Kenya Grace Johnson (born May 9, 1998) is a South African-born British singer, songwriter, and record producer. She is best known for her 2023 single "Strangers", which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.
Life and career
Early life
Kenya Grace Johnson[1] was born in South Africa to a South African mother and a British father,[2] but she grew up in “very quiet and chill” town near Southampton.[2] She attended Thornden School[3] and used to play hockey for Hampshire. She started writing when she was 10 years old, and started singing in primary school after being gifted a second-hand Yamaha keyboard.[4] She first developed an interest in musical theatre, before growing up and developing an interest in dance music, dubstep first.[5]: 1:09:50 She attended Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, first reading history and English literature, but switching to music after deciding to become a musician,[4] and graduated in September 2019 with a degree in songwriting and creative artistry.[6] She has credited the university with curing her stage fright.[7]
In 2019, she released "Obsessed", her first release, and then "Tell Me Why",[4] which she wrote while drunk and having just fought with someone.[8] Later that year, she and Willow Kayne made the Top 21 in ISawItFirst,[9] a competition for a nationwide search in collaboration with Capital Xtra intended to find new women musicians. After becoming a finalist in the competition she won a music video shoot for "Tell Me Why" - her first music video.[6] She then released "Talk",[4] which she wrote in her parents' bedroom during the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom after getting out of a toxic relationship;[7] she later moved to North London,[10] her move having been delayed by the pandemic.[7] In February and May 2023, she released "Afterparty Lover" and "Meteor".[11]
2023–present: Strangers and The After Taste
In late July 2023, she started to promote "Strangers",[12] a drum and bass song she had written and produced[13] in her bedroom, with the intention of making a euphoric track,[5]: 1:08:08 on her TikTok account.[12] This clip was viewed over 11,000,000 times, with a subsequent video being viewed over 38,000,000 times;[14] when released on 1 September 2023 on FFRR Records,[15] the song saw further success on the platform, and by 26 September 2023 had seen use in over 570,000 videos.[11]
She promoted the song with a further eight videos promoting the track, all of which were viewed more than 1,000,000 times, and which typically depicted her singing the track on her electronic drum pads;[12] the song also went viral on Instagram Reels.[15] A week after release, the song entered the UK Singles Chart, eventually peaking at No. 1;[13] upon entry, the Official Charts Company attributed her success to the commercial renaissance of drum and bass and the dominance of female artists (in its first week on the charts, the top three were Doja Cat, Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo).[15]
On 15 September 2023, she released a "slower and sadder" remix of Strangers,[11] and three weeks after that, she released a further single, "Only in My Mind", having teased the track on social media.[16]
On 13 October 2023, Strangers peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, making her the first British female artist to top the charts with a debut single since X-Factor star Ella Henderson's 'Ghost' in 2014.[2] It also made her the second British female artist ever to reach No. 1 with a track performed, written and produced entirely solo after Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill".[14]
In December 2023, a day after the release of her single, "Paris", she revealed on Instagram that she was working on her debut EP, The After Taste, which released on 22 March 2024.[17]
She said “I've tried to not look at numbers anymore and get caught up in that world. I feel like that's a killer of joy, in a way. It's actually really toxic. You constantly see a numerical value judging your art, which is just not good. I try to preserve my creativity.”[2]
She laughed, “Me and my brother would put drum'n'bass on, like really heavy jump-up. And then my mum and my dad would try and put Fleetwood Mac on”.[2]
Kenya played her first festival at Coachella in 2024,[30] which she said "was literally the best day of my life". She continued, "I ran off the stage before I started sobbing". She went on to say "it was the best experience of my entire life".[31] In a separate interview she said "I've never seen a crowd that big before".[2]
^Heffler, Jason (9 February 2024). "EDM.com Class of 2024 Revealed". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
