Laura Mvula

Laura Mvula (née Douglas) is a British soul singer-songwriter from Birmingham. Her debut album Sing to the Moon was produced by Steve Brown and released on 4 March 2013.

Mvula grew up in the Birmingham suburbs of Selly Park and Kings Heath with two younger siblings, and was influenced by the girl band Eternal. In 2005, Mvula sang with Black Voices, an a cappella group set up by her aunt. In 2008, she formed a jazz/neo-soul group called Judyshouse, singing lead vocals and wrote material for the band. She is also Director of the Lichfield Community Gospel Choir, founded by Black Voices and Lichfield Festival in 2009. She also frequently directs the Alvechurch Community Choir. She graduated from the Birmingham Conservatoire with a degree in composition. While she was working as a supply teacher in a Birmingham secondary school, she started writing songs on her laptop. She was working as a receptionist when she sent out two demos to several people in the music industry. She is married to singer Themba Mvula.

Signed to Sony subsidiary RCA, Mvula released her debut extended play, She, on 16 November 2012. Her debut studio album, Sing to the Moon, was released on 4 March 2013. She worked on the album with producer Steve Brown and mix engineer Tom Elmhirst. Paul Lester from The Guardian described her music as "gospeldelia", calling it a new musical genre. The album was preceded by the single "Green Garden". The song is an elegy to her home in Kings Heath. On 6 December 2012, Mvula was shortlisted for the Critics' Choice award at the 2013 BRIT Awards. On 9 December, she was nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2013 poll, and finished in fourth position. On 1 February 2013, she gave her first live TV performance on The Graham Norton Show on BBC One, singing "Green Garden".

Mvula stated her influences include Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill. Sing to the Moon reached number 9 on the UK Albums Chart and within the top 100 in seven other countries and has so far reached 173 in the US Billboard 200.