Celeste

Born in the U.S. but raised in the U.K., soulful R&B vocalist Celeste Waite channels influences such as Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday to craft languid, jazzy numbers that are elevated by her powerful voice and poetic lyrics. Emerging in the late 2010s, she issued her first official short-player, The Milk & the Honey (2017), before signing with the majors for another EP, Lately (2019), and her U.K. chart-topping full-length debut, Not Your Muse (2021). She won a BRIT Award and was nominated for an Academy Award (for "Hear My Voice," from The Trial of the Chicago 7) before she returned to the upper reaches of the U.K. album chart with Woman of Faces (2025).Not long after she was born in California, the artist who performs simply as Celeste returned to Essex with her British mother. Surrounded by eclectic characters and unique experiences that informed her young life, she was also shaped by the struggles of being biracial in a homogenous town. Eventually, Celeste and her mother moved to Brighton, where daily church attendance helped her develop her vocals while singing hymns. In the secular pop sphere, Celeste fell in love with Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, the Supremes, Destiny's Child, and Solange. Her father passed away when she was 16 and, years later when she happened upon his old vinyl collection, she immersed herself in the wealth. Her personal poetry evolved into song and, by the time she was enrolled in college, she'd made the decision to pursue music.Away from school, Celeste started jamming with friends, playing soul, funk, and jazz while covering the likes of Sly & the Family Stone, the Clash, the Specials, the Moody Blues, Alice Coltrane, Janis Joplin, Thelonious Monk, Ray Charles, and more. She made her live debut with that eclectic, genre-spanning blend, and things took off from there. In 2017, she released "Daydreaming" from the three-track set The Milk & the Honey, which was issued on Lily Allen's Bank Holiday label. Smoky and lush, her songs distilled her varied influences while resembling the style of artists such as Alicia Keys, Adele, Erykah Badu, and Floetry. Years later, Celeste's single "Both Sides of the Moon" -- featuring backing by Gotts Street Park (Kali Uchis, Rejjie Snow) -- landed on her 2019 EP Lately (Both Sides/Polydor). The short set also included the Gotts-backed title track and "Summer" with rapper Jeshi. Early the following year, Celeste won the BRITs' first Rising Star award, and she scored her first charting single with the inspirational "Stop This Flame." Also in 2020, she contributed "Hear My Voice" to the film The Trial of the Chicago 7, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Additional singles continued to build anticipation for Not Your Muse, Celeste's full-length debut. The album arrived in January 2021 and debuted at number one on the U.K. album chart. It saw further success with three BRIT nominations, and was shortlisted for the 2021 Mercury Prize. Over the next few years, Celeste issued some intermediary singles, contributed to the soundtracks of The Color Purple and This Town, and portrayed a club singer in Steve McQueen's Blitz. She made her full return in 2025 with the dignified and somber Woman of Faces, which entered the U.K. chart at number 12.
© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo