Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 17 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, and dancer. She was a backup dancer for numerous musicians, and made her musical debut with EP1 (2012). Barnett's debut studio album, LP1 (2014), reached number 16 on the UK Albums Chart and number 30 on the US Billboard 200. It was nominated for that year's Mercury Prize. She then released the EP M3LL155X (2015).
Barnett took a four-year hiatus before releasing her second studio album, Magdalene (2019). After signing with Atlantic Records, she released the mixtape Caprisongs (2022). Her work has garnered acclaim and has been described as "genre-bending",[7] drawing on various genres including electronic music, trip hop, R&B, hyperpop and avant-garde. Her third studio album, Eusexua, is set to be released on 24 January 2025.
Early life
Tahliah Debrett Barnett[8] was born on 17 January 1988[8][9] in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire,[10] the only child of an English mother who was a dancer and gymnast and a Jamaican father who was a musician.[11] She has Spanish ancestry from her mother’s side of the family.[12] She was raised by her mother and stepfather, whom she described as a "jazz fanatic of Bajan descent",[13] and did not meet her biological father until she was 18.[12][14][15] Barnett grew up in Cheltenham, a spa town she described as being "kind of in the middle of nowhere".[11] She attended St Edward's School, a private co-educational Catholic school.[16][17] Her education at the school was funded by an academic scholarship.[18] From a young age, she undertook opera and ballet lessons and took part in several St Edward's School productions.[19]
At age 16, Barnett started making music in youth clubs.[15] At age 17, she moved to South London to pursue a career as a dancer,[20] and enrolled at the BRIT School.[21] After changing her focus from dance to music, she transferred to Croydon College to pursue an education in fine arts.[14] She worked as a backup dancer in music videos by artists such as Kylie Minogue, Plan B, Ed Sheeran, Taio Cruz, Dionne Bromfield, Jessie J, and Wretch 32.[22] She was a backup dancer for Jessie J in her 2010 video for "Do It like a Dude",[23] and appeared again in her 2011 video for "Price Tag".[24] She appeared in the video for Dionne Bromfield's song "Yeah Right".[25] In 2011, she appeared in a two-minute BBC comedy sketch titled Beyoncé Wants Groceries,[26] as a backup dancer.[23] At age 18, she began working with local record producers to try to find her own musical sound. Around this time, she wrote the song "I'm Your Doll" and ended up producing a lot of what she considers to be "really bad demos".[12] For a time, she worked as a hostess in a strip club[27] and sang periodically at the Box Soho in Soho.[14]
Career
2012–2013: Career beginnings
In 2012 Barnett was photographed for the cover of i-D magazine.[28] She became known as Twigs for the way her joints crack.[11] She added the initialism FKA to her name when another act called the Twigs – twin sisters active and recording since 1994 – asked her to change her stage name.[11] It was believed or assumed that the "FKA" stood for the business abbreviation "formerly known as",[29][30][31] but Barnett has said in multiple interviews that the letters do not stand for anything in particular: "[I]t's just a collection of letters. I was gonna be like FK1 Twigs... or AFK Twigs... I just wanted a selection of letters that sounded quite kind of masculine and strong. FKA just worked. It doesn't stand for anything, it's just capital letters."[32][33]
Barnett self-released her music debut, EP1, on Bandcamp on 4 December 2012. She posted a video for each song on her YouTube channel.[23] In August 2013, she released the video for her first single, "Water Me", directed by Jesse Kanda.[34][35] That same month The Guardian profiled Barnett for their "New Band of the Day" feature, describing her as "the UK's best example to date of ethereal, twisted R&B."[36] Barnett's second extended play, EP2, was released through the Young Turks record label in September.[37] It was produced by Barnett and Arca. Pitchfork gave EP2 a rating of 8/10.[38] In December, she was nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2014 prize, and was chosen by Spotify for their Spotlight on 2014 list.[39][40] Barnett was then featured on Billboard's 14 Artists to Watch in 2014.[41]
2014–2017: LP1 and M3LL155X
Barnett performing in March 2015
In April 2014, Barnett appeared on the cover of The Fader for its 91st issue.[42] She began writing for her first studio album during a period of "self-hatred", which she considers "quite normal" for a young person.[12] On 24 June, she released "Two Weeks", the lead single from her forthcoming album, alongside a video. Barnett directed and guest-starred in the music video for "Ouch Ouch" by rapper Lucki Eck$; she produced the track.[43] The second single, "Pendulum", was released on 29 July.
Her debut studio album, LP1, was released on 6 August through the record label Young Turks.[44] The album received widespread critical acclaim and placed high on several year-end critics' lists. Time gave a positive review, saying that Barnett has "made that transition to one of the most compelling and complex acts in R&B", and later ranked it, as did Clash, #1 album of the year.[45] She then announced a world tour starting on 2 October at The Dome in Brighton, East Sussex and ending on 3 December in Orlando, Florida at The Social.[46] That same August, Barnett was signed to London-based production company Academy Films. On 20 August, she uploaded three videos to her YouTube channel which she directed: a video titled "Wet Wipez", starring the London dance crew of the same name; a video titled "tw-ache", which is a remix of the EP1 song "Ache"; and a video for the Lucki Eck$ track "Ouch Ouch", which she produced.[citation needed] In September, LP1 was revealed as one of the nominees for the 2014 Mercury Prize.[47] The same month, Barnett performed on BBC's Later... with Jools Holland.[48] In October, "Video Girl", the third and last single from the album, was released alongside a video a few days later, as well as an advert for Google Glass which Barnett directed.[49] She made her US television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on 4 November.[50]
In 2014, producer Boots announced he was working with Barnett on her third EP.[51][52] The video for "Glass & Patron", the first song released from this EP, was posted on her YouTube channel on 23 March 2015; it was directed by Barnett.[53] In February 2015, she performed Congregata, a theatrical "coming together" and choreographed performance that visualised "the story of my life while making this album" at the Roundhouse in Camden, London.[54] On 15 May, on her Instagram account, she posted a picture of men posing with jackets on that had an image of Barnett's face from the "Papi Pacify" video with Barnett captioning the pic "coming soon... <3", hinting at either merchandise or EP3's alleged release in the summer. During an interview with Complex released in June, she stated that she had changed the title of the EP to Melissa, and that it would be released within two months. She confirmed it would include the songs "Glass & Patron", "Mothercreep", "I'm Your Doll", "Figure 8", and "In Time".[12] The EP, stylised as M3LL155X, was released in 2015, containing all five announced tracks and accompanied by four videos, which were directed by Barnett, featuring pregnancy, sex dolls, vogueing and Michèle Lamy. The title of the EP reads as "Melissa" and is named after Barnett's "personal female energy". The record met critical acclaim.[citation needed]
In 2016 Barnett debuted a new song and music video titled "Good to Love".[55] The song premiered earlier at Soundtrack 7, her seven-day residency at Manchester International Festival that took place in July 2015.[56] She performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on 24 February.[57] On 9 July, Barnett debuted a new stage show called Radiant Me² at Moscow's Lastochka Festival, where she unveiled three previously unheard songs.[58] In 2016 the dance film Soundtrack 7 was premiered. Directed by Barnett, the film was created, performed and filmed on-site across seven days at Manchester International Festival in 2015.[59][60] She did advertising work directing, narrating and starring in a television ad for Nike,[61] and dancing in Apple's advertisement for HomePod.[62]
2018–2020: Magdalene
Barnett performing in May 2019
Barnett appeared on ASAP Rocky's album Testing in 2018, featuring on the track "Fukk Sleep". On 24 April 2019, she released the single "Cellophane",[63] her first release since "Good to Love" in 2016. In September, Barnett announced that her second album, co-produced with Nicolas Jaar among others, would be titled Magdalene, supported by second single "Holy Terrain" (featuring Future) on 9 September.[64] On 7 October, she released the third single, "Home with You", and announced that the album would be delayed until 8 November.[65] The fourth single, "Sad Day", was released on 4 November.
Magdalene was released in November 2019. It received universal critical acclaim. The album ranked No. 1 on four year-end lists (The A.V. Club, Clash, Now, and Time) and in top-five of seven other lists. The same day, the film Honey Boy, in which Barnett played Shy Girl, had a commercial premiere. The film received positive reviews from critics.[66]
In 2020 she appeared in an OnlyFans-inspired music video for the song "Sum Bout U" with rapper 645AR.[67] The video for "Sad Day", directed by Hiro Murai, premiered on 28 August. In September, Barnett received four nominations for the 2020 UK Music Video Awards, "Sad Day" won later the best cinematography in a video.[68][69]
In October, Barnett took part in a virtual chat on the Grammy Museum's Programs at Home series. During the chat, she revealed that she was "just finishing" a new album that she made largely in collaboration with Spanish musician and producer el Guincho, and with other collaborators, many of whom she met for the first time via FaceTime calls.[70] In November, British singer Dua Lipa hosted a live stream concert, titled Studio 2054, in which Barnett was invited to play as a guest. The two teased an upcoming collaboration, titled "Why Don't You Love Me", during Barnett's performance.[71]
2021: Caprisongs
On 25 January 2021, Barnett announced the single "Don't Judge Me", featuring rapper Headie One and producer Fred Again, to be released the next day alongside a video co-directed by director Emmanuel Adjei and herself.[72] The same day, she took part in a podcast episode with Louis Theroux and discussed her previous known relationships and an upcoming album, stating "It was all via the internet... I have more collaborations and features on this album than I ever had before."[73] In February, she described the album as a "going out" record, and revealed it would feature collaborations with Nigerian Afrobeats musician Rema, British rapper Pa Salieu.[74] A few days later, Barnett, interviewed by British actress and screenwriter Michaela Coel, revealed that she had changed the undisclosed, original title of the upcoming record due to a well-known artist titling a non-musical project the same thing.[75] In an interview with Vogue in May, Barnett revealed the album does not have a set release date, but wanted to release it in the northern summer of 2021.[76] In July 2021, Barnett directed the music video for Koreless' "White Picket Fence" single.[77]
Barnett joined the FKA Twigs Discord server in September 2021 and shared details about the upcoming record. Barnett confirmed the project to be a mixtape, and listed el Guincho, Koreless, and Arca, as well as new collaborators American hip-hop producer Mike Dean and Canadian pop producer Cirkut, as producers for the project.[78] She additionally teased a collaboration with Swedish rapper Yung Lean on Instagram.[79]
Barnett released the single "Measure of a Man", featuring British rapper Central Cee, in November 2021, which appears as part of the film soundtrack for The King's Man.[80] "Tears in the Club" featuring Canadian singer the Weeknd was released on 16 December. The song was her first release under Atlantic Records and served as the lead single from her mixtape, titled Caprisongs, which was released on 14 January 2022.[81]Caprisongs also includes appearances from Pa Salieu, Daniel Caesar, Rema, Jorja Smith, Unknown T, Dystopia and Shygirl.[82] Barnett was awarded Godlike Genius at the 2022 BandLab NME Awards in March, where she also performed "Meta Angel", and "Tears in the Club".[83] She additionally featured on Yung Lean's Stardust album in April.
2022-present: Eusexua
In June 2022 Barnett released "Killer". The song is about "the risks that you take for love" and how "the effects of heart break can define one's trajectory much more than the beauty of the love itself".[84] Barnett debuted the song live during an NPRTiny Desk Concert.[85] The "Killer" music video, featuring Barnett performing choreography with Arón Piper on a beach in Portugal, was directed by Yoann Lemoine and released on 20 July 2022.[86]
On 14 September 2023, Barnett performed a cover of Opus III's "It's a Fine Day" at Vogue World: London 2023, accompanied on stage by Cara Delevingne, whom she kissed, and members of the Rambert Dance Company.[87] On October 1, she introduced a new song titled "Unearth Her" with Koreless as part of a performance at the 2023 Valentino Women's Wear Spring/Summer 2024 Paris Fashion Week show.[88] On October 15, in a series of Instagram stories, the artist announced that eighty-five of her demo tracks had been leaked. She declared there would be "no new music for a while", postponing her third studio album.[89]
In August 2024, Barnett announced that her third studio album, Eusexua, will debut in January 2025.[90] Its title track was released September 13, 2024.[91] On October 17, "Perfect Stranger" was released as the second single.[92] A third single, "Drums of Death", released on November 14.[93]
Calvin Klein ad controversy
In January 2024, the UK Advertising Standards Authority banned a Calvin Klein advertisement that featured Barnett posing semi-nude, on the grounds that it framed her as a "stereotypical sexual object". Barnett defended the ad, saying that she is "proud of [her] physicality".[94] In March 2024, the ASA revoked their ban, referencing the views of Barnett and the public, and "concern that our rationale for banning the ad was substantially flawed".[95]
Possessing a soprano vocal range,[96][97][54] Barnett's music has been described as "genre-bending",[7] drawing on a variety of styles, including electronic music, R&B, trip hop, choral music, industrial, and avant-garde.[98][17][99] In her songs and music videos she incorporates elements of afrofuturism.[100] Karen Vintges, of the University of Amsterdam, described Barnett's performance style as "porno-chic", and said it "refuses to conform to standard norms of heterosexual beauty".[101] In her collaboration with 645AR she explored the artistic value of sex work.[102]
Barnett said: "I am not restricted by any musical genre. I like to experiment with sounds, generating emotions while putting my voice on certain atmospheres ... I found my own way of playing punk. I like industrial sounds and incorporating everyday life's sounds like a car alarm."[109] She has been associated with the alternative R&B tag, though she herself has rejected the R&B label as related to her race:
It's just because I'm mixed race. When I first released music and no one knew what I looked like, I would read comments like: 'I've never heard anything like this before, it's not in a genre.' And then my picture came out six months later, now she's an R&B singer. I share certain sonic threads with classical music; my song 'Preface' is like a hymn. So let's talk about that. If I was white and blonde and said I went to church all the time, you'd be talking about the 'choral aspect'. But you're not talking about that because I'm a mixed-race girl from south London.[110]
The first singers who influenced Barnett were Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Marvin Gaye. When she started composing songs, she wanted to reproduce music she liked: "every bit of music that I made sounded like a pastiche of Siouxsie and the Banshees or Adam Ant. But through that I discovered myself."[111] In an interview after being shortlisted for the 2014 Mercury Prize, Barnett cited Germfree Adolescents by X-Ray Spex as her favourite album of all time.[112]
Personal life
Health
Barnett had surgery to remove fibroid tumours from her uterus in December 2017. She described her experience as "living with a fruit bowl of pain every day" and saluted the bravery of other women living with the condition.[113] In 2020 she adopted a vegan diet after discovering the consumption of animal products was likely exacerbating the symptoms of her condition.[114]
Relationships
Barnett began dating English actor Robert Pattinson in September 2014, and they became engaged before ending their relationship in mid-2017.[115][116]
Barnett met American actor Shia LaBeouf on the set of the film Honey Boy, and they dated from mid-2018 to mid-2019.[117] She filed a lawsuit against him at Los Angeles Superior Court in December 2020, accusing him of sexual battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress during their relationship.[118][119] In his response, LaBeouf stated he had been "abusive" to himself and those around him "for years" and that he was "ashamed" and "sorry to those [he] hurt".[120] He later denied all allegations made by Barnett.[121] The lawsuit is set to proceed to trial in October 2024.[122]
Barnett promoted a campaign by Sistah Space encouraging people to lobby their local MP to support Valerie’s Law, which would introduce mandatory training for the police and other agencies when dealing with domestic abuse against black women and girls.[129]
In April 2024, Barnett testified before the United States SenateJudiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, calling for regulations on deepfakes and artificial intelligence.[130][131]
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens, a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and 2002 and won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2003. He made his film debut in The Christmas Path (1998). In 2004, he made his directorial debut with the short film Let's Love Hate and later directed a short film titled Maniac (2011), starring American rappers Cage and Kid Cudi.
Alejandra Ghersi Rodríguez, known professionally as Arca, is a Venezuelan musician and record producer based in Barcelona, Spain. She initially began releasing music under the name of Nuuro. After attending the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, Ghersi first released the EP Baron Libre (2012) under the name Arca and subsequently released the EPs Stretch 1 and Stretch 2; the latter experimented with hip hop and brought her attention from prominent music publications.
Courtney Melba Barnett is an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Known for her deadpan singing style and witty, rambling lyrics, she attracted attention with the release of her debut EP I've Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris in 2012. International interest came with the release of her EP The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas in 2013.
Angel Olsen is an American singer-songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri who lives in Asheville, North Carolina.
LP1 is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter FKA Twigs, released on 11 August 2014 by Young Turks. Production for the album is handled by FKA Twigs herself, alongside Emile Haynie, Arca, Cy An, Devonté Hynes, Clams Casino, Paul Epworth, Sampha and Tic.
EP2 is the second extended play (EP) by English singer FKA Twigs, released on 17 September 2013 by Young Turks. The song "Water Me" was released as a promotional single in 2013.
EP1 is the debut extended play (EP) by English singer FKA Twigs. It was independently released in vinyl format on 4 December 2012. The EP was re-released under the Young label in Japan packaged with LP1 and as a standalone product in October 2016. On 16 December 2016 EP1 officially became available to stream and buy on all music services. It had also been repressed on 12-inch vinyl and re-released by Young the same day. The vinyl re-issue originally went unavailable on Amazon within less than a month, later coming back in stock on 19 February 2017.
"Two Weeks" is a song by English singer FKA Twigs from her debut studio album, LP1 (2014). The song was released digitally on 24 June 2014 as the album's lead single. It was also released on 12-inch vinyl on 29 July 2014, featuring the song "Pendulum" as a B-side.
"Pendulum" is a song by English singer FKA Twigs from her debut studio album, LP1 (2014). The song was released digitally on 30 July 2014 as the album's second single. It was also released on 12-inch vinyl the day before, serving as the B-side to "Two Weeks". "Pendulum" premiered on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on 29 July 2014. Upon its premiere, Twigs referred to the track as "one of my favourite songs on my record."
Inc. No World is an American music duo originally from Los Angeles formed by brothers Andrew and Daniel Aged. Their first full-length album, No World, was released on February 19, 2013.
English singer and songwriter FKA Twigs has released two studio albums, one mixtape, three extended plays, twelve singles, one promotional single and eighteen music videos.
M3LL155X is the third extended play (EP) by English singer and songwriter FKA Twigs, released on 13 August 2015 by Young Turks. The EP was lauded by music critics after its release and peaked at number 63 on the Billboard 200 becoming her second entry on the chart.
"Cellophane" is a song by English singer FKA Twigs, released as the lead single from her second studio album Magdalene (2019). The song was released on 24 April 2019 through Young. It was her first single in three years. Its music video was also released on 24 April. "Cellophane" was met with widespread critical acclaim, with Twigs' vocal performance drawing significant praise.
Magdalene is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter FKA Twigs. Released on 8 November, 2019, by Young Turks, it is her first project since her EP M3LL155X (2015), and first full-length record since LP1 (2014). The album features a sole guest appearance from American rapper Future. FKA Twigs produced the album herself, with a wide range of co-producers including Nicolas Jaar, Koreless, Daniel Lopatin, Skrillex, Benny Blanco, Michael Uzowuru and Noah Goldstein, who also served as executive producer alongside Twigs.
"Sad Day" is a song by English singer FKA Twigs. Released on 9 November 2019 by Young Turks, it serves as the fourth and final single from Twigs' second studio album, Magdalene. The song was written and produced by Twigs, Koreless, Benny Blanco, Cashmere Cat, Nicolas Jaar, Skrillex and Noah Goldstein.
"Sum Bout U" is a song by American rapper 645AR featuring English singer-songwriter FKA Twigs, released on August 4, 2020, by Columbia Records. The song was written alongside producer SenseiATL and co-producer El Guincho, and came with a music video directed by Aidan Zamiri.
"Tears in the Club" is a song by English singer-songwriter FKA Twigs featuring Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on 16 December 2021, as the lead single from the former's first mixtape, Caprisongs (2022). The two artists wrote the song alongside Ali Tamposi and producers Cirkut, Arca, and el Guincho.
Caprisongs is the debut mixtape by English singer-songwriter FKA Twigs. It was released on 14 January 2022 through Young and Atlantic Records. The mixtape features guest appearances from Pa Salieu, the Weeknd, Shygirl, Dystopia, Rema, Daniel Caesar, Jorja Smith, and Unknown T. The production is handled by el Guincho, who co-executive produced the mixtape alongside Twigs, as well as Arca, Cirkut, and Mike Dean, among others. The mixtape was supported by one single, "Tears in the Club", which features the Weeknd, and one promotional single, "Jealousy", which features Rema.
Eusexua is the upcoming third studio album by English singer FKA Twigs. It is set to be released on 24 January 2025 through Young and Atlantic Records. It marks her first studio album in five years, following Magdalene (2019), and her first full body of work in over three years, following the mixtape Caprisongs (2022).
References
↑ Cafolla, Anna (13 January 2017). "FKA twigs has made a zine and you can see it here". Dazed. Retrieved 10 August 2017. An exclusive peek at the pages produced by the avant-pop visionary ... It's been two years since the release of the avant-pop visionary's M3LL155X EP ... .
↑ Grounded with Louis Theroux – 19. FKA twigs (Podcast). BBC. 25 January 2021. Event occurs at 25:20. Retrieved 24 April 2021. Theroux: 'You mentioned growing up in Gloucestershire.' Twigs: 'Yeah'. Theroux: 'You grew up in Tewkesbury.' Twigs: 'In Cheltenham.'
↑ FKA twigs (4 August 2020). "FKA twigs on Instagram". Instagram. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021. i was 19 when i learnt my first pole move, i learnt a back hook spin from a stripper when i was working as a hostess in a gentleman's club. for those of you who don't know, hostessing is when one person pays another person for their time, anything from a conversation over dinner to sex work, and the club gets a cut of the fee.
↑ Battan, Carrie (1 August 2013). "Rising: FKA twigs". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
↑ "LP1: FKA twigs". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 February 2022. 'The most obvious reference points, aside from the spectrum of breathy, synth-heavy R&B that stretches from Ciara through the Weeknd and Beyoncé .... There are also clear links to contemporary UK artists working the margins between R&B and electronic music, like James Blake, the xx, and even Sophie'
↑ Binet, Stéphanie (29 October 2014). "Pitchfork Festival: trois ans, et déjà la postérité pour le dubstep [including an interview with FKA Twigs]". Le Monde. Retrieved 12 November 2014. Je ne me plie à aucun genre musical, assure la métisse anglo-jamaïcaine. J'aime expérimenter avec les sons, provoquer des émotions en posant ma voix sur certaines atmosphères. Je viens de terminer mes derniers morceaux, et cela a beaucoup évolué par rapport à mon premier disque. Mes nouvelles musiques sont plus agressives. Plus jeune, je n'écoutais que du punk, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sid Vicious, et là, j'ai trouvé ma propre manière de jouer du punk. J'aime les sons industriels, incorporer des bruits de la vie de tous les jours comme une alarme de voiture.
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