# Brittany Howard

Brittany Amber Howard (born October 2, 1988) is an American musician from Athens, Alabama. She rose to prominence in the early 2010s as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter of Alabama Shakes. Her work with Alabama Shakes garnered her four Grammy Awards (including Best Alternative Music Album) from nine nominations. Later in the decade, Howard played bass in the side project Thunderbitch and both acoustic guitar and double bass for the trio Bermuda Triangle.
In 2018, Alabama Shakes announced it was going on hiatus. In 2019, Howard released her debut studio album as a solo artist, Jaime. The album received critical acclaim and seven Grammy nominations, winning Best Rock Song for "Stay High". Its follow-up, What Now, was released in February 2024. In early 2025, Alabama Shakes announced a summer reunion tour scheduled for July to September.

## Early life

Howard was born in Athens, Alabama, one of two daughters born to Christi (née Carter) and K. J. Howard. Her mother is white, of English and Irish ancestry while her father is African American. The family's home was in a junk yard and it once burned down due to a lightning strike. She learned to write poetry and play the piano from her older sister Jaime, who died from retinoblastoma in 1998; Howard had the same affliction but survived with partial blindness in one eye. Her parents separated soon after that. She began playing the guitar at age 13; she was enamored with albums by Dionne Warwick and Elvis Presley, which she listened to repeatedly, and was inspired to write song lyrics.
Howard attended East Limestone High School, where she met future Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell. In high school, Howard began listening to 1970s rock music, such as Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd. "I’d be in the back of this Buick and be like ‘What's this? This is really cool’ and my friends told me it was Pink Floyd and I was like ‘Whoa’, it blew my mind. I started getting into all the classic rock stuff, like Yes, Cream, all that stuff."
After high school, Howard worked for the United States Postal Service until becoming a full-time musician as lead singer of Alabama Shakes.

## Career

Brittany Howard is best known as the lead singer and guitarist for the American rock band Alabama Shakes. The band formed under the name "The Shakes" when Howard and bassist Zac Cockrell began playing covers and original songs together with drummer Steve Johnson. Guitarist Heath Fogg later rounded out the lineup, and the band began playing shows at bars in Alabama and recording their debut album, Boys & Girls. They signed a record deal with ATO Records and released Boys & Girls in 2012 which received critical acclaim and multiple Grammy Award nominations.
In April 2015, Alabama Shakes released their second album, Sound & Color. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and received favorable reviews from the music press. The band performed on multiple late night shows including Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Howard was featured in the musical medley alongside Mavis Staples, Stephen Colbert, Ben Folds, and other artists in the series premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. At Lollapalooza in 2015, Howard was invited on stage to perform a duet of "Get Back" with Paul McCartney. She also performed at the ceremony for Eddie Murphy's Mark Twain Prize. In 2015, she was named the recipient of Billboard's Women in Music "Powerhouse" Award.
Howard is also the lead singer of the rock band Thunderbitch, formed in Nashville in 2012 with members of Clear Plastic Masks and ATO Records' labelmates Fly Golden Eagle. The band surprise released a self-titled album in September 2015. Although the band rarely makes live appearances, they played a rare set at ATO Records' CMJ Music Marathon showcase in October 2015.
Brittany Howard is also a singer in the band Bermuda Triangle with Jesse Lafser and Becca Mancari, which was formed in Nashville in 2017. Their debut live performance was on July 12, 2017, at the Basement East in Nashville. The trio released their first single on September 6, 2017, titled "Rosey", which was first released on Jesse Lafser's 2015 album "Raised On The Plains". Although originally believed to be a one time performance, the trio performed a five show tour through the southern states of the US in October 2017. This small tour included shows in Carrboro and Asheville, North Carolina; Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta; and Knoxville, Tennessee.
In June 2019, Brittany Howard announced a debut solo album, Jaime which was released on September 20, 2019, as well as a tour across North America and Europe. Jaime was received with universal acclaim; Pitchfork noted, "The exceptional solo debut from the Alabama Shakes singer-songwriter is a thrilling opus that pushes the boundaries of voice, sound, and soul to new extremes." On July 16, 2019, Howard released the music video to the single Stay High, featuring actor Terry Crews lip-syncing to the track. On April 15, 2020, she released a cover of a Funkadelic's 1971 song "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" and a new rendition of her song "Stay High". Stay High was recommended as an "appropriate musical remedy" to get people through lockdown and quarantine by KRCW. On October 13, 2023, she released the title track to her second album What Now. In the same year, Rolling Stone named Howard to its "250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list.
In 2024, Howard announced a co-headlining tour with British rhythm and blues singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka.
Howard made her acting debut in the animated film Thelma the Unicorn, which debuted on Netflix May 17, 2024. Howard's personality, hair, and songs were all used as inspiration for her character in the film.
In late November 2024, Howard announced the debut of her hardcore project KUMITE. KUMITE were scheduled to play their first show in Nashville, in January 2025.

## Influences

Howard has cited as influences artists including Led Zeppelin, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Prince, Curtis Mayfield, David Bowie, Mavis Staples, Tom Waits, Björk, Gil Scott-Heron, Freddie Mercury, and Tina Turner.

## Personal life

Howard came out as a lesbian at age 25. She married fellow musician Jesse Lafser in 2018; they divorced the following year.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
| 2019 | Rober Award Music Prize | Best Female Artist | Herself | Nominated |
| 2019 | Rober Award Music Prize | Best R&B | Herself | Nominated |
| 2019 | Rober Award Music Prize | Album of the Year | Jaime | Nominated |
| 2019 | UK Music Video Award | Best Rock Video - International | "Stay High" | Nominated |
| 2020 | Grammy Award | Best Rock Song | "History Repeats" | Nominated |
| 2020 | Grammy Award | Best Rock Performance | "History Repeats" | Nominated |
| 2020 | GLAAD Media Award | Outstanding Music Artist | Jaime | Nominated |
| 2020 | Americana Music Honors & Awards | Artist of the Year | Herself | Nominated |
| 2020 | Americana Music Honors & Awards | Song of the Year | "Stay High" | Nominated |
| 2020 | Americana Music Honors & Awards | Album of the Year | Jaime | Nominated |
| 2020 | Libera Award | Album of the Year | Jaime | Nominated |
| 2021 | Grammy Award | Best Rock Performance | "Stay High" | Nominated |
| 2021 | Grammy Award | Best Rock Song | "Stay High" | Won |
| 2021 | Grammy Award | Best Alternative Music Album | Jaime | Nominated |
| 2021 | Grammy Award | Best R&B Performance | "Goat Head" | Nominated |
| 2021 | Grammy Award | Best American Roots Performance | "Short and Sweet" | Nominated |
| 2021 | Libera Award | Best Sync Usage | "You'll Never Walk Alone" (Johnnie Walker's #KeepItMoving Campaign) | Nominated |
| 2022 | Libera Award | Best Dance Record | "Stay High again.." | Nominated |
| 2022 | Libera Award | Best R&B Record | Jaime (Reimagined) | Nominated |

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected information :
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Details | US | AUT | BEL (FL) | BEL (WA) | CAN | FRA | NL | SCO | SPA | UK |
| Jaime | Released: September 20, 2019 Label: ATO Formats: CD, LP, digital download | 13 | 59 | 29 | 159 | 34 | 182 | 76 | 13 | 98 | 36 |
| What Now | Released: February 9, 2024 Label: Island Formats: CD, LP, digital download | — | — | 75 | — | — | — | — | 45 | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||||||

### Remix albums

| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Details | US Current |
| Jaime (Reimagined) | Released: July 23, 2021 Label: ATO Formats: LP, digital download, streaming | 71 |

### Extended plays

| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Details | US Sales | US Folk |
| Spotify Singles | Released: April 15, 2020 Label: ATO Formats: streaming | — | — |
| Live at Sound Emporium | Released: August 29, 2020 Label: ATO Formats: LP | 51 | 20 |
| Jaime (The Remixes) | Released: September 17, 2020 Label: ATO Formats: Digital download | — | — |
| Live from East West Studios | Released: May 7, 2021 Label: ATO Formats: Digital download | — | — |

### Singles
#### As lead artist

| 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 | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | US AAA | US Adult R&B | US Alt. Dig. | US Rock | BEL (FL) Tip | CAN Rock | MEX Air | NLD Air | NZ Hot | Album |
| "I Wonder" (with Ruby Amanfu) | 2012 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "History Repeats" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 49 | — | — | Jaime |
| "Stay High" | 2019 | 1 | 23 | 24 | 34 | 22 | — | 50 | 41 | — | Jaime |
| "He Loves Me" | 2020 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jaime |
| "You'll Never Walk Alone" | 2020 | — | — | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "Stay High again.." (with Joy Anonymous and Fred again..) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jaime (Reimagined) |
| "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" (Amazon Original) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "Presence" (Little Dragon Remix) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jaime (Reimagined) |
| "Tomorrow" (BadBadNotGood Remix) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jaime (Reimagined) |
| "Checks and Balances" (from the Netflix series We the People) (with Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robert Lopez, and Daveed Diggs) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "Stay High" (Childish Gambino remix) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 36 | Jaime (Reimagined) |
| "Running with the Angels" (with Tia P.) | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "What Now" | 2023 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 30 | — | — | — | What Now |
| "Red Flags" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | What Now |
| "Prove It to You" | 2024 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | What Now |
| "Power to Undo" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | What Now |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||||||

#### As featured artist

| Title | Year | Album |
| "Higher" (Thad Cockrell featuring Brittany Howard) | 2020 | If In Case You Feel the Same |

### Other charted songs

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | US Sales | Album |
| "It Makes No Difference" (My Morning Jacket featuring Brittany Howard) | 2012 | 11 | Endless Highway - The Music of the Band |

### Other appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
| "For You Alone" | 2011 | Matt Stephens | Matt Stephens |
| "West on Train" | 2013 | Turk Tresize | Soul Casino |
| "Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am" | 2013 | My Morning Jacket, Merrill Garbus | Red Hot + Fela |
| "I Feel Free" | 2015 | — | Joy (Music from the Motion Picture) |
| "Darkness and Light" | 2016 | John Legend | Darkness and Light |
| "Higher" | 2020 | Thad Cockrell | If In Case You Feel The Same |
| "Shining Star" | 2022 | Verdine White | Minions: Rise of Gru (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
| "Fire Inside" | 2024 | — | Thelma the Unicorn: Soundtrack From The Netflix Film |

### With Alabama Shakes

* Boys & Girls (2012)
* Sound & Color (2015)

### With Thunderbitch

* Thunderbitch (2015)