UK singer Becky Hill is a pop powerhouse who has forged her own path to stardom.
The 27-year-old has become one of Britain's most successful musicians and the best part is that her success is entirely on her own terms.
Becky Hill burst on to the music scene when she auditioned for The Voice UK at the age of 17. Entering the singing competition may have been Becky's escape from school, but little did she know that she would make it to the semi-finals, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.
Following her recent win at the 2022 BRIT Awards, IOL Entertainment caught up with Becky to find out more about the singer songwriter, who is making waves in dance music.
Winning a BRIT Award is a huge achievement after all it was one of the best ways that British and international talent is recognised.
Becky says that winning the award for British Dance Act is the “biggest moment” of her life.
"It meant the world to me, it was powered by the fans. All my fans had to vote like everyday to get me to win it.
“It meant the world really to see people coming out and supporting me like that. To be recognised as a female in dance music is really tough, so it's nice to finally feel seen,” she shared.
Getting this accolade is certainly something Becky won’t be doing any time soon. There was so much excitement around winning the prestigious award that Becky even broke her trophy.
Now, breaking her BRIT Award was certainly not a part of the plan, but these things happen. Recalling the moment, Becky shamelessly admitted that she is quite the clumsy person and that, mixed with a bit of excitement, resulted in her award breaking.
"I'm the most clumsy person you'll ever meet. So I was in the 02 Arena and I saw an artist I was really a big fan of, called Self Esteem. And I heard that she wanted to meet me and I never thought she would like somebody like me, I don't know why. Then I saw her.
“She was like coming up to me and I dropped the award and threw my arms around her. When we picked up the award, we realised the bottom was missing so we were scrambling around looking for it. So, I need to find some super glue at some point and stick it back on," she shared.
At least Becky has quite the hilarious tale to tell when it comes to winning her first BRIT Award.
Becky credits her fans for making her dream a reality, as they are the ones who ensured she won the award by voting for her.
"I was shocked about the BRITS because for two years I wasn't really allowed to go and see anybody. When I went touring, I had a sold-out show last year across the UK and I wasn't allowed to go speak to people.
“So I actually felt distant from my fans. It means a lot now that I can go give people a hug, have a conversation in real life instead of seeing a comment online,” says Becky.
Her fans are true riders and over the years a great fan/ artist relationship has been built, one filled with understanding and love on both ends.
"I've got fans that understand what I'm like, which is a blessing," Becky shares.
Becky has quite the extensive catalogue, so much so that she released a greatest hits album before her debut album.
Last year Becky released her debut album, “Only Honest On The Weekend”, a project that was a long time coming.
The album has done exceptionally well, even Becky is delighted, especially after being able to connect with her fans during her tour.
I spoke to Becky about her expectations versus reality of the reception of “Only Honest On The Weekend”.
“I think I was so focused on creating this body of work that I can hold my chest and say I'm a proper artist, I've got an album out, that I didn't think of people listening to it and singing the lyrics back to me.
“That headline tour was crazy. People know all the words, all the ad libs, backing vocals, it was so beautiful to see that album in a reality format. Seeing people connect with it and feel like I've actually done what I wanted to do,” she shared.
Becky is at a point in her career where she wants people outside of the UK to know exactly who she is.
"I'm really excited to start showing people what I've been showing the UK for the last nine to 10 years years. I think my battle in the UK was that everybody knew my songs but no one knew who I was and it was kind of the reverse. We usually know who an artist is and then kind of know their songs afterwards,“ she says.
That is why she is doing things differently and putting herself out there and introducing herself to South African audiences.
"It's going to be nice to be able to do it the right way with other territories.To introduce myself first then give people more music. It's going to be nice for people to get to know me as an artist with my records and then go back through and discover the other party tunes I've done,“ she said.
In 2020 Becky launched a podcast, called 'The Art Of Race' about the dance music scene, something that she is very passionate about. On the series she talks to DJ Zinc, Pete Tong, Andy C, Roni Size and more about their music, their careers and their influence on the scene.
Being a different kind of mic, Becky was scared for the longest time before stepping into the podcast mic. However, she has also learnt a lot from doing the series.
"I've learnt a lot from the first series. We are about to start the next series of it and it was actually my fiancé who gave me the idea of 'The Art Of Rave'. He's going to be joining in the next series as someone who knows dance music first hand, rather than me that got it second hand. That's going to be real fun. I think it's going to add a different dimension to the podcast.
"I really love finding out about people, especially people who have an interesting story to tell. These were my heroes growing up as well, so there was definitely an element of having to kind of keep my cool as well as try and hold down an interview. It's a really interesting process and I'm really proud of 'The Art Of Rave'.“ she says.
For the past two years, the Covid-19 pandemic has turned the world upside down. Artists across the globe have had to feel the pinch with restrictions imposed by governments essentially damaging their livelihoods.
Becky explains that she herself has felt the pinch, and while she may have been able to do some work at home, it hasn't been easy.
"Our jobs were taken away from us for 18 months. Our government told us our jobs werent essential and that we needed to retrain. You know, and those same politicians are turning up to music events,” she shares.
Becky also shared how her fiancé, Charlie Gardner’s work has been heavily impacted by the pandemic. He works in the festival scene dealing with line-ups, which is how they met and things have been tough, she notes.
“It was really hard and I think now we're all just grateful for life to be returning in the way we once knew it. And I know people are hungry for it as well, it's nice to see the crowd reaction as well. I can pay my singers and I can pay my band, my team. It feels good now,” she shared.
Becky is on a roll, there’s no slowing down just yet for her. She’s already thinking about doing another album and is constantly creating.
She has a new single out at the moment, called “Run” and she promises more music is on the way and has hinted at the possibility of another David Guetta collaboration.