Scarlette Fever

Scarlette Fever serves as the stage name for Karen Barrow, an acoustic pop singer and songwriter whose fiery and vivacious nature inspired the choice. Born in Hertfordshire, England, in 1982, Barrow developed an early affinity for music through her mother’s collection of Matt Monro and Carpenters recordings—the latter group’s lead vocalist providing the inspiration for her given name. Following completion of her A-level examinations, she deferred plans to pursue marine biology so she could focus on establishing herself in the music business. An unsuccessful tryout for the British R&B girl group Mis-Teeq led her instead to work as a wedding singer, after which she completed a ballad-heavy album that remained unreleased. The project’s failure encouraged Barrow to adopt a fresh identity as Scarlette Fever, and with guidance from former Sony A&R executive Diane Young she collaborated on new songs alongside Metrophonic (James Morrison), Grant Black (Craig David), and Julian Emery (Lissie). Following her role as support act for Roachford’s U.K. tour, the resulting debut album Medication Time—its title drawn from a phrase in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest—appeared on Starfisch Records in 2010 and featured the singles “Crash and Burn” together with the John Barry-sampling track “You Don’t Know My Name.”