later, it rose to number 8. McFall then performed the

Fugees The Fugees () are an American hip hop group formed in South Orange, New Jersey, in 1990. The trio of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill was known for their fusion of hip hop, reggae, R&B, and funk; their socially conscious lyrics; and ...

' version of " Killing Me Softly" in the semi-final on 15 June 2013. The result was revealed that McFall had received the most public votes, and would therefore represent Team Will in the final.

Performances

2013–present: ''Weird to Wonderful'' and independent releases

In July 2013, Will.i.am revealed that he would release a new version of his single " Bang Bang" featuring McFall. On 14 July 2013, McFall made her debut performance at the

Wireless Festival ''Wireless'' Festival is an annual rap and hip-hop music festival that takes place in London, England, which is owned and managed by Live Nation Entertainment, Live Nation. Debuting in 2005, the festival's earlier years primarily featured rock an ...

alongside her mentor will.i.am. During the tour, McFall revealed she would release three music videos before her first official single and album are released. The first of these videos, "No Ordinary Love", was released on 1 February 2014. On 6 June, McFall announced the title of her first official single, "Home" featuring

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

. The single was released on 27 July 2014. On 21 July 2014, McFall announced her debut album, titled ''Weird to Wonderful'', was due to be released in October 2014, but was cancelled, and she was dropped from her record label. McFall returned in September 2016 with "Wolf Den", released independently. This was followed by the release of single "Happy Human", and the release of her EP, ''INK''. The release of the EP was preceded by the "INK Tour", which saw McFall perform at dates around the UK and Ireland. Since ''INK'', McFall has released three singles; "Somber", "White X" and "Marriage".

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

Promotional singles

Guest appearances

Music videos

Concert tours

Supporting act * Leon Jackson solo tour (2010) (supporting Leon Jackson) * #willpower Tour (2013) (supporting

) * Forestry Tour (2014) (supporting

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind ...

) Headlining act *INK tour. (2017)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McFall, Leah 1989 births British contemporary R&B singers Living people People from Newtownabbey Pop singers from Northern Ireland Women singer-songwriters from Northern Ireland 21st-century singer-songwriters from Northern Ireland The Voice UK contestants 21st-century women singers from Northern Ireland Musicians from County Antrim Capitol Records artists