Emma Stevens

Emma Nadine Stevens is an English singer-songwriter based in Guildford, Surrey. She achieved mainstream success with her single "Riptide" from her first album Enchanted, which was featured as iTunes Single of the Week in October 2013 and had over 150,000 downloads. She describes her music as "sparkly folk pop".

Early life and education Born to parents Toby and Tina Stevens in Guildford in England, she has one younger sister, Ellen. Stevens grew up in Shalford just outside Guildford, where she lived until the age of 17. She attended Shalford First School, St Theresa's in Effingham and St Peter's in Merrow where she studied GCSE Music. Spotting this early talent, her parents sent her to cello and piano lessons from the age of six. She later joined the Surrey Youth Orchestra. From the age of about 10, Stevens had orchestra and piano lessons at Charterhouse, and attended stage school at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in 1999. This is also where she met her guitarist Sam Whiting.

Early career While still at ACM, Stevens and friend Charlotte "Charlie" Hewson formed Wildstar (described as "an acoustic/pop duo with a mix of harmony and mellow rock") with Hewson on lead vocals and Stevens on guitar and backing vocals. The duo played a combination of covers and original tracks including "Fine Day", "Looking For Love" and "Footprints". After graduating from ACM, Stevens worked as a session musician playing guitar and piano for groups such as Fin, H-Boogie and Ronit & The Aramingos. She met her first manager, Bob James, and started collaborating with writers across multiple genres. Soon after, she wrote a song called "Wowowow" for Korean boy-band SHINee, which appeared on their second album Lucifer in 2010. The song sold 100,000 copies in its first week as a single. ) led to a European tour in 2010 and a distribution deal with FNAC. The band's self-titled and only album release features Stevens on backing vocals on four of the tracks.

During songwriting sessions in Los Angeles with Charlie Midnight, with his encouragement, Stevens began to seriously consider a future solo career.

In 2011, she toured with British rock band Fin, supporting Incubus, Mona, The Kooks and Feeder, regularly performing for crowds of 20,000.

Solo career

2012–2014: Enchanted In early 2012, Stevens' mother was diagnosed with cancer. Along with Charlie Midnight, her mother had been strongly encouraging her to embark on a solo career – "she was my biggest supporter and believer in me and would say, ‘You’ve got the potential to do it yourself.’ So I thought, ‘Yeah, I’m going to do it!’". The single is one of her most successful songs, with over 3 million streams on Spotify.

Stevens toured extensively during the remainder of 2012, promoting the Heart on Hand EP.

In January 2013, she collaborated with English folk-rock singer-songwriter Passenger, which resulted in the song "I'll Be Your Man".

In early 2013, Terry Wogan continued to champion the Heart on Hand EP, culminating in a live appearance on Weekend Wogan on 17 March 2013, where Stevens performed the next single to be released, "Once". Also appearing on this show was American singer-songwriter Jenn Bostic, with whom she performed a live cover of Ed Sheeran's "Give Me Love". Stevens and Bostic would become firm friends and would tour together twice during 2013.

Soon after this appearance, "Once" was playlisted by BBC Radio 2 on 27 March 2013.

Following the success of "Once", the original single "A Place Called You" was re-released and was subsequently playlisted by BBC Radio 2 on 27 July 2013.

Further support came from BBC Radio 2 Breakfast presenter Chris Evans, resulting in a live appearance on the show on 16 August 2013, where Stevens performed "A Place Called You". During the show, Evans invited her to play at his Carfest festival in aid of the BBC Children in Need charity on 24 August 2013.

Another live appearance on BBC Radio 2 soon followed on 18 August 2013 when she performed "Sunflower" on Good Morning Sunday. The following month, Stevens headlined the BBC Introducing stage at Festival in a Day in Hyde Park on 8 September 2013.

Recording work on the debut album was completed on 9 September 2013, and growing success led to the accelerated release of the final two EPs. Sunflower, the final EP, was released on 20 October 2013 and contained the third single "Riptide" as well as the title track "Sunflower", the second of two songs Stevens wrote about coping with the loss of her mother. "When I wrote 'Sunflower' I came up with the title because my Mum used to grow Sunflowers at the bottom of the garden when I was a little girl, and I really felt the urge to use that and turn it into a lyric. It's one of the saddest songs I have written, but I just desperately needed to – it helped me in the grieving process after losing my Mum and it helps me every day when I sing it on stage".

"Riptide" and "Sunflower" were each written in less than a day. and further support followed from iTunes when the track became their Single of the Week in the UK, Ireland, Russia and India on 22 October 2013.

After the album was completed, rather than sign to a major label, Stevens decided to self-release Enchanted, and signed a deal with label services company Absolute Marketing and Distribution Ltd.

In January 2014, Stevens' manager announced that "Riptide" would be released via Go Entertainment in Benelux and Universal in Ireland. In the following month, the single was playlisted by Radio 2 and radiomol in Belgium and Radio 2 in the Netherlands.

2014–2017: Waves and To My Roots During 2014, Stevens again collaborated with co-writer and producer Pete Woodroffe on her second album, Waves. The first single from the new album, "Make My Day", was released in August 2014 and was, once again, playlisted by BBC Radio 2. Stevens performed the song live on Weekend Wogan on 7 September 2014.

Recording the album was completed on 15 August 2014 and Waves was subsequently released on 10 November 2014.

In August 2015, an expanded deluxe edition of Waves was released with new artwork and eight additional tracks (ten additional tracks were included on the limited edition CD digipack version). One of the new tracks, "Never Gonna Change", was released as a single in June 2015.

During the summer of 2015, Stevens spent a month in Nashville collaborating with musicians and songwriters as she prepared for her third studio album, To My Roots. This was to be her first self-produced album, and included songs co-written with Charlie Midnight, Pete Woodroffe and Buck Johnson. Musicians appearing on the album included Michael Spriggs, Bruce Bouton, Jonathan Yudkin and Miles Bould. A radio edit of "Sing Out (Hey La Hey Lo)", remixed by Ash Howes, was released as the first single from the album in June 2017 with a short headline tour to promote the album. To My Roots was released on 21 July 2017, followed by the second single, the title track from the album and another remix by Ash Howes, "To My Roots" in August 2017.

In April 2017, Stevens was invited to be a member of the UK national jury for the Eurovision Song Contest.

2017–present: Christmas, Atoms, Light Year and Bloom In November 2017, Christmas, a collection of four festive songs, was released digitally and as a limited edition CD EP. It included covers of "Stay Another Day", "Somewhere Only We Know" and the traditional carol "Silent Night", a collaboration with Nashville's Michael Spriggs.

Stevens' track "A Place Called You" became a streaming hit in China after being featured on Where Are We Going Dad? a Chinese reality TV show broadcast on Hunan Television attracting 75 million viewers. A new track, "The Cappuccino Song", was recorded in early 2019 and released (in China only) during April 2019 to coincide with Stevens' seven city tour of the country. The track was also included on the album A Place Called You, effectively a Greatest Hits compilation, released only in China.

During 2018, Stevens had collaborated with writers Charlie Midnight, Jessica Sharman and Kevin Jeremiah (from the band The Feeling) resulting in a five track EP entitled Atoms released 10 May 2019. The lead single, "Because It's You" is a duet with Kevin Jeremiah and also includes contributions from other The Feeling band members Ciaran Jeremiah (guitar) and Paul Stewart (drums). The title track from the EP, "Atoms", was subsequently remixed by Pete Woodroffe and released as the second single on 22 November 2019.

Stevens' fourth studio album, titled Light Year, was released on 30 April 2021. Its lead single, "Jump In", was released on 4 September 2020, and five additional singles were released before the album; "Forever", "The Rain Fell on Haikou", "Keep Dreaming", "On a Day Like Today" and "The Grass Is Always Greener".

Two further singles were released, "The Longing" was released on 29 October 2021 and "Love Revolution" was released on 3 June 2022. Both tracks mark a change to a heavier, more rock-orientated sound for the forthcoming album.

Further tracks from the forthcoming album, "Do You Think About Me?" and "Fragile" were released towards the end of 2022. After a break of over a year, two more tracks emerged, "Inside the Forest" and "Bloom" with the album itself (also entitled Bloom) finally released on 19 April 2024 with a remastered version of "The Longing" as its opening track.

Personal life Stevens still lives in the Guildford area.

Other than her music, her greatest passions are animal welfare , tennis, surfing and the sea. In 2023, Stevens visited Sri Lanka, volunteering to help protect sea turtles and street dogs . She is also a supporter of the Joanna Wildlife Hospital in Guildford . Stevens married her long-term boyfriend Sam Rommer at Croyde Bay in July 2022.

Discography EPs Heart on Hand (2012) Dreaming Trees (2013) Underwater (2013) Sunflower (2013) Christmas (2017) Atoms (2019)

Albums Enchanted (2013) Waves (2014) Waves (Deluxe Edition) (2015) To My Roots (2017) Light Year (2021)

Singles "A Place Called You" (October 2012) "Once" (March 2013) "Riptide" (October 2013) "Make My Day" (August 2014) "Gold Rush" (November 2014) "Never Gonna Change" (June 2015) "Sing Out (Hey La Hey Lo)" (June 2017) "To My Roots" (August 2017) "Because It's You" (May 2019) "Atoms" (November 2019) "Jump In" (September 2020) "Forever" (October 2020) "The Rain Fell on Haikou" (November 2020) "Keep Dreaming" (December 2020) "On a Day Like Today" (January 2021) "The Grass Is Always Greener" (February 2021) "The Longing" (October 2021) "Love Revolution" (June 2022)

Notable television and radio live performances

BBC Introducing Session (BBC Radio Surrey, 19 August 2012) The Late Show (BBC London, 30 September 2012) Weekend Wogan (BBC Radio 2, 17 March 2013) Danny Pike Show (BBC Sussex, 15 June 2013) Breakfast with Spencer Howson (ABC Radio Brisbane, 15 August 2013) Chris Evans Breakfast Show (BBC Radio 2, 16 August 2013) Good Morning Sunday (BBC Radio 2, 18 August 2013) Festival in a Day (BBC TV, 8 September 2013) Spencer Howson Christmas Show (ABC Radio Brisbane, 13 December 2013) The Janice Long Review Show (Vintage TV, 26 January 2014) The Janice Forsyth Show (BBC Radio Scotland, 7 April 2014) The Late Late Show (RTÉ, 16 May 2014)

Langs de Lijn En Omstreken (NPO Radio 1, 17 May 2014) Muziekcafé (Radio 2 (Netherlands), 17 May 2014) Weekend Wogan (BBC Radio 2, 7 September 2014) GI:EL (NPO 3FM, 19 September 2014) Sound for Sight (BBC Radio 2, 8 October 2014) BBC South Today Children in Need (BBC South Today, 14 November 2014) The Janice Forsyth Show (BBC Radio Scotland, 23 April 2015) Chris Evans Breakfast Show (BBC Radio 2, 30 July 2015) BBC South Today Children in Need (BBC South Today, 6 November 2015) Brooklands Country with Alex Nairn (Brooklands Radio, 23 May 2016) Chongqing Music Interview and Sessions (Chongqing Music Radio, 22 April 2019) BBC South Today Evening News (BBC South Today, 1 May 2019)

Solo tours Stevens embarked on the Heart on Hand Tour following the release of her first EP.

Heart on Hand TourDateCityVenue 5 September 2012 Islington Old Queen's Head 8 September 2012 Kettering Grendon Festival 27 September 2012 London The Corner Shop 11 October 2012 Bolton The Railway Music Venue 12 October 2012 Liverpool Mello Mello 17 October 2012 London The George & Vulture 26 October 2012 Matlock Bath The Fishpond 2 November 2012 Llandudno The Parade 3 November 2012 Chester Crown & Liver 15 November 2012 Hove The Brunswick 23 November 2012 Hartlepool The Studio 27 November 2012 Milton Keynes The Stables

During February 2013, Stevens supported Jenn Bostic on her first UK tour. Supporting Jenn BosticDateCityVenue 19 February 2013 London Half Moon 21 February 2013 Birmingham The Bull's Head 25 February 2013 Manchester Band on the Wall 26 February 2013 Nottingham The Maze 27 February 2013 Cardiff 10 Feet Tall 5 March 2013 London The Social

The Dreaming Trees Tour promoted EP number two, the first to be released in 2013. Dreaming Trees TourDateCityVenue 6 March 2013 Guildford Bar Des Arts 9 March 2013 Guildford Boileroom 29 March 2013 York The Basement 31 March 2013 Inverness Hootananny 3 April 2013 Guildford Bar Des Arts 17 April 2013 Cambridge The Junction 18 April 2013 London Surya 19 April 2013 Matlock Bath The Fishpond 23 April 2013 Southsea The Cellars 28 April 2013 Milton Keynes The Stables 3 May 2013 York Fibbers 13 May 2013 London Dublin Castle 15 May 2013 Cardiff 10 Feet Tall 17 May 2013 Brighton The Great Escape 19 May 2013 Manchester Blue Cat Cafe 20 May 2013 Liverpool International Pop Festival 21 May 2013 Worthing Bar 42 22 May 2013 Sheffield The Green Room 25 May 2013 London International Pop Festival 26 May 2013 London The Stag

During September and October 2013, Stevens supported British singer-songwriter Sam Gray on his UK tour. Supporting Sam GrayDateCityVenue 24 September 2013 York Fibbers 26 September 2013 Sheffield The Greystones 30 September 2013 Bristol Colston2 3 October 2013 Norwich Waterfront 4 October 2013 Birmingham The Institute 5 October 2013 Nottingham Bodega 6 October 2013 Brighton Komedia 7 October 2013 London The Borderline 10 October 2013 Eastney The Cellars 11 October 2013 Manchester Sound Control

During November and December 2013, Stevens once again joined Jenn Bostic on her second UK tour. Supporting Jenn Bostic – The Jealous TourDateCityVenue 26 November 2013 London The Borderline 27 November 2013 Southampton The Chapel Sessions 29 November 2013 Bristol Bristol Folk House 30 November 2013 Totnes South Devon Arts Centre 2 December 2013 Glasgow Broadcast 3 December 2013 York Fibbers 4 December 2013 Sheffield The Greystones 5 December 2013 Manchester The Deaf Institute 8 December 2013 Hull Fruit 10 December 2013 Norwich Norwich Arts Centre

In March 2014, Stevens embarked on the Enchanted Tour, a national headline tour accompanied by her full band: Sam Whiting on guitar, Pete Snowdon on bass and James Rees-Flynn on drums. The Enchanted TourDateCityVenue 26 March 2014 Cambridge Portland Arms 28 March 2014 Guildford Boileroom 1 April 2014 Sheffield The Greystones 2 April 2014 Wolverhampton Robin 2 3 April 2014 York Fibbers 4 April 2014 London The Borderline 5 April 2014 Manchester Sound Control 11 April 2014 Bristol Louisiana 12 April 2014 Totnes South Devon Arts Centre 15 April 2014 Newcastle Cluny 16 April 2014 Runcorn The Brindley 17 April 2014 Nottingham Maze 18 April 2014 Glasgow Broadcast 19 April 2014 Liverpool Zanzibar 24 April 2014 Blackburn Middle Earth Festival 1 May 2014 Southampton The Brook 31 May 2014 Uttoxeter Acoustic Festival

Beginning in April 2015, Stevens embarked on the Waves Tour, a national tour co-headlining with Blair Dunlop. Band members for the tour included Sam Whiting on guitar, Simon "Spud" Smith on bass and keys and James Rees-Flynn on drums. The Waves TourDateCityVenue 15 April 2015 Southampton Chapel Sessions 18 April 2015 London Bush Hall 19 April 2015 Marnhull Pebble Sessions 22 April 2015 Manchester The Deaf Institute 23 April 2015 Edinburgh Caves 25 April 2015 York Fibbers 28 April 2015 Lincoln The Platform 29 April 2015 Birmingham Glee 30 April 2015 Nottingham Glee 1 May 2015 Bristol Colston Hall 2 May 2015 Hull Fruit

In June 2017, Stevens embarked on the to My Roots Tour, a full band national tour to promote her third studio album, with musicians Stu Wilkinson (Mandolin), Sam Rommer (Bass), Sam Whiting (Guitar) and Tom O. Mitchell (Drums & Percussion). The to My Roots TourDateCityVenue 1 June 2017 Guildford Boileroom 2 June 2017 London The Slaughtered Lamb 3 June 2017 Bristol Louisiana 7 June 2017 Southampton Chapel Sessions 9 June 2017 Manchester Castle Hotel 10 June 2017 Stockton Arc 11 June 2017 Sheffield The Greystones 12 June 2017 Wolverhampton Robin 2 13 June 2017 Glasgow Hug and Pint 14 June 2017 Leicester The Musician 23 June 2017 Totnes Unit 23 In May and June 2018, Stevens embarked on the to My Roots Spring Tour, this time as a trio along with Stu Wilkinson (Mandolin) & Sam Rommer (Bass). The to My Roots Spring TourDateCityVenue 5 May 2018 Guildford Boileroom 6 May 2018 Leicester The Musician 17 May 2018 Sheffield Greystones 18 May 2018 London The Slaughtered Lamb 19 May 2018 Bristol The Louisiana 28 May 2018 Manchester Castle Hotel 29 May 2018 Wolverhampton Robin 2 1 June 2018 Newbury Arlington Arts Centre 3 June 2018 Southampton The Brook 12 June 2018 Milton Keynes The Stables 2 16 June 2018 Sittingbourne The Dancing Dog In April 2019, Stevens embarked on her first tour of mainland China. The A Place Called You China TourDateCityVenue 12 April 2019 Dongguan Mati Music 13 April 2019 Haikou Daqian Music Concert Hall 14 April 2019 Yinchuan Gunshi Music 18 April 2019 Taiyuan Zhangli Yun Lounge 19 April 2019 Zhengzhou Henan University 20 April 2019 Pingdingshan Hawaii Holiday Inn 21 April 2019 Chongqing Dongni Music In May 2019, Stevens embarked on the Atoms Tour promoting her Atoms EP. The Atoms TourDateCityVenue 9 May 2019 Bath Chapel Arts Centre 10 May 2019 London The Victoria Dalston 12 May 2019 Cardiff Acapela Studio 13 May 2019 Leicester The Musician 15 May 2019 Southampton Chapel Sessions 16 May 2019 Birmingham Kitchen Garden Cafe 17 May 2019 Milton Keynes The Stables 2 18 May 2019 Horsham The Rec Rooms 20 May 2019 Sheffield Greystones 21 May 2019 Manchester Gullivers 22 May 2019 Glasgow The Hug and Pint