Sarah Close

Sarah Close, a British singer and songwriter, first gained recognition by sharing cover versions online. After walking away from a major-label contract, she chose independence and watched her debut single climb to number one.

Raised in a tiny village on the Isle of Wight, just off England’s southern shore, she grew up cut off from both the mainland and her schoolfriends, who lived on the opposite side of the island. Her parents’ participation in local bands fueled her own musical ambitions, so she turned to the internet as a route forward. Secretly using her mother’s guitar, she taught herself to play and, at age fourteen in 2010, began posting video covers of other artists’ songs while also creating original material.

Steady activity on social platforms helped her build an online following and move into live shows; performances at Rob da Bank’s club nights secured her a slot at Bestival. At eighteen she moved to London and entered a songwriting course at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, only to leave after two years. In 2017 she signed with Parlophone, but the partnership ended a year later without any releases, as she disagreed with the label’s intended direction. That independent choice bore fruit when her self-released debut single “Call Me Out,” from the Caught Up EP, reached the top of the U.K. charts. Whereas her covers had relied solely on acoustic guitar and piano, her own songs embraced an electronic, synth-driven sound. Further singles appeared before she issued her debut mini-album, And Now, We're Shining, in 2020.