Jorja Smith Biography

Jorja Smith is an English singer from Walsall born in 1997. Her father was in a neo-soul group called 2nd Naicha and she has a younger brother. Her father introduced her to the piano at 8 and paid for lessons. She would later earn a scholarship to the Aldrige School for music and studied oboe as well as classical singing. After posting covers on her YouTube channel, she was scouted and began traveling to London for writing sessions with other up-and-coming artists. After she graduated, she moved there at age 18 and worked as a barista while pursuing music.

In 2016 Smith released her debut single “Blue Lights” and quickly garnered attention. Her next single, “Where Did I Go?,” caught the attention of Drake and built anticipation for her debut EP Project 11. She received great critical praise in her home country and soon found a new audience in the United States. She performed with Drake early in 2017 and was featured on two songs on his project More Life. She collaborated with Kali Uchis and Preditah before touring with Bruno Mars and was the first solo artist to win the Brit Critics’ Choice Award. 2018 was a huge year for Smith, which started with an appearance on the Black Panther soundtrack and continued with a performance at the BRIT Awards, her first televised performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and the release of her debut album Lost & Found and an accompanying tour.

Her debut album was certified Gold by the BPI and debuted at #1 on the UK R&B charts and #3 overall while coming in at #41 on the Billboard 200. Her first hit “Blue Lights” was certified Silver by BPI and charted as high as #38 on the UK charts. “On My Mind” with Preditah was certified Gold and hit #34 in the UK.

In 2019 Smith toured with collaborator Kali Uchis and released a single in the fall with Burna Boy entitled “Be Honest” as she worked on her second album. The single has been certified Silver by the BPI and charted as high as #8 on the UK charts.