Name Aminata Kabba Birth name Aminata Kabba Years active 2010–present Instruments Vocals | Occupation(s) Singersongwriter Origin London, United Kingdom Role Singer-songwriter | |
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Born 13 December 1994 (age 29) Freetown, Sierra Leone ( 1994-12-13 ) Associated acts Gary BarlowMNEKDuke Dumont Albums Il tamburo della vita, Play the Game Boy (Remixes) Genres Pop music, Dance-pop, Contemporary R&B, Hip hop soul, Electronic dance music Record labels Universal Music Group, Future Records, Epic Records Nominations Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording Similar People Duke Dumont, MNEK, Jax Jones Profiles | ||
Aminata Jamieson (nee Kabba) (born 13 December 1994), better known as A*M*E, is a British singer and songwriter. A*M*E was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone on 13 December 1994. In 2011, Amy was scouted and signed by Take That frontman Gary Barlow to his label, Future Records.
Contents
- 19942011 Early life
- 2011present Play the Game Boy and Sound of 2013 nomination
- Influences
- Tours
- References
On 9 December 2012 the BBC announced that A*M*E had been nominated for the Sound of 2013 poll.
In January 2013 A*M*E signed to Sony Music's Epic Records after Barlow closed Future Records to focus on his own career commitments. Her single "Need U (100%)", a collaboration with Duke Dumont and MNEK, topped the UK Singles Chart on 7 April 2013.
1994–2011: Early life
At the age of eight, Amy moved to the United Kingdom after her mother's hair salon was burned to the ground and life in Sierra Leone became too dangerous. Growing up in the Catford area of southeast London, Amy formed her own playground version of American group Destiny's Child, named Independent Girls; before realising that—much like Beyoncé—she preferred the spotlight solely on her. From there she joined the Sedgehill School choir, taking lead on choral renditions of songs by Rihanna and Justin Timberlake, before being introduced to fellow teenage prodigy, MNEK. The pair bonded over a mutual love of 90s pop and started collaborating, quickly creating a handful of songs including "City Lights". The track was enough to pique the interest of Take That frontman Gary Barlow, who proceeded to sign her to his Future record label.
2011–present: "Play the Game Boy" and Sound of 2013 nomination
A*M*E's first major success as a songwriter came when "Beautiful Stranger"—a track which she wrote with Cutfather—was recorded and released by K-pop band f(x); becoming a top 40 hit in Korea. Released in July 2012, the musician co-wrote her track "Find a Boy" alongside Emeli Sandé and producer Naughty Boy. Kabba also lent uncredited backing vocals to British singer Cheryl Cole's track "One Thousand", which was featured on her third studio album A Million Lights (2012).
It was announced by The Guardian in September that A*M*E would release her first commercial single, "Play the Game Boy", in November 2012. Produced by Electric, the track attained positive reviews, with Digital Spy listing the song as one of its 'Top 10 tracks you need to hear'; commenting on "[its] insanely addictive choruses and K-pop inspired melodies" and that "it feels fresher than anything else on this week's chart."
On 9 December 2012 the BBC announced that A*M*E had been nominated for the Sound of 2013 poll alongside the likes of Angel Haze and The Weeknd.
Her collaboration with Duke Dumont, "Need U (100%)" was released in March 2013. It became both acts' most successful single at the time, debuting at no.1 and remaining there for 2 weeks, and has since been nominated for the Best Dance Recording category at the 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards. In April 2013, it was confirmed that A*M*E was finishing her Epic Records debut album, and would be released later that year – however, as of July 2014, a date has not been set for the release.
On 14 July 2014, A*M*E released her second official single, "Heartless", produced by Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub. She also featured on Monsieur Adi's single "What's Going On?", released in November 2013. A*M*E co-wrote two more songs during 2013 and 2014; "Stereotype" by Norwegian singer-songwriter Samsaya and "Future X Girl" by British group Neon Jungle. Kabba also recorded backing vocals for the latter.
Influences
A*M*E has been heavily influenced by K-pop, said "I love my K-pop, but I haven't really done anything with that sound yet. There's influences from it in my music – I've got some fat, solid, six-part melodies which are very K-poppy." A*M*E cites Beyoncé, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Big Bang as her influences, she also cites Janet Jackson as a major influence calling Jackson "my idol".