Kenya Grace

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 was born in South Africa to a South African mother and a British father, but she grew up in a “very quiet and chill” town (Chandler’s Ford) near Southampton. 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. She attended Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, first reading history and English literature, but switching to music after deciding to become a musician, and graduated in September 2019 with a degree in songwriting and creative artistry. She has credited the university with curing her stage fright. Later that year, she and Willow Kayne made the Top 21 in ISawItFirst, 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. she later moved to North London, her move having been delayed by the pandemic.

2023–present: Strangers and The After Taste In late July 2023, she started to promote "Strangers", a drum and bass song she had written and produced when released on 1 September 2023 on FFRR Records, 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).

On 15 September 2023, she released a "slower and sadder" remix of Strangers,

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.

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.”

Released: 22 March 2024 Label: Warner Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, LP 7

Singles +List of singles, with selected chart positions, certifications, and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album UK AUS AUT GER NLD NZ SWE SWI US WW "Obsessed" 2022 — — — — — — — — — — "Someone Else" — — — — — — — — — — "Afterparty Lover" 2023 — — — — — — — — — — "Meteor" — — — — — — — — — — "Strangers" 1 2 1 4 3 2 8 2 42 5 BPI: 2× Platinum ARIA: 2× Platinum BVMI: Platinum IFPI AUT: Platinum IFPI SWI: 2× Platinum RIAA: Gold RMNZ: 3× Platinum The After Taste "Only in My Mind" — — — — "Paris" — — — — — — — — — — "It's Not Fair" 2024 — — — — — — — — — — The After Taste "Mr. Cool" 2025 — — — — — — — — — — "Naked" 2026 — — — — — — — — — — "The One You Loved" — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Live performances Kenya has played live in:

New York City Chicago BBC Music Introducing Melkweg (Amsterdam) - 2023 Amsterdam Dance Event (Amsterdam) - 2023 iHeart Radio Jingle Ball - 2023 El Rey Theatre (Los Angeles) - 2023 Spotify Wrapped - 2023 Roundhouse (London) for the Rolling Stone UK Awards - 2023 Village Underground (London) - 2023 BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend - 2024 Gorilla (Manchester) - 2024

Festivals

Kenya played her first festival at Coachella in 2024, 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". In a separate interview she said "I've never seen a crowd that big before". where she "delivered an amazing set" according to the BBC, singing her own songs such as Strangers, Stay, Only In My Mind and Paris; as well as covering other artists' songs such as Toxic by Britney Spears and Whatcha Say by Jason Derulo.

Building on her success at festivals, between July and October 2024 Kenya is booked to play at:

Mad Cool Festival 2024 - Iberdrola Music - Madrid, Spain Exit Festival 2024 - Petrovaradin Fortress - Novi Sad, Serbia NOS Alive 2024 - Passeio Marítimo de Algés - Algés, Portugal Melt Festival 2024 - Ferropolis - Gräfenhainichen, Germany Electric Castle Festival 2024 - Electric Castle - Cluj-Napoca, Romania Way Out West Festival 2024 - Slottsskogen - Gothenburg, Sweden Flow Festival 2024 - Suvilahti - Helsinki, Finland Reading Festival 2024 - Richfield Avenue - Reading, United Kingdom Leeds Festival 2024 - Leeds Festival - Leeds, United Kingdom Zürich Openair 2024 - Zürich, Switzerland Sundown Festival 2024 - Norfolk Showground - Costessey, United Kingdom Lollapalooza 2024 - Olympiastadion & Olympiapark - Berlin, Germany Breakaway Music Festival 2024 - zMAX Dragway - Concord, North Carolina, United States Breakaway Music Festival 2024 - Fair Park Fairgrounds - Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Awards and nominations