Ella Eyre is a West London fiery soul singer/songwriter. Before she thought about singing, she was a competitive swimmer. She was discovered at the BRIT school, where she studied Performing Arts & Technology. In July 2012, she signed to Warner/Chappell, a global music company. Shortly after, Eyre scored a record deal with Virgin/EMI. She is most known for being featured on Rudimental’s UK #1 single “Waiting All Night” and Naughty Boy’s “Think About It.” She released her EP titled Deeper in December in 2013. Eyre counts Hans Zimmer, Etta James and Lauryn Hill as some of her influences. Eyre was second place in BBC’s Sound of 2014, nominated for a BRIT award for Critic’s Choice and won Single of the Year for “Waiting All Night.”

Eyre’s debut album Feline, which was slow to be released, just dropped in August 2015. This debut album was delayed to give Eyre more time to develop her sound. It is well worth the wait. Eyre admits that the delay was challenging, but her fellow brit, Olly Murs, helped her find her voice. This album is described as being a “potent mix of traditional pop-soul and more contemporary styles” that capture the “fizzing dance rhythms and heightened hooks” that have become the backbone of British pop. Eyre’s powerhouse vocals are on full display in this album with its high energy and lyrics that are easy for everyone to relate to.

Her single “Together” is a celebration of electronics and clattering drums. It chronicles friends busting Eyre out of her mundane job and going on a road trip. The song is fun, and it truly aims to show it’s not about the destination but the journey while having fun with friends. This song simply reminds people to go out and enjoy life.

Eyre uses moments from her personal life for the story she portrays in the tune “If I Go.” The song creeps in with spiritual om’s that evoke the beginnings of a hymnal and truly captures the hardship of a breakup. It gives a tune to that adage “I just need space from you to breathe but will you still love me tomorrow.” The video for the “If I Go” has cool sideways camera angles and gives off vibes of M.C. Escher’s staircase painting titled “Relativity.”

Her song “Comeback” is an uplifting and powerful breakup song that clearly lays out that cheaters never prosper. In the video, it’s cathartic for Eyre to get her point across that a cheater always tries to come back into your life thinking nothing is wrong with their behavior. Eyre is here to put a stop to it with her intense vocals that start out slow, build momentum and peak at her declaration “They’re all the same, they never learn, so dig their grave, and let that (expletive) burn.”

Eyre has a way with words. She pulls elements from dance-pop, R&B and jazz that pair nicely with delicate piano chords or up-tempo drum beats. Eyre truly has a nuance that makes you want to bop your head to the beat one minute and then sway to her killer vocal runs.

Eyre stated that becoming a pop star was not her original intention. Eyre said, “I never got picked for the solos in the school choirs or school plays … so it was never something I really considered strongly.” She enjoyed doing musical theatre in school, but felt it was quite restrictive to sing the lyrics written by others. Eyre started writing her own songs because she felt she had something to say. She writes most of her songs to avoid being molded.

In all her songs, you can truly tell she cares about delivering an ingenious, creative product that uniquely showcases her voice, writing style and talent. Pick up Eyre’s debut album Feline, or listen to her EP Deeper to hear a unique fusion of soul with pop.