Bow Anderson

A strand of unadulterated pop runs through the output of the explosive Scottish singer/songwriter Bow Anderson, setting her apart from numerous peers who have pursued the retro-soul route.

Born in the late 1990s, she spent her formative years on Edinburgh’s eastern fringe beside Portobello Beach, immersing herself in physical pursuits including dance, swimming, and gymnastics. At ten she began competing in trampolining events at Meadowbank Stadium and came within reach of selection for Team GB; three years afterward, however, a severe injury terminated that trajectory and prompted her to concentrate on the performing arts. A dyslexia diagnosis at fifteen steered her further from conventional schooling and toward local singing competitions. Four years later Anderson enrolled at the BIMM Institute in London with the explicit aim of building a music career.

Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson supplied her earliest models, above all their turns in Bill Condon’s 2006 film Dreamgirls, after which she investigated classic soul figures such as Etta James and Otis Redding. BIMM furnished both a thorough grounding in the contemporary music business and crucial contacts that drew the attention of Universal Music executives. By early 2020 she had signed with Island in the U.K.; within months EMI had taken her for the remaining territories. Her debut single, the self-written heartbreak narrative “Sweater” issued in March 2020 and co-produced by Jamie Scott and Jonny Coffer, amassed 5.5 million streams inside six months. Scott remained a regular partner as Anderson issued further singles—“Heavy” and “Island”—throughout the year. Departing from those densely arranged numbers, she delivered a reflective, piano-driven reading of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” in November, then closed the year with a featured turn on the club-oriented “I Just Wanna” by Felix Jaehn & Cheat Codes. The following year saw the arrival of the New Wave EP, which added two fresh songs to all of her prior solo releases.