Joelle

Joelle is an English schoolgirl and pop singer from London, England. At the age of 14, she first appeared live on UK national television on the Lorraine show as an alopecia campaigner and subsequently appeared on ABC News in the United States. Joelle is also a Young Person's Ambassador for the UK charity, Alopecia UK.

Joelle was born 14 weeks prematurely, weighing 1.5 lbs and having a dismal prognosis. Alopecia was yet another medical trial for her. Before she came to accept and even embrace her condition, Joelle maintained a daily routine that included getting up at 6am to spend an hour applying false eyelashes and drawing on her eyebrows before she went to school.

Joelle's TV appearances followed the extensive press coverage that she received internationally in relation to pictures of her posing bald with her mother, Michelle Grayson. The pictures of Joelle were taken by celebrity fashion photographer Dave Wise. During the Lorraine show, Joelle told Kate Garraway about her childhood experiences coping with alopecia universalis, a hair loss condition that has afflicted Joelle since she was 8 years old. As part of the interview, Joelle sang the lyrical excerpt "And you can turn on the morning TV and wish it was you instead of me", from her homemade music video "Big in L.A.", an amateur music video production created by her and her family, using their compact pocket holiday camera while on vacation in Los Angeles.

"Big in L.A." won the Best Music Video award at the 9th annual LA Femme International Film Festival, Best Foreign Award in the Music Video category of the 10th annual Action/Cut Short Film Competition in California and, following its UK début at the 2013 Portobello Film Festival in London, was nominated for a Golden Trellick Award.

During a press interview with journalist and author Tanith Carey, Joelle stated that the release of her music video resolved the bullying that she had been experiencing for many years at school. "Now instead of coming home crying, I was coming home smiling and laughing. I was just so happy people were seeing me for my music finally - not as the nerdy girl with no hair."

Joelle was referred to Phil Tan, who auditioned her in December 2011 and subsequently connected her with Peggy Johnson for vocal development. Joelle is also vocal coached by Daniel Thomas, who works with Girls Aloud.