caption website years_active birth_place label name background birth_date instrument genre image article_title birth_name occupation
beverley knight at the whatsonstage awards 2015 -lsb- http://www.beverleyknight.com/ www.beverleyknight.com -rsb- 1994 -- present wolverhampton , england dome -- 2008 -rrb- hurricane records -lrb- own label -rrb- -lrb- -lrb- 2008 -- present -rrb- 1994 -- 1997 -rrb- parlophone -lrb- 1997 beverley knight mbe solo_singer 22 march 1973 vocals piano keyboards british soul r & b neo soul beverley knight at the whatsonstage awards 2015.jpg beverley knight
 beverley anne smith singer presenter philanthropist & ndash ; songwriter record producer actress television
beverley knight

beverley knight mbe -lrb- born beverley anne smith on 22 march 1973 -rrb- is a british recording artist , radio presenter and musical theatre actress who released her debut album , `` the b-funk '' in 1995 .
heavily influenced by american soul music icons such as sam cooke and aretha franklin , knight has released seven studio albums to date .
widely labelled as one of britain 's greatest soul singers , knight is best known for her hit singles `` greatest day '' , `` get up ! ''
, `` shoulda woulda coulda '' and `` come as you are '' .
in 2006 knight solidified her transmission into the mainstream by starring in the bbc music tv series , `` just the two of us '' , a role she reprised in 2007 .
after releasing a platinum-selling compilation album in 2006 , knight went on to tour the uk with a reformed take that .
she has also hosted four series of the bbc radio 2 show `` beverley 's gospel nights '' , which explores the origins and impact of gospel music .
to date the show has run for four seasons and has featured interviews with stars such as michelle williams and shirley caesar .
knight is an ambassador for many charities such as christian aid and has travelled to areas affected by disease and poverty to help raise awareness .
she is an active campaigner for anti-aids organisations such as the stop aids campaign and the terrence higgins trust and is also a vocal campaigner against homophobic lyrics in urban music .
on saturday 15 august 2009 she performed live at the fourth annual uk black pride event in regent 's park .
on friday 4 december 2009 , at the invitation of sarah brown , wife of the prime minister , knight performed the two songs `` shoulda woulda coulda '' and `` gold '' to an invited audience at 10 downing street in support of the white ribbon alliance for safe motherhood million mums charity .
after more than a decade in the industry , knight was made an mbe by queen elizabeth ii in february 2007 in recognition of her charitable work and the contribution she has made to british music .
in september 2005 , knight was made an honorary doctor of music from the university of wolverhampton .
after receiving a host of awards , including three mobo awards , knight was presented with a lifetime achievement award in 2004 at the urban music awards in london .
in 2007 , knight was voted number 58 in the 100 great black britons poll .
knight supported prince during his residency at the o2 arena and ended up performing at his after party .
as a result of this , she was also flown to perform at his oscars party in front of a-list stars and got a standing ovation from stars such as quincy jones .
she is planning her american debut sometime in 2015 .
knight sang at the london 2012 paralympic opening ceremony .
the performance was unanimously praised and a recorded version by knight reached # 101 on itunes , her first charting single since `` soul survivor '' and highest since `` beautiful night '' in 2010 and 2009 respectively .
on 9 september 2013 , knight made her first foray into musical theatre , taking over the lead role of rachel marron from heather headley in the bodyguard .
on 21 february 2014 , it was confirmed that knight would take on the lead role of felicia in the musical memphis , opening on 23 october 2014 .
