It’s testament to Skye Newman’s talent and tenacity that this South London singer and songwriter has built something from nothing. Skye’s rapid ascent over the past 12 months is undoubtedly impressive, but it’s made even more so when you consider how hard Skye, the youngest of six and born and raised on various council estates, has had to fight to be heard for most of her life. The 21-year-old has transformed her raw talent, a truly extraordinary vocal and uncompromising storytelling into a cultural moment, resulting in two top twenty debut singles – a milestone no UK female solo artist has achieved in over a decade.

“Music is magic. It can heal you so much. I don’t know what I’d do without it in my life. I feel blessed to be able to create music and for people to be listening to it,” says Skye. 

With over 1.1 million followers on TikTok and 550,000 on Instagram, 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify and over 117 million global streams collectively, Skye has cultivated a deeply engaged community that helped drive debut single Hairdresser to Silver status, peaking at No. 15 on the Official Charts and holding its place in the Top 40 for 14 consecutive weeks. Follow up Family Matters went to No. 5, spending seven weeks in the Top 10 and was also certified Gold with more than 23 million streams. After selling out shows at Bermondsey Social Club and London’s Courtyard Theatre in 2024, Skye wowed crowds this Summer at Reading and Leeds festival, the BBC Introducing stage at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, onstage with Ed Sheeran at his hometown Ipswich show, supported Lewis Capaldi on his UK arena tour, and headlined sold-out shows at London’s KOKO and Manchester’s O2 Ritz. 

Against all odds, Skye is emerging as one of the UK’s most compelling new artists, the name on everybody’s lips for 2026. 

Skye’s perfectly soulful pop debut, “SE9: Part 1” certifies the depths of her talent as she reflects on destructive relationships, one-sided friendships and a difficult upbringing. From its thoughtful themes to evocative artwork – photographed on Avery Hill Road in New Eltham – the cover features several easter eggs for fans, including Skye’s signature hair rollers, pink dressing gown and blue New Balance.

“SE9 is where I lived, mostly, during the first 20 years of my life, and Avery Hill Park is where I would escape my dysfunctional, hectic, homelife,” Skye shares. “The artwork, the lyrics, it’s all about why I am the person I am today; early family life, trauma, internal battles. It’s incredibly personal to me. It shows you the life I’ve lived so far.”

Recorded in London with Boo and Luis Navidad, the trio began working together in 2023, creating a catalogue of songs. This first collection “SE9: Part 1” wears its heart on its sleeve from the defiant opening track, the women-first of FU & UF which examines gender roles and destructive relationships that excuse bad behaviour. It’s peppered with precise, insightful lines such as, ‘You wanted a woman, but I wasn’t feminine-enough/ Am I too tough?’

Says Skye: “My main message is, don’t change who you are for anyone. Be true to yourself. It took me a while to realise this, but I am living for me now. And that’s the most important kind of living.” The video, as with most of Skye’s other visuals, features her squad of female friends, many of whom she’s known since Secondary School. “I wanted to show women in male spaces, like a football pitch and a boxing ring and I wanted it to be women feeling and being powerful.” For Skye, female friendship represents everything. “For a long time, a man was the centre of my life, for the wrong reasons. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realised the value of women. Women built me.They’ve been the glue that held me together when other people in my life couldn’t. Home is usually the place you go to for peace, and I didn’t have that. For me, my friends were my home.”

Skye’s debut, Hairdresser follows, which flips the script, lyrically. “People initially thought it was about a guy, but it’s about friendship. I didn’t want to start off talking about men, I wanted to focus on us, females. I love performing it; seeing such a young audience resonate and sing it back to me sparks my passion.” 

The pace switches up a gear on the striking storytelling of My Addiction. ‘Sat on my bench down Avery Hill, alone/ Spliff in my lips, singing ‘My Chick Bad’ to no one...’ “That’s about my first love. Even though I’ve been very open in my music, I haven’t been ready to speak about this part of my life until now. First love is addictive, and I think that’ll resonate with everyone.” 

Skye is a visceral singer with an incredible range and belt; you can sense her emotion on a cellular level when she sings, and that’s felt nowhere more clearly than on the vocal triumph Out Out, a paeon to the dying embers of a fading relationship.“That feeling of being stuck, wanting more but not getting it.I’m screaming for more on that one.” 

Family Matters, the project’s penultimate moment, focuses on Skye’s troubled upbringing; ‘It is what it is, you call it traumatic, but it is what it is, it’s just family matters.’ A candid look at the violence, addiction and chaos that characterised Skye’s childhood, it’s a track that’s really resonated. “Baring my soul on such personal matters is never easy; it’s been a hard one for me to release, but seeing people react to it has meant the world. Young me was broken in a lot of ways and needed music to heal. I am healing now, and I know little Skye would be proud of the woman I am.” 

Skye closes “SE9: Part 1” out with the tender, contemplative Smoke Rings. “Across the project, you’ve seen me go from being obsessed, to wanting more, to fighting back; this track ends the cycle of a relationship and reminiscing on what has been. Being alone at the end of it all. It felt a great way to close “Part 1”. And, yes, there will be a “Part 2”!”  

Born and raised in South London, the self-proclaimed “council house babe”, is the youngest of six and spent much of her childhood moving between temporary homes across Southeast London and Kent, including Bromley, Eltham, New Eltham, Orpington, Bexleyheath and Gravesend. Skye’s music draws from personal experience, navigating a childhood marked by instability, uncertainty and hardship. “When you come from less, you find more,” she says. “I’ve met all kinds of people and seen all sides of life; that’s what I write about.”

Skye discovered her voice while performing Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors at a school concert, aged six. After the sudden death of her beloved musician aunt Moona when Skye was 11– who was a major influence in young Skye’s life – she sat down at a Yamaha keyboard and wrote a song about grief. “When Moona died it felt like losing a mother, at that point. I’m from this erratic family dealing with a lot of issues from such a young age, and my aunty was the solid, stable adult in my life. She gave me the world. I was with her all the time and most of my childhood memories are with her.” From that point, Skye continued to figure out her feelings via music. “I don't write from my conscious; I write from my subconscious cos I don’t always talk about things, but I’ll sing about them,” she explains. “Music is where I let it out.”

Her sound, which she describes as “Soulful R&B” reflects the eclectic soundtrack of the busy stereo of her parents and five older siblings – from Bob Marley and Oasis to grime, bashment, house, Eminem, and the Spice Girls –fused with the honesty of Amy Winehouse and Adele, artists who showed her that truth can be its own kind of power.

“It was a big thing when they came along, because they’re normal girls talking in London accents about their lives, good and bad. I thought, "If they can do it, maybe I can.” 

Skye’s breakthrough came gradually; she shared covers and snippets of original songs, as well as glimpses of life living in her sister’s cabin at the end of the garden, trying to make it work as a singer. Skye being Skye, essentially. As her fanbase expanded and interest in her candid songwriting and powerhouse vocals grew, she was contacted by numerous managers, A&R, lawyers and record labels. She based her decision to sign to Sony in 2024 on meeting people there who were from backgrounds similar to hers. “I connected with the people there who are just normal. Some of them are from where I grew up and there are so many strong women too. I knew it was where I was meant to be.”

The next year promises to be even bigger for Skye who is in prime position to top the tip lists for 2026. Rooted in honesty, humour, and emotional precision, each release – Hairdresser, Family Matters, Out Out, FU & UF – have captured a piece of her story, resonating with fans who see their own lives reflected in hers. Skye’s authenticity is her superpower. “People can feel real,” she says simply. “I’m just a normal girl with something to say. And when you’ve got something to say – people listen.”

Skye Newman is defining a new era of British music; real, raw, and impossible to ignore.