Mahalia

Mahalia simultaneously builds on the legacies of British soul and American neo-soul with finely rendered material full of deeply introspective and relatable insights. The singer/songwriter made her recorded debut in her early teens, by which point she had already attracted major-label interest. She launched her career with the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Asylum%22">Asylum</a> label, where she issued the albums Diary of Me (2016) and the considerably more individualistic Love and Compromise (2019), the latter a Top 30 album in her native U.K. Since releasing the Isolation Tapes EP (2020), Mahalia has moved to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Warner+Music%22">Warner Music</a>, the outlet for the Letter to Ur Ex EP (2022) and the airy and frank album IRL (2023). The Take a Daytrip collaboration "Life Size" appeared in 2024.

A native of Leicestershire, Mahalia Burkmar is the daughter of musicians -- her mother was in <a href="spotify:artist:0uAnwMXg0tsGQsOdVwudkb">Colourbox</a> circa the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%224AD%22">4AD</a> group's 1982 debut, and her father toured with <a href="spotify:artist:0z5DFXmhT4ZNzWElsM7V89">Erasure</a> -- and started writing songs and playing the guitar as a preteen. Burkmar drew the interest of major record labels by the age of 13 and released her first collection, the independent Head Space EP, in mid-2012. After taking some time to finish school and hone her sound, Mahalia re-emerged in 2015 on <a href="spotify:artist:4WN5naL3ofxrVBgFpguzKo">Rudimental</a>'s single "We the Generation" and performed with the group on Later...With Jools Holland. Her second EP, Never Change, followed that December and was her debut for major-label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Asylum%22">Asylum</a>.

In 2016, Burkmar had an acting role in the U.K. crime film Brotherhood and released her first full-length project, Diary of Me. She followed it in 2017 with appearances on festival stages in the U.K. and a series of collaborative singles, including "Hold On" featuring <a href="spotify:artist:6PDLwWvgYNMfBRLqC1h5cJ">Buddy</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:3w18CP1k8zFZb1GfRlPHyK">Maths Time Joy</a>-produced "No Pressure," and in early 2018, "Proud of Me" featuring <a href="spotify:artist:6eXZu6O7nAUA5z6vLV8NKI">Little Simz</a>. Following the singles "No Reply," "Water," and "I Wish I Missed My Ex," Mahalia issued the five-song Seasons EP in late 2018. "Do Not Disturb" and "Grateful," along with the number 46 U.K. hit "Simmer," followed in early to mid-2019, before the release of her debut album, Love and Compromise, that July. Featuring production from <a href="spotify:artist:5BozIJTTNCufaZpjhy2der">DJ Dahi</a> and Sounwave, the LP matched Mahalia's buttery vocals with a shifting set of romance-led lyrics and peaked on the U.K. album chart at number 28.

In 2020, Mahalia was featured beside <a href="spotify:artist:7c0XG5cIJTrrAgEC3ULPiq">Ty Dolla $ign</a> on <a href="spotify:artist:0QWrMNukfcVOmgEU0FEDyD">Jacob Collier</a>'s "All I Need" and released Isolation Tapes, a three-track EP. She kicked off 2021 with the <a href="spotify:artist:2OaHYHb2XcFPvqL3VsyPzU">Rico Nasty</a> collaboration "Jealous" and later teamed up with <a href="spotify:artist:4Xi6LSfFqv26XgP9NKN26U">AJ Tracey</a> for the buoyant "Roadside." A fifth EP, Letter to Ur Ex, arrived in May 2022. A year later, "Terms and Conditions" was released as the lead single from Mahalia's next full-length, which arrived in the following July under the title IRL. The album's appeal to a wider group of listeners was reflected in a mix of guest collaborators who ranged from <a href="spotify:artist:5xuNBZoM7z1Vv8IQ6uM0p6">JoJo</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:24Cf1irKt7kcewb9OOkPum">Joyce Wrice</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:2SrSdSvpminqmStGELCSNd">Stormzy</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1HMhQzj2QXxR40zGDdaK6y">Kojey Radical</a>. Mahalia collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:4rDcfb3TEWyx0BKdzKG24I">Jaz Karis</a> on 2024's "Nice Girls," then released "Life Size" featuring Take a Daytrip. ~ Marcy Donelson & Andy Kellman, Rovi