Joy Crookes

Joy Elizabeth Akther Crookes (born 9 October 1998) is a British singer-songwriter. She incorporates details about relationships, self-reliance, her culture, her South London roots, and her identity in her music. Crookes has released three extended plays since 2017 and was nominated for the Rising Star Award at the 2020 Brit Awards.

Her debut studio album, Skin, was released in October 2021 to wide critical acclaim and reached the top five in the UK. The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize, and Crookes received nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop/R&B Act at the 2022 Brit Awards.

She was voted fourth place on Sound of 2020 by the BBC. She released her second album, Juniper, in September 2025 to critical acclaim. She made her acting debut in Ish, which premiered in August 2025.

Early life Joy Elizabeth Akther Crookes was born in the Lambeth district of South London on 9 October 1998 to a Bangladeshi mother from Comilla and an Irish father from Dublin. where she spent eight years at a Catholic state primary school. Crookes gained interest in singing after attending a jazz and blues workshop and, by the age of 13, had started publishing covers of Laura Marling and reggae to YouTube. The video gained the attention of over 600,000 viewers, notably including her current manager a few months later.

Career 2016–2017: Influence At the age of 17, Crookes released her debut single "New Manhattan" in February 2016, as well as "Sinatra" in August 2016, and "Bad Feeling" in June 2017. "New Manhattan" is a love song that was named after the area in Brussels. M Magazine wrote about Crookes at the start of her career, stating, "[She] may not be out of school yet, but what she lacks in experience she certainly makes up for in sonic dexterity." When describing the aesthetic in Crookes' debut music video for "Sinatra", Pip Williams from Line of Best Fit wrote, "much like [her] sound, [the video] blurs the classic with the contemporary, blanketing the listener in nostalgia whilst teasing them with hints of something brand new."

Crookes released her debut EP, Influence, with Speakerbox and Insanity Records in July 2017. She told BBC that she wrote the song by herself on New Year's Day of 2017 and began playing the song on tour, stating "When you tour a song you get to know it – you stay over at its house, you meet its mum, you get to know the sibling it doesn't like. So by the time we did Colors, it was a walk in the park. The video really changed everything. For about six months after that, everywhere I went people would say, 'Are you Joy from Colors?'" before releasing her second EP, Reminiscence, in January 2019. before releasing the singles "Since I Left You": "a hauntingly stripped back break-up song," as well as "London Mine" in April 2019. "The song celebrates the invisible people and how London belongs to no one but everyone," Crookes told The Line of Best Fit about "London Mine". "It's a celebration of immigrants who make up this country."

Crookes performed on the Introducing Stage at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in May 2019, before releasing her third EP, Perception in June 2019. The five-track EP features "Hurts", "No Hands", "London Mine", "Since I Left You", and "Darkest Hour". In September 2019, Crookes released the self-produced track "Yah / Element", a medley of "Yah" and "Element" by Kendrick Lamar, before announcing her headlining tour of Europe for October 2019. She released the single "Early" with Irish hip-hop artist Jafaris in early October, which later went on to reach No. 1 on the UK Asian chart. Crookes made her debut television appearance when she performed "Early" with Jafaris on Later... with Jools Holland in November 2019. Crookes made an appearance on the Irish music TV series Other Voices in November 2019. Crookes was shortlisted for the Rising Star Award at the 2020 Brit Awards. She was placed fourth in Sound of 2020, an annual BBC poll of 170 music critics who predict breakthrough acts for the coming year.

2020–2025: Skin

In April 2020, Crookes released her first single of 2020, "Anyone But Me", which debuted atop the UK Asian Top 40. The song is about her battles with mental health and how she feels that "there's another person living in [her] head." consequently entering both the UK Singles Downloads and the UK Singles Sales charts. which became her third single to top the UK Asian Top 40 and is featured on the EA Sports video game FIFA 22 Its third single, "When You Were Mine", was released later that month and became her fourth single to top the UK Asian Top 40.

On the album, Crookes incorporates samples on songs like "19th Floor" and "Kingdom". In an interview with Sound of Boston, Crookes explains the origins of both samples, and why she chose to include them: "The opening of 19th Floor is my grandma saying goodbye to me as she usually does when I leave her flat on the 19th floor of her block in south London. The voice call in Kingdom is my dad talking about the importance of punk music. I included these to contextualize my life at the time and where those songs were born from. I am a super family-orientated person and it felt like an important part of my narrative to include them on the album."

On 18 October 2024, Crookes was featured on the song "Strength (R U Ready)" from The Blessed Madonna's album, Godspeed.

2025–present: Juniper

On 10 January 2025, Crookes premiered a new single titled "Pass The Salt", featuring Vince Staples. A second single, "Mathematics", featuring Kano was released on 5 February, the song became her first number one on the British Asian Music Chart. The album received mostly positive reviews from critics. In a four-star review for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis opined that the album "asserts Crookes’s talent as a vocalist and songwriter". In an 8/10 review for The Line of Best Fit, critic Lana Williams stated that the album was a "triumphant foray that establishes her as a truly unparalleled artist." In an interview with the BBC, Crookes stated that the album had been inspired by her struggles with anxiety, as well as an abusive relationship which culminated in a "hedonistic period of her life". A deluxe version of the album featuring the bonus track "Fade Your Heart", from the soundtrack to EA Sports FC 26, was released on 31 October.

In promotion of the album, she performed at the Tate Modern on 26 September, as well as at the Glastonbury Festival 2025. She then embarked on a tour containing dates in Europe, Britain and America, whilst also serving as an opener for Lewis Capaldi's 2026 North American tour. She made her acting debut as Samira in Ish, which premiered at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival.

Personal life and artistry Crookes is an Arsenal supporter. Crookes had the name of her Irish grandfather, Frankie Crookes, tattooed on her arm before he died in 2018.

In 2025, she stated she had previously been in a relationship with a woman, an experience which inspired the closing track of her album Juniper, titled "Paris".

Discography Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions UK BEL(WA) FRA GER IRE Skin Released: 15 October 2021 Format: Cassette, CD, digital download, LP, streaming Label: Speakerbox, Insanity 5 99 114 41 26 10 47 Juniper Released: 19 September 2025 Format: Cassette, CD, digital download, LP, streaming Label: Speakerbox, Insanity 13 — — — — 10 — "—" denotes album did not chart in that territory.

Extended plays TitleEP detailsInfluence Released: 21 July 2017 Format: CD, digital download, streaming Label: Speakerbox, InsanityReminiscence Released: 25 January 2019 Format: CD, digital download, streaming Label: Speakerbox, InsanityPerception Released: 31 May 2019 Format: CD, digital download, streaming Label: Speakerbox, Insanity

Singles TitleYear Peak chart positions CertificationsAlbumUKAsian UKDown. UKSales "New Manhattan" 2016 — — — Influence "Sinatra" — — — "Bad Feeling" 2017 — — — "Don't Let Me Down" 2018 — — — Reminiscence "Two Nights" 2019 19 — — "Hurts" 19 — — Perception "Since I Left You" 3 — — "London Mine" 14 — — "Yah / Element (Medley)" — — — "Early" 1 — — "Anyone But Me" 2020 1 — — "You & Me Song" — 96 99 "Looking for a 10" 2021 — — — Produced By EP"Feet Don't Fail Me Now" 1 29 30 BPI: Silver Skin "Skin" — — — "When You Were Mine" 1 46 48 BPI: Silver — — — "Somebody To You" — — — "Fade Your Heart" — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist + List of singles, showing year released and album nameTitleYearAlbum"How I've Been"(Swindle featuring Jnr Williams, Joy Crookes, Kojey Radical and Loyle Carner) 2021 The New World"Strength (R U Ready)"(The Blessed Madonna featuring Joy Crookes) 2024 Godspeed"Always on Your Side"(Bonobo featuring Joy Crookes) 2026 Distance in Static

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2025 Ish Samira

Awards and nominations