Quick Facts
Biography
Jorja Smith (born June 11, 1997) is an English singer from Walsall, West Midlands. She has independently released numerous singles and one extended play, Project 11 (2016), and is most known for her guest appearances on the songs "Jorja Interlude" and "Get It Together" from Canadian rapper Drake's album More Life (2017).
Early life
Jorja was brought up on a blend of Trojan Records boxsets, Curtis Mayfield and Damien Marley and was classically trained as a vocalist during secondary school. Jorja was part of a music collective, OGHORSE, and began releasing music online. Smith's father was born in Gloucester, UK and was part of a neo-soul group called 2nd Naicha.
Career
Jorja's first release, "Blue Lights", was uploaded to SoundCloud in January 2016 when she was 18 years old, followed up by "A Prince" featuring Maverick Sabre and "Where Did I Go?", which artist/rapper Drake chose as his favourite track of the moment in an article which featured in Entertainment Weekly. To close out 2016, Jorja released her first body of work, Project 11 (2016), a 4-track EP covering a variety of matters and musical styles. "Blue Lights" was nominated in the Best Song category at the 2016 MOBO Awards. Smith supported Canadian rapper Drake on his UK tour at a show in Birmingham and London.
Smith has been covered in the UK national press and has been tipped by the BBC and Evening Standard as one of the UK's most up and coming artists. Jorja was one of 15 artists selected for the BBC's 15 Sound of 2017 longlist. She came 4th, with Ray BLK as the winner. FACT Mag also named Smith as one of their 10 Pop and R&B artists to watch in 2017.
In March 2017, Jorja appeared on two tracks on Drake's album More Life (2017). That same month, she released the single "Beautiful Little Fools" on International Women's Day. The title is a reference to The Great Gatsby, and the video features Smith singing at the Rivoli Ballroom in London, playing characters from different levels of society.
Musical style
Jorja's influences range from Mos Def to Lauryn Hill to The Streets. Her soulful and jazzy vocal style has been compared to Amy Winehouse, Rihanna, Lauryn Hill and FKA Twigs.
Discography
EPs
- Project 11 (2016)
Singles
As lead artist
| Year | Song | UK | UK DWN | UK Dance | UK Indie | SCO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "Blue Lights" | — | — | — | — | — |
| "A Prince" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Where Did I Go? | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2017 | "Beautiful Little Fools" | — | — | — | — | — |
| "Teenage Fantasy" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "On My Mind" (with Preditah) | 54 | 46 | 18 | 9 | 92 |
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | BEL (FL) | IRE | NZ | SWI | ||||
| "People" (Cadenza featuring Jorja Smith and Dre Island) | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Tyrant" (Kali Uchis featuring Jorja Smith) | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | TBA | |
| "Bridge over Troubled Water" (as part of Artists for Grenfell) | 1 | 26 | 25 | — | 28 | Non-album single | ||
Other charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | CAN | FRA | GER | IRE | NLD | SWE | US | |||
| "Jorja Interlude" | 2017 | 42 | 28 | – | – | 51 | 84 | – | 49 | More Life |
| "Get It Together" (Drake featuring Black Coffee and Jorja Smith) | 24 | 20 | 79 | 67 | 30 | 58 | 88 | 45 | ||