Leah McFall
Leah McFall (born 1 July 1989) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter.[3] She rose to fame after finishing as runner-up on the second series of the BBC talent series The Voice.
Leah McFall | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 July 1989 Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland[1] |
| Genres | R&B, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Independent[2] |
| Associated acts | will.i.am |
Early life
McFall began her singing career at her local church, Glenabbey, at the age of six.[4] She was a pupil at Antrim Grammar School.[4] During her childhood she listened to Motown, jazz, gospel, folk and pop music which was played around the family home, and influences both her vocal and song writing style.[5] After years of gigging around Northern Ireland, Leah moved to London to attend college.[6] After six months there, she began playing at the Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.[6]
Career
2010: Supporting Leon Jackson
In 2010, McFall opened for Leon Jackson on tour, where she performed a number of songs from her EP.
2013: The Voice UK
In 2013, McFall auditioned for the second series of The Voice, where she chose to join Will's team.[7] In the battle round, she sang against CJ Edwards. The pair duetted on the Michael Jackson song "The Way You Make Me Feel", and McFall was chosen to proceed. In the Knockout round, will.i.am gave his Fast Pass to McFall and she performed Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You".[8] In the first live show, McFall sang "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor. The studio version of her performance charted at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, selling 19,213 copies within a week.[9][10][11] A week later, it rose to number 8. McFall then performed the Fugees' version of "Killing Me Softly" in the semi-final on 15 June 2013.[12] The result was revealed that McFall had received the most public votes, and would therefore represent Team Will in the final.[13]
Performances
| Performed | Song | Original Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blind Audition | "R.I.P" | Rita Ora | Joined Team Will |
| Battle Rounds | "The Way You Make Me Feel" (against CJ Edwards) | Michael Jackson | Winner |
| Knockout rounds | "Lovin' You" | Minnie Riperton | Fast pass |
| Quarter-final | "I Will Survive" | Gloria Gaynor | Fast pass |
| Semi-final | "Rapture" (as part of Team Will) | Blondie | Safe |
| "Killing Me Softly" | Fugees | ||
| "I Will Wait" (as part of The Voice UK Semi-finalists) | Mumford & Sons | ||
| Final | "I Will Always Love You" | Whitney Houston | Safe |
| "Bang Bang" (mentor duet with will.i.am) | will.i.am | ||
| "Lovin' You" (as favourite performance) | Minnie Riperton | Runner-up |
2013–present: Weird to Wonderful and independent releases
In July 2013, Will.i.am revealed that he would release a new version of his single "Bang Bang" featuring McFall.[14] On 14 July 2013, McFall made her debut performance at the Wireless Festival alongside her mentor will.i.am.[15] During the tour, McFall revealed she would release three music videos before her first official single and album are released. The first of these videos, "No Ordinary Love", was released on 1 February 2014.[16] On 6 June, McFall announced the title of her first official single, "Home" featuring will.i.am.[17] The single was released on 27 July 2014.[18] On 21 July 2014, McFall announced her debut album, titled Weird to Wonderful, was due to be released in October 2014,[19] but was cancelled, and she was dropped from her record label.
McFall returned in September 2016 with "Wolf Den", released independently. This was followed by the release of single "Happy Human", and the release of her EP, INK. The release of the EP was preceded by the "INK Tour", which saw McFall perform at dates around the UK and Ireland.
Since INK, McFall has released three singles; "Somber", "White X" and "Marriage".
Discography
Studio albums
| Album title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK | ||
| Weird to Wonderful |
|
N/A |
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Frills and Fur |
|
| Ink |
|
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [22] |
SCO [23] | |||
| "Home" (featuring will.i.am)[17] |
2014 | 56 | 47 | Non-album single |
| "Wolf Den" | 2016 | — | — | Ink |
| "Happy Human" | 2017 | — | — | |
| "Somber" | 2018 | — | — | TBA |
| "White X" | — | — | ||
| "Marriage" | 2019 | — | — | |
| "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. | ||||
Promotional singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [22] |
IRE [24] |
SCO [23] | |||||||||||
| "I Will Survive" | 2013 | 8 | 39 | 13 | Non-album singles | ||||||||
| "Killing Me Softly" | 36 | — | 53 | ||||||||||
| "I Will Always Love You" | 43 | — | 48 | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. | |||||||||||||
Guest appearances
| Single | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Bang Bang"[25] (will.i.am featuring Leah McFall) |
2013 | Now That's What I Call Music! 86 |
| "Spiritual Warfare"[26] (Ghetts featuring Leah McFall & Jordy) |
2018 | Ghetto Gospel: The New Testament |
Music videos
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "No Ordinary Love" | 2014 | noMSG |
| "Home" | Elisha Smith-Leverock[27] | |
| "Happy Human" | 2017 | |
Concert tours
|
Supporting act
Headlining act
References
External links
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