# Katy B
**Katy B** is the stage name of Kathleen Anne Brien (born 1989), an English singer and songwriter from Peckham, South London, whose dance-pop draws on [UK garage](https://www.edgepedia.org/uk-garage), dubstep, house, and UK funky. Her debut album *On a Mission* (2011) was nominated for the [Mercury Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/mercury-prize), and her second album *Little Red* (2014) reached number one on the UK Official Albums Chart.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/katy-b-mn0001024013) • [2](https://www.gold.ac.uk/our-people/profile-hub/music/ug/katy-b/) • [3](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/6425/katy-b/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kathleen Anne Brien, born 1989 in London; also recorded early as "Baby Katy"[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/katy-b-mn0001024013) |
| Breakout singles | "Katy On a Mission" and the Ms Dynamite collaboration "Lights On", both UK top five hits in 2010[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15254-on-a-mission/) |
| Debut album | *On a Mission* (Rinse/Columbia, 2011), nominated for the 2011 Mercury Prize[2](https://www.gold.ac.uk/our-people/profile-hub/music/ug/katy-b/) |
| Number one album | *Little Red* (2014), number one on the UK Official Albums Chart in its release week[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/6425/katy-b/) • [2](https://www.gold.ac.uk/our-people/profile-hub/music/ug/katy-b/) |
| UK number one single | "Turn the Music Louder (Rumble)" with KDA featuring Tinie Tempah, October 2015[5](https://www.fchd.info/temp/VBHS1.pdf) |
| Chart totals | One UK number one single, five UK top ten singles, and one number one album[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/6425/katy-b/) |
| Education | BRIT School attendee; BMus (Hons) Popular Music, Goldsmiths, University of London, 2010[2](https://www.gold.ac.uk/our-people/profile-hub/music/ug/katy-b/) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/nov/05/the-return-of-katy-b-being-looked-at-all-the-time-is-not-very-natural) |
## Background and early career
Brien grew up in Peckham in south-east London and drew on the area's rave and pirate radio culture. She attended the club night FWD>> weekly as a teenager, when she was too young to be allowed in legally, and wrote her university dissertation on UK funky, the skittish, garage-derived London offshoot of house.[2](https://www.gold.ac.uk/our-people/profile-hub/music/ug/katy-b/) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/katy-b-on-a-mission) She attended the [BRIT School](https://www.edgepedia.org/brit-school), whose alumni also include Adele, Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, and [Jessie J](https://www.edgepedia.org/jessie-j), and completed a Popular Music degree at Goldsmiths in New Cross in 2010, the same year she released her first single on the Rinse label.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/nov/05/the-return-of-katy-b-being-looked-at-all-the-time-is-not-very-natural) • [8](https://time.com/3628612/underrated-albums-2014/) • [2](https://www.gold.ac.uk/our-people/profile-hub/music/ug/katy-b/)
Her early work ran through the London underground. AllMusic records that she performed early on under the name Baby Katy, and she became a go-to guest vocalist for electronic acts wanting a classically trained female voice over bass-heavy production.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/katy-b-mn0001024013) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jul/19/new-band-katy-b) On Magnetic Man's self-titled 2010 album she sang "Crossover" and "Perfect Stranger", performances Pitchfork described as album highlights that proved her voice could carry over heavy-duty bass.[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15254-on-a-mission/)
## On a Mission and the crossover to pop
"Katy On a Mission", produced with the dubstep producer Benga, reached the UK top five in 2010, and the Ms Dynamite collaboration "Lights On" followed it into the top five.[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15254-on-a-mission/) The Guardian's dance-music history series listed the run as a landmark moment in which previously unannexed club subgenres crossed into the mainstream; as critic Kitty Empire put it, dubstep was no longer the preserve of serious bass enthusiasts, and funky house had found a voice.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/katy-b-on-a-mission) • [10](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/apr/03/katy-b-on-mission-review)
*On a Mission* was released in April 2011 on Rinse and Columbia. Every song was co-written by Brien with collaborators including Geeneus, who co-wrote seven of the twelve tracks, alongside Magnetic Man, Zinc, and Benga.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/katy-b-mn0001024013) The album mixed dubstep, house, drum'n'bass, and UK funky into something critics described as both credible and accessible, and it was nominated for the 2011 Mercury Prize.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/mar/29/katy-b) • [2](https://www.gold.ac.uk/our-people/profile-hub/music/ug/katy-b/) Reviewers noted its unusual position in dance music: a club-culture album that foregrounded the vocalist rather than the producers, in a scene that had long treated singers as interchangeable.[12](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/katy-b-on-a-mission-album-b1828042.html) • [13](https://www.factmag.com/2011/03/18/katy-b-katy-on-a-mission-2/) On Metacritic it scored 76, based on 23 critic reviews.[14](https://www.metacritic.com/music/on-a-mission/katy-b/critic-reviews)
The Guardian's Dan Hancox placed the album in context: dubstep between 2005 and 2009 had adapted from four-track vinyl EPs for clubs to full-length albums mostly through instrumental work by Burial, Vex'd, Shackleton, and Skream, and Brien's record showed a vocal path through that terrain.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/katy-b-on-a-mission) Her songs drew directly on club life, opening with lines such as "standing at the bar with my friend Olivia", written from within a culture she described as intimate but welcoming to newcomers.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/katy-b-on-a-mission) Alexis Petridis, reviewing for the Guardian, argued that she had escaped the usual fate of the featured vocalist, the most short-lived role in commercial dance music, and become a force in her own right.[15](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/mar/31/katy-b-on-a-mission-review)
## Little Red and commercial peak
For her second album, Brien culled through more than 40 songs and worked primarily with Geeneus as producer. *Little Red* was released on Columbia in February 2014 and went to number one on the UK Official Albums Chart in its release week.[16](https://music.apple.com/us/album/little-red/771737650) • [3](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/6425/katy-b/) • [2](https://www.gold.ac.uk/our-people/profile-hub/music/ug/katy-b/) Its second single, "Crying for No Reason", debuted at number five on the UK singles chart, and Time magazine named *Little Red* among the most underrated pop albums of 2014, describing her transformation from dubstep sweetheart to 1990s-style dance diva.[17](https://www.hotpress.com/music/right-said-red-hot-press-interview-with-katy-b-11220507) • [8](https://time.com/3628612/underrated-albums-2014/) The album scored 74 on Metacritic from 28 critic reviews, with The Telegraph awarding it 100.[18](https://www.metacritic.com/music/little-red/katy-b/critic-reviews)
In 2015 she appeared on KDA's "Turn the Music Louder (Rumble)", a vocal rework of an earlier instrumental, with [Tinie Tempah](https://www.edgepedia.org/tinie-tempah); the single reached number one on the UK chart in October 2015.[19](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21848-honey/) • [5](https://www.fchd.info/temp/VBHS1.pdf)
## Honey and later work
*Honey* (2016) was, according to her longtime collaborator Geeneus, a reaction to the arduous major-label process of making *Little Red*, during which Brien had done many sessions without connecting musically. The album assembled a wide roster of collaborators including [Kaytranada](https://www.edgepedia.org/kaytranada), Major Lazer, Craig David, Four Tet, and [Floating Points](https://www.edgepedia.org/floating-points), and Pitchfork judged it her most stylistically varied record within a purely dance-music frame.[20](https://www.thefader.com/2016/02/05/katy-b-kaytranada-diplo-hannah-wants-geeneus-honey-interview) • [19](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21848-honey/) Critical reception was cooler than for her first two albums: it scored 65 on the Album of the Year aggregate against 77 for *On a Mission* and 73 for *Little Red*.[21](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/1590-katy-b/) The Guardian's review found her vocal melodies uneven but praised the production, singling out Floating Points and [Four Tet](https://www.edgepedia.org/four-tet)'s work on "Calm Down".[22](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/28/katy-b-honey-review-vocal-melodies-elevated-by-luscious-production)
After a five-year hiatus from albums she returned in 2021 with the EP *Peace and Offerings*, telling the Guardian that her father, a former musician who made Beach Boys-style vocal harmony music, had first drawn her into music.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/nov/05/the-return-of-katy-b-being-looked-at-all-the-time-is-not-very-natural) • [21](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/1590-katy-b/) She has continued releasing singles and collaborations, including "Push the Tempo" with Sub Focus in 2024 and the single "Last Day of Summer" in 2026.[23](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/katy-b/282887038?uo=2) • [24](https://gossipify.com/katy-b-returns-with-last-day-of-summer-after-music-break/)
## Significance
Commentators have framed Brien's career as a case of an artist who moved from London's pirate-radio scenes, through garage, grime, dubstep, and funky house, into the pop charts on her own terms rather than by attaching herself to pop heavyweights.[25](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18907-katy-b-little-red/) FACT's review of her debut argued that she redressed the balance in a producer-centric scene by making personality-driven music with a distinctive feminine voice rooted in underground clubs, and that she positioned herself as a figurehead for no single style.[13](https://www.factmag.com/2011/03/18/katy-b-katy-on-a-mission-2/) [Rinse FM](https://www.edgepedia.org/rinse-fm), the station where her career began, credits her with top five hits for both "Katy On a Mission" and "Lights On" and nominations for both the [Ivor Novello](https://www.edgepedia.org/ivor-novello) and Mercury prizes.[26](https://www.rinse.fm/shows/katy-b/) Her Official Charts record, one number one single, five top ten singles, and a number one album, documents a commercially durable career built on UK bass music.[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/6425/katy-b/)
## References
1. [Katy B Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/katy-b-mn0001024013)
2. [Katy B, Goldsmiths, University of London profile](https://www.gold.ac.uk/our-people/profile-hub/music/ug/katy-b/)
3. [KATY B songs and albums, full Official Chart history, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/6425/katy-b/)
4. [Katy B: On a Mission Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15254-on-a-mission/)
5. [UK chart history listing, fchd.info](https://www.fchd.info/temp/VBHS1.pdf)
6. [The return of Katy B: 'Being looked at all the time is not very natural', The Guardian (2021)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/nov/05/the-return-of-katy-b-being-looked-at-all-the-time-is-not-very-natural)
7. [Katy B: on a mission, The Guardian (2011)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/katy-b-on-a-mission)
8. [The 7 Most Underrated Pop Albums of 2014, Time](https://time.com/3628612/underrated-albums-2014/)
9. [Katy B (No 828), The Guardian (2010)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jul/19/new-band-katy-b)
10. [Katy B: On a Mission review, Kitty Empire, The Guardian (2011)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/apr/03/katy-b-on-mission-review)
11. [Katy B: One step beyond, The Guardian (2011)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/mar/29/katy-b)
12. [How Katy B's On a Mission bridged club culture and pop, The Independent (2021)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/katy-b-on-a-mission-album-b1828042.html)
13. [Katy B: On a Mission, FACT Magazine (2011)](https://www.factmag.com/2011/03/18/katy-b-katy-on-a-mission-2/)
14. [Critic Reviews for On a Mission, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/on-a-mission/katy-b/critic-reviews)
15. [Katy B: On a Mission review, Alexis Petridis, The Guardian (2011)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/mar/31/katy-b-on-a-mission-review)
16. [Little Red, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/little-red/771737650)
17. [Right said Red: Hot Press Interview with Katy B](https://www.hotpress.com/music/right-said-red-hot-press-interview-with-katy-b-11220507)
18. [Critic Reviews for Little Red, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/little-red/katy-b/critic-reviews)
19. [Katy B: Honey Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21848-honey/)
20. [Katy B And Her Collaborators Unravel Every Track On Honey, The FADER (2016)](https://www.thefader.com/2016/02/05/katy-b-kaytranada-diplo-hannah-wants-geeneus-honey-interview)
21. [Katy B, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/1590-katy-b/)
22. [Katy B: Honey review, The Guardian (2016)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/28/katy-b-honey-review-vocal-melodies-elevated-by-luscious-production)
23. [Katy B, Apple Music artist page](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/katy-b/282887038?uo=2)
24. [Katy B returns with Last Day of Summer after music break, Gossipify (2026)](https://gossipify.com/katy-b-returns-with-last-day-of-summer-after-music-break/)
25. [Katy B: Little Red Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18907-katy-b-little-red/)
26. [Katy B, Rinse FM](https://www.rinse.fm/shows/katy-b/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › Dance and electronic singers, 2000s to present*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license