Biography
Sophie May Williams, the singer born in Wakefield, captured viewers’ attention during the third series of The Voice U.K. through a jazz-tinged delivery and a voice that sounded both poised and remarkably grown-up. Her musical preferences, shaped early by a grandfather who filled the house with jazz and easy-listening standards, led her to name Amy Winehouse, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan among her chief inspirations. Captivated by those sounds, she went on to study piano, saxophone and clarinet as a means of deepening her grasp of musical structure. In 2014 she auditioned for the program and advanced past the blind-audition stage when will.i.am selected her for his team. Mentored by the Black Eyed Peas frontman, she progressed as far as the semi-finals before being eliminated. That March she issued commercial singles of two standout performances from the show: “Moon Dance” and her cover of Lorde’s “Royals.”