Jade Williams (born 21 May 1988 in
Sidcup
Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...
, Greater London, England)
professionally known as Whinnie Williams, is a British independent pop singer, interior designer and presenter. She founded interiors brand Poodle & Blonde in 2018 and is host for
BBC 3
BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...
show ''Flat Out Fabulous'' since 2020.
Williams grew up in
Broxbourne
Broxbourne is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, England, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It is located to the south of Hoddesdon and to the north of Cheshunt, north of London. ...
.
During her early teenage years, Williams was employed at a local pet shop where she worked every Sunday. Having not revealed her name to the other members of staff, Williams became known as ''Sunday Girl'', which would later become her music alias. Growing up, Williams was always shy when it came to performing and singing in front of people, so her mother took her to see a hypnotist when she was 17, and it helped her to overcome the fear.
With her fear of performing gone, Williams joined many cover bands including a ska band, a jazz band, and a trio who did covers of '40s blues standards with a ukulele and double bass. Williams completed an Art Foundations course at University and studied set design at
Wimbledon College of Art
Wimbledon College of Arts, formerly Wimbledon School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college specialises in theatre, screen and performance arts and design ...
, but took a gap year during her studies to travel and, more importantly, focus on songwriting, as she was getting bored with only singing covers of other artists songs. During the gap year, she was discovered by a manager one night while singing in a night club, and he helped direct her to work with other songwriters, which led to her eventual signing with
Polydor Records
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
and Universal's
Geffen Records
Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...
in late 2009.
Career
Music
Prior to her renderings of songs for the supermarket chain
Aldi
Aldi (German pronunciation: ), stylised as ALDI, is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and ...
, Williams released her debut single as Sunday Girl, "Four Floors", through
Polydor Records
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
on 28 March 2010. A music video directed by Elisha Smith-Leverock was also released to accompany the release of the single. On 15 July 2010, she released her second single, "Self Control", a cover of the 1984
Raf song popularized worldwide by
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single " Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for a female artist, peaking a ...
. A music video, again directed by Smith-Leverock, was released to accompany the single release.
She supported
Ellie Goulding
Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single " Under the Sheets" through ...
on tour during November 2010,
and played her first headlining show at London's XOYO on 15 December 2010. Her third single, "Stop Hey," was officially released through iTunes by Polydor in February 2011. She wrote and produced the song (along many others from her yet-to-be-released album) with
Jim Eliot
Jim Eliot is an English songwriter, record producer and singer from London. He has written and produced for artists including Foxes, Ellie Goulding, Will Young, Kylie Minogue, Rae Morris and Olly Murs.
Eliot (synthesizer, vocals) is also a me ...
, who has also worked with
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
,
Ladyhawke, and
Ellie Goulding
Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single " Under the Sheets" through ...
. A music video for "Stop Hey" was directed by Smith-Leverock, and themes for the video came from superstitions about bad luck. In June 2011, Williams was featured on
Martin Solveig
Martin Laurent Picandet (; born 22 September 1976), better known by his stage name Martin Solveig (), is a French DJ, singer, songwriter and record producer. He hosts a weekly radio show called ''C'est La Vie'' on radio stations worldwide, incl ...
's album
Smash, performing "Let's Not Play Games," which she co-wrote. Her cover of "Love U More", originally by
Sunscreem
Sunscreem are a techno/house music band from Essex, England that scored a number of hits on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century. Sunscreem also has the rare reputation as a techno-based band th ...
, was promotionally released along with its accompanying video in October 2011, but its commercial release was delayed indefinitely. That November, she also went on tour to support
LMFAO
LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off) was an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu (rapper), Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy Leiviska. Sky Blu ...
on a few of their UK dates. Williams then recorded a cover of
Pixies Pixies may refer to:
* Plural of Pixie
* Pixies (band)
The Pixies are an American alternative rock band from Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986 by Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim ...
' "
Where Is My Mind?" for
Thomson Thomson may refer to:
Names
* Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin
* Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson
Businesses and organizations
* SGS-Thomson M ...
's 2011 holiday TV campaign, and the single's success helped her to be signed by Universal's
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
in early 2012.
Williams became one-half of DJ duo ''Ooh La La!'' in February 2012 with model Zara Martin . The pair have since streamed mixes 90s Hip Hop, R&B and Pop at night clubs and fashion parties in London and other cities in the UK. In March 2012, she co-wrote a song titled "Turn Up the Radio" for
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
's twelfth studio album ''
MDNA''. Furthermore, she released "High & Low" from the official motion picture soundtrack of ''
StreetDance 2''. In February 2013, Williams announced the end of the Sunday Girl project, and released her first single and music video under the moniker of Whinnie Williams, "You Don't Love Me", in early 2013, later followed by "Break Hearts in Your Sleep". Both of these singles were released free via Williams'
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...
page, as was her first mixtape, ''Mix Tape Vol 1'', released in December 2013.
Fashion
Fashion has been a huge part of Jade Williams' career alongside her passion for music. Her first role as a model came in October 2010 when she became the new face of River Island's Design Forum campaign. She has a fashion blog/vlog on MSN Life & Style, puts together all of her tour outfits and stage design,
and even put out her own fashion line with Firetrap in September 2011. Williams cites her fashion icons as
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...
and
Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Otto Lagerfeld also called Kaiser Karl (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, photographer, and creative director.
Lagerfeld began his career in fashion in the 1950s, working for several top fashion hous ...
, and describes her own style to be masculine, tailored, and tom-boyish.
In 2011, a portrait of Williams was painted by British artist
Joe Simpson, the painting was exhibited around the UK including a solo exhibition at
The Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
.
[Emily Wadswort]
Williams on being Mark Ronson’s DJ, nerves and Coco Chanel"
''LOOK'',February 4, 2016
Discography
Extended plays
Mixtapes
Singles
Featured singles
Promotional singles
Guest appearances
a Released under the Sunday Girl moniker.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jade
1988 births
Living people
English women pop singers
English women singer-songwriters
English singer-songwriters
People from Broxbourne
People from Sidcup
Singers from the London Borough of Bexley
Musicians from Hertfordshire
21st-century English women singers
21st-century English singers
Island Records artists
Polydor Records artists