Sarah Faith Griffiths (born 21 January 2001), known professionally as Griff, is an English singer and songwriter. In 2019, she released her debut single, "Mirror Talk", through

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. This was followed by her debut extended play of the same name, released later that year. Griff was named the

Rising Star Rising Star or Rising Stars may refer to: People and characters * Rising Star, a pseudonym of the DJ Armin van Buuren * Aurvandil, the Rising Star, or Morning Star; in Germanic mythology Books * ''Rising Stars'' (comic), a comic book series by J ...

at the

2021 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2021, the 41st edition of the annual Brit Awards, was the UK's first major indoor live music event in more than a year. It was held on 11 May 2021 and celebrated the best in British and international music. Usually held in February, ...

, becoming one of the youngest winners in the category at 20. Later that year, she released her debut mixtape, ''

One Foot in Front of the Other ''One Foot in Front of the Other'' is the debut mixtape by British singer and songwriter Griff. It was released on 18 June 2021 by label Warner Records. It follows Griff's debut extended play ''The Mirror Talk'' (2019). The mixtape's lead si ...

'', to commercial success and critical acclaim.

Early life and education

Griff was born on 21 January 2001 as Sarah Faith Griffiths, and was raised in

Kings Langley, Hertfordshire Kings Langley is a village, former manor and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north-west of Westminster in the historic centre of London and to the south of the Chiltern Hills. It now forms part of the London commuter belt. The village ...

. Her father Mark is the son of Jamaican immigrants who were part of the "

Windrush generation British African-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens whose ancestry originates from the Caribbean or they are nationals of the Caribbean who reside in the UK. There are some self-identified Afr ...

", and her mother Kim is a first-generation Vietnamese migrant whose family moved to England amid the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Griff has stated that she feels "more in touch with my Chinese side". Griff's parents foster children and her experiences with the children were reflected in her song "Good Stuff". Griff stated that her earliest memory of loving music was being gifted an

iPod Shuffle The iPod Shuffle (stylized and marketed as iPod shuffle) is a discontinued digital audio player designed and formerly marketed by Apple Inc. It was the smallest model in Apple's iPod family, and was the first iPod to use flash memory. The fir ...

with the

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

album ''

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

'' (2008) downloaded to it, when she was around the age of eight. She then taught herself to record and produce music on her older brother's laptop, and used tutorials on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

to inform her on techniques. While attending

St Clement Danes School St Clement Danes School is a mixed academy school in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire. Admissions St Clement Danes is a partially selective school, providing education to students aged 11 (Year 7) through to 18 (Year 13). Most students are admitt ...

, Griff kept her musical life private, due to not knowing if her musical career would be successful, stating: "no one likes that person at school who talks about how they want to sing". After finishing her

A Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

, she told teachers that she was taking a

gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year-long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work. Gap yea ...

, rather than informing them on her music ventures. On using the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Griff, she stated: "Sarah Griffiths isn't that glamorous, I sound like I have a mortgage and 4 kids, it's very corporate". Griff's family are evangelical Christians and attended a central London branch of

Hillsong Church Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a global charismatic Christian megachurch based in Australia. The original church was established in 1983 as Hills Christian Life Centre, in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, by Brian Houston and ...

. Of her own faith, Griff has said: "I guess if you grow up with Christian parents, you get to a point where you ask: “Okay, do I actually believe or am I just going through the motions?” And from a young age I felt like it was something I actually do believe and so it’s always been something that I’ve owned."

Career

On 4 July 2019, it was announced that Griff had been signed to

. On the same day, she released her debut single "Mirror Talk", accompanied by a music video.

Annie Mac Annie Mac (born 18 July 1978), is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1, including BBC Switch and ''Future Sounds''. She also DJed in various locations, including hosting her AMP (Annie Mac Presents ...

featured the song 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, ...

under the ''New Name'' playlist. She stated that the writing process for the song took an hour. Griff described the release as a career highlight, since it was released immediately after she had finished her A Level exams. ''Billboard'' described the song as an "electrifying debut", and praised her "powerful voice and vulnerable lyrics". The next month, Griff released her follow-up single, "Didn't Break It Enough", accompanied by a music video in which the clothing worn was made by Griff herself. She released the single "Paradise" in October 2019, which was followed by the release of her debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, ''The Mirror Talk'', on 15 November 2019. In December 2019, Griff released a cover of

the Bangles The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including " Manic Monday" (1986), " Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), "Hazy Shad ...

' 1989 song "

Eternal Flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which c ...

". On 7 February 2020, Griff released the single "Good Stuff". Despite people thinking the song is about a romantic breakup, she clarified that the subject of the song is about missing children that her family fostered, since they felt like siblings. In March 2020, a song titled "

I Love You's "I Love You's" is a song by American singer Hailee Steinfeld, released on March 26, 2020, by Republic Records. The song samples " No More I Love You's" by Annie Lennox, thus David Freeman and Joseph Hughes are credited as songwriters. The song w ...

", that Griff co-wrote, was released by American singer

Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Peabody Award, and nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award. S ...

. This was followed by "Forgive Myself", a song released by Griff on 29 May 2020, described by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' as an "anthem". In July 2020, Griff was nominated by

The Ivors Academy The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests ...

for an

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

Rising Star Award, and later that month, she released the song "Say It Again". In October 2020, she was part of two collaborative songs; "1,000,000 X Better" with English band Honne, and "

Inside Out Inside Out may refer to: *Backwards (disambiguation) or inverse Books * '' Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd'', by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason * ''Inside Out'', Christian book by Larry Crabb * ''Inside Out'', novel by Barry Eisler ...

", a song with German DJ

Zedd Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German DJ, record producer, and songwriter. Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaiserslautern, G ...

. In January 2021, she released "Black Hole", which ''NME'' described as a "dark pop anthem". On 19 March 2021, Griff won the

Brit Award for Rising Star The Rising Star Award (previously Critics' Choice Award) is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards ...

and performed "Black Hole" at the 2021 ceremony. Later that day, she announced details of her debut mixtape, ''

'', which was released on 18 June 2021. Two months later, Griff followed up the mixtape with single "One Night". In October 2021, she embarked on a tour across the United Kingdom in support of her mixtape. The European tour dates originally announced for 2021 have been rescheduled to March 2022 due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

while additional shows have been added in the US and Canada, set to take place in January and February 2022. In November 2021,

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco-pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Grammy ...

announced Griff,

Tove Lo Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been called "Sweden's darkest pop export" by ''Rolling Stone.'' She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take ...

and

Angèle Angèle is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Angèle (singer) (born Angèle Van Laeken, 1995), Belgian singer * Angèle Dola Akofa Aguigah (born 1955), Togolese archaeologist * Angèle Arsenault (1943–2014), Canadian-Acadi ...

as the three supporting acts for the European dates of the

Future Nostalgia Tour The Future Nostalgia Tour was the second concert tour and first arena tour by English singer Dua Lipa, in support of her second studio album, ''Future Nostalgia'' (2020). Originally announced in December 2019 and scheduled to take place from Ap ...

scheduled between April and June 2022.

Discography

Mixtapes

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

Songwriting credits

Notes

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griff 2001 births 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers Brit Award winners English women pop singers English people of Chinese descent English people of Jamaican descent Living people Musicians from Hertfordshire Warner Records artists English Christians