# Mahalia (singer)

Mahalia Burkmar (born 1 May 1998), known mononymously as Mahalia, is a British singer, songwriter and actress. Mahalia has released several EPs and three albums, Diary of Me (2016), Love and Compromise (2019) and IRL (2023). She also acted in the film Brotherhood (2016). She had her breakthrough in 2017 with her performance of "Sober" for the YouTube channel Colors. In 2018, she was ranked number one on YouTube's Ones to Watch list.

## Life and career

Mahalia is from Syston, Charnwood, in Leicestershire. She was born to musician parents. Her father is British-Irish and her mother is Jamaican (Debbion Curry, the first singer of English band Colourbox, in 1982–1983). Mahalia has described the town she grew up in as a predominantly white area with "a lot of racism". She has two brothers.
She attended Roundhill Community College until she signed a record deal at age 13, when she transferred to a performing arts school, Birmingham Ormiston Academy, where she took acting classes. Mahalia further expanded her actor training at Urban Young Actors, Leicester.
As a child, she would often spend her summer breaks at home writing music—she wrote her first song at age eight and signed a deal with Asylum Records at age 13. She performed live for the first time aged "eleven, or maybe 12" at an open mic. She released her debut EP, Head Space, in 2012. Mahalia was later introduced to Ed Sheeran, who she went on to perform as a supporting act for, duetting with him on his song "Gold Rush". She supported Sheeran and Emeli Sandé in their 2014 UK tours. She sang on the title track of UK No. 1 album We the Generation by Rudimental in 2015.
In 2019, Mahalia was featured on BBC Radio 1's Brit List. Her album Love and Compromise was released and marketed as her debut album. The album concept was influenced by an interview with Eartha Kitt, which Mahalia's mother showed her when she was a child. Mahalia won Best Female Act and Best R&B/Soul Act at the 2020 MOBO Awards.
In 2021, she released "Jealous", a collaboration with American rapper Rico Nasty. She was nominated for her first Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Mahalia was included in the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
In 2022, Mahalia was among the performers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. She was also one of the opening acts in the all-female lineup at Adele's British Summer Time concerts in London's Hyde Park.
In 2023, Mahalia released her second studio album, titled IRL. In support of the album, she toured Europe, North America, and Australia.

## Influences

Mahalia has listed Corinne Bailey Rae, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Jill Scott, India Arie, Ed Sheeran, and Kate Nash among her musical influences.

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details :
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Details | UK | UK R&B | SCO | US Heat. |
| Love and Compromise | Released: 6 September 2019 Label: Asylum Format: CD, digital download, streaming | 28 | 3 | — | 23 |
| IRL | Released: 14 July 2023 Label: Warner Music UK Format: CD, digital download, streaming | 31 | 2 | 81 | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||

### Compilation albums

List of compilation albums :
| Title | Details |
| Diary of Me | Released: 16 December 2016 Label: Asylum Format: CD, digital download, streaming |

### Extended plays

List of extended plays, with selected details :
| Title | Details |
| Head Space | Released: 10 July 2012 Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Never Change | Released: 11 December 2015 Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Seasons | Released: 21 September 2018 Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Isolation Tapes | Released: 1 May 2020 Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Letter to Ur Ex | Released: 20 May 2022 Format: Digital download, streaming |

### Singles

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | UK | UK R&B | BEL (FL) Tip | NZ Hot | US Bub. | US R&B | US R&B/HH Airplay | US Adult R&B | Certifications | Album |
| "Borrowers" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Never Change |
| "Back Up Plan" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Diary of Me |
| "17" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Diary of Me |
| "Silly Girl" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Diary of Me |
| "Mahalia" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Diary of Me |
| "Roller Coaster" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Diary of Me |
| "I Remember" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Diary of Me |
| "Marry Me" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Diary of Me |
| "Independence Day" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Diary of Me |
| "Begin Again" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Diary of Me |
| "Sober" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | BPI: Silver | Non-album singles |
| "Hold On" (featuring Buddy) | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "No Pressure" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Proud of Me" (featuring Little Simz) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "No Reply" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Water" (with Kojey Radical and Swindle) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "I Wish I Missed My Ex" | 2018 | — | — | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | BPI: Silver RMNZ: Gold | Love and Compromise |
| "Surprise Me" | 2018 | — | — | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | | Seasons |
| "One Night Only" (featuring Kojey Radical) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Seasons |
| "Do Not Disturb" | 2019 | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | | Love and Compromise |
| "Grateful" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| "Simmer" (featuring Burna Boy) | 2019 | 46 | 34 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | BPI: Gold | Love and Compromise |
| "Square 1" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Love and Compromise |
| "What You Did" (featuring Ella Mai) | 2019 | 90 | — | — | 29 | 7 | 15 | 13 | 6 | BPI: Silver RMNZ: Platinum | Love and Compromise |
| "BRB" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | | Isolation Tapes |
| "Jealous" (featuring Rico Nasty) | 2021 | — | — | — | 34 | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Whenever You're Ready" | 2021 | — | — | — | 36 | — | — | — | 17 | | Non-album singles |
| "Roadside" (featuring AJ Tracey) | 2021 | 93 | — | — | 37 | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Letter to Ur Ex" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Letter to Ur Ex and IRL |
| "Whatever Simon Says" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Letter to Ur Ex |
| "In the Club" | 2022 | — | — | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | | Letter to Ur Ex |
| "Bag Of You" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | IRL |
| "Terms and Conditions" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | IRL |
| "Cheat" (featuring JoJo) | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | IRL |
| "Ready" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | IRL |
| "Pick Up the Pace" (featuring Bayka) | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | TBA |
| "Pressure Points" (featuring Lila Iké) | 2025 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | TBA |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||||||

### Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, showing year released, other artist(s), and album name :
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
| "We the Generation" | 2015 | Rudimental | We the Generation |
| "Keep It Pushin" | 2018 | Russ | Zoo |
| "All I Need" | 2020 | Jacob Collier, Ty Dolla Sign | Djesse Vol. 3 |
| "Energy" | 2020 | Pa Salieu | Send Them To Coventry |
| "Pretty" | 2020 | col3trane | Non-album single |
| "No One But You" | 2020 | Justin Nozuka | Then, Now & Again |
| "Closer" | 2022 | RM, Paul Blanco | Indigo |
| "Five Star Hotels" | 2023 | Raye | My 21st Century Blues |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Organization | Award | Work | Result |
| 2018 | Brit Awards | Critics' Choice Award | Herself | Nominated |
| 2018 | BBC | Sound of 2019 | Herself | Included |
| 2018 | Metro | Ones To Watch 2019 | Herself | Included |
| 2019 | MTV Push | Ones To Watch 2019 | Herself | Nominated |
| 2019 | Soul Train Music Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | Nominated |
| 2019 | Brit Awards | Critics' Choice Award | Herself | Nominated |
| 2020 | Brit Awards | British Female Solo Artist | Herself | Nominated |
| 2020 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding New Artist | Herself | Nominated |
| 2021 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Performance | "All I Need" (with Jacob Collier and Ty Dolla Sign) | Nominated |
| 2024 | Brit Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | Nominated |
| 2024 | Brit Awards | British R&B Act | Herself | Nominated |

## Filmography

* Brotherhood (Noel Clarke, 2016) – as Thea