Kirsten Joy
| Kirsten Joy | |
|---|---|
| Born | South Africa |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Website |
www |
Kirsten Joy (also known as Kirsten Joy Gill) is an English singer-songwriter who came to prominence after taking part in the 2012 inaugural series of the singing talent contest The Voice UK. Having been chosen by judge Jessie J in the programme's 'blind auditions' round, Kirsten joined other contestants on Jessie's team to compete for a place in the finals. During the 'battle rounds' Kirsten lost out to fellow contestant Toni Warne.[1]
Early life
Family
Kirsten, who was born in South Africa to missionary parents, is from Walderslade, a large suburb to the south of Chatham in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. She was educated at Rochester Grammar School.[2]
Music career
Music featured throughout Joy's school life through plays, assemblies local concerts, including in Rochester Cathedral, singing at church at taking part in local talent competitions. She was a contestant in a "Star4Medway", a local talent competition promoted by the Mayor of Medway. This led to the opportunity for Joy to sing one of her own songs opening on the main stage at the Kent Music Festival at Port Lympne in 2005, where acts included Girls Aloud and Lemar.[3]
Before starting out as a session singer, Joy performed as a member of the ACM Gospel Choir in 2006. It was an extra-curricular activity at the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM), a music academy located in Guildford, Surrey, England. Joy, Mark De-Lisser and other ACM students featured on the BBC’s talent-themed television show Last Choir Standing in 2008. The ACM Gospel Choir reached the finals of the show.
An article for Kentonline reported that Kirsten had "shared a stage with Gary Barlow, supported Girls Aloud and has sung in front of the Queen".[2] She has also worked with Producers.
She was a member of the United Kingdom national jury in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.
In 2012, the UK version of The Voice was broadcast on BBC television and Joy took part as a solo contestant. She succeeded in the 'blind audition' round in attracting the attention of Jessie J and joined Jessie's team to compete against other teams for judges Tom Jones (singer), Will.i.am and Danny O'Donoghue. At the 'battle round' stages, Jessie chose to pit Joy's talent against fellow contestant Toni Warne. Jessie chose Warne to go through but praised Joy's vocal talent.
The Voice UK performances and results
| Theme | Song performed | Original artist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blind audition | "Heaven" | Emeli Sandé | Picked for Team Jessie |
| Battle Rounds | "Think" | James Brown | Eliminated |
Music releases
Kirsten released her debut EP 'Written in the Sky'[4] in February 2013. It was produced by Ben Collier and Nari Man. Four of the five tracks are original songs: 'Written in the Sky', 'Remembered', 'Castles', 'Good News'; the final track 'The Wolves' being a cover of a Ben Howard song.
EP 'Written in the Sky', 2013
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Written in the Sky" | 3:58 |
| 2. | "Remembered" | 3:47 |
| 3. | "Castles" | 3:41 |
| 4. | "Good news" | 4:11 |
| 5. | "The Wolves" | 4:19 |
She attempted to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "One Life". On 25 November 2014, it was revealed that Joy was not one of the nine acts selected by SRF to move on to the live auditions and was eliminated.
References
- ↑ "The Voice Battle Rounds Jessie J chooses Toni Warne over Kirsten Joy". www.unrealitytv.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
- 1 2 "Medway's Kirsten Joy through to next stage of The Voice". www.kentonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
- ↑ "Kent Music Festival Competition 2005". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
- ↑ "Southfields' The Voice star Kirsten Joy launches first EP (I)". www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kirsten Joy. |