Corinne Bailey Rae

Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (/kəˈrɪn/; née Bailey; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2006. She released her debut album, Corinne Bailey Rae, in February 2006, and became the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one. The album has sold over four million copies. In 2007, Bailey Rae was nominated for three Grammy Awards and three Brit Awards, and won two MOBO Awards. In 2008, she won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year (for her work as a featured artist in Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters).

Bailey Rae released her second album, The Sea, on 26 January 2010, after a hiatus of almost three years. It was produced by Steve Brown and Steve Chrisanthou (who produced her debut album in 2006). She was nominated for the 2010 Mercury Prize for Album of the Year. In 2012, she won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance for "Is This Love" (a cover of the Bob Marley and the Wailers song of the same name). Bailey Rae was married to fellow musician Jason Rae from 2001 until his death from an accidental overdose of methadone and alcohol in 2008; she channelled the grief of his loss into her music.

On 26 February 2016, Bailey Rae announced her third album, The Heart Speaks in Whispers, which was released on 13 May 2016. The Heart Speaks in Whispers debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's R&B chart.

Bailey Rae was born in Leeds, England. Her father is from Saint Kitts and Nevis, and her mother, Linda, is English, although they separated when she was a child. She is the eldest of three daughters. Her siblings include Candice Bailey, and actress Rhea Bailey. She attended Allerton High School in north Leeds.

Bailey Rae began her musical career at school, where she studied classical violin before turning her attention to singing. Some of her earliest vocal performance experiences took place at a Plymouth Brethren church. Bailey Rae later transferred to a Baptist church, where the youth leader also coached rock bands in the local high school. The church's young people wrote their own worship songs and sang covers of songs by Primal Scream. She recorded two albums with the worship ministry youth group, under the name "Revive." Performing in church broadened Bailey Rae's musical horizons, and her love for making music was solidified after the church youth leader offered to lend her the money to buy her first guitar. In her mid-teens, she was influenced by Lenny Kravitz, also exploring rock through listening to Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.

Bailey Rae studied English language and literature at the University of Leeds, where she graduated in 2000.

Bailey Rae formed an indie group called Helen, which was inspired by similar acts such as Veruca Salt and L7. "It was the first time I'd seen women with guitars. They were kinda sexy—but feminist. I wanted to be like that, at the front of something." The group played many gigs around Leeds and, whilst unable to attract offers from any UK labels, were eventually approached by US-based heavy metal record label Roadrunner Records, home to acts such as Slipknot, in 1998. This deal disappeared before it was even signed, however, after the bassist became pregnant and the group disbanded. "[Was I] Disappointed? I was gutted! I had no idea what to do next."

In the three years after she married her first husband, Bailey Rae began working on solo material—this time steering away from her indie past and embarking on a more "soulful" path. She collaborated with Leeds-based funk group the New Mastersounds on the track "Your Love Is Mine", which featured on their 2003 album Be Yourself, released by One Note Records. The following year she again worked with another Leeds-based group, Home cut Directive, on the song "Come the Revolution", which was the first single from that group's debut album.