Evvie Mckinney

Evvie McKinney, a singer born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, first reached a national audience by competing on the Fox series The Four: Battle for Stardom, which she won during its inaugural season in 2018. She had started singing in preschool and absorbed gospel traditions from her father, a performer steeped in gospel and blues. Already working professionally across multiple genres by age twenty, McKinney entered the competition as a challenger on the fifth of its six episodes and performed before a panel that featured Sean Combs, DJ Khaled, Meghan Trainor, and Republic Records president Charlie Walk. Crowned champion in February 2018, she earned a recording contract with the label after delivering powerful, nuanced renditions of material long associated with Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, and Andra Day, along with the Oscar-winning song “Glory” by Common and John Legend.