A*M*E

A*M*E
Birth name Aminata Kabba
Born 13 December 1994
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Origin London, United Kingdom
Genres Pop, dance-pop, R&B
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2010–present
Labels Future (2011–12)
Universal (Re-housed) (2012)
Epic Records (2013–present)
Associated acts Gary Barlow, MNEK, Duke Dumont

Aminata Kabba (born 13 December 1994), better known as A*M*E, is a Sierra Leonean-born British singer-songwriter. A*M*E was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone on 13 December 1994. In 2011, Kabba was scouted and signed by Take That frontman Gary Barlow to his label, Future Records.[1][2][3]

On 9 December 2012 the BBC announced that A*M*E had been nominated for the Sound of 2013 poll.[4]

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, a collaboration with Duke Dumont and MNEK, topped the UK singles chart on 7 April 2013.

Biography

1994–2011: Early life

At the age of eight, Kabba moved to the United Kingdom after her mother's hair salon was burned to the ground and life in Sierra Leone became too dangerous.[1] Growing up in the Catford area[5] of southeast London, Kabba formed her own playground version of American group Destiny's Child, named Independent Girls; before realising that—much like Beyoncé Knowles—she preferred the spotlight solely on her.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1][6]

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.[4][7] Released in July 2012, the musician co-wrote her track "Find a Boy" alongside Emeli Sandé and producer Naughty Boy.[8] 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).[9]

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.[10] 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 "[It's] Insanely addictive choruses and K-pop inspired melodies" and that "it feels fresher than anything else on this week's chart."[11]

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.[4]

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.

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Album
"City Lights" 2012 –
"Ride Or Die" –
"Play the Game Boy"[12] –
"Heartless" 2013 –

As featured artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[13]		 AUS
[14]		 BEL
[15]		 DEN
[16]		 IRE
[17]		 NL
[18]
"Need U (100%)"
(Duke Dumont featuring A*M*E)		 2013 1 40 17 31 27 18 TBC
"What's Going On?"
(Monsieur Adi featuring A*M*E)		 – – – – – — TBC

Promotional singles

Title Year Album
"Find a Boy"[8]
(A*M*E featuring Mic Righteous)		 2012 Non-album single

Guest appearances

Title Year Artist Album Notes
"One Thousand"[9] 2012 Cheryl Cole A Million Lights Uncredited backing vocals
"Future X Girl"[19] 2014 Neon Jungle Welcome to the Jungle Uncredited backing vocals

Songwriting credits

Music videos

Song Year Artist Director Reference(s)
"City Lights" 2012 A*M*E (featuring Bartoven) Ashur Yelda, Aram Antabil,
Ashley McDermott & Chantelle Fiddy		 [20]
"Ride or Die" A*M*E [21]
"Play the Game Boy" Patrick Killingbeck [22]
"Heartless" 2013 [23]

Artistry

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."[24] A*M*E cites Beyoncé Knowles, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Big Bang as her influences, she also cites Janet Jackson as a major influence calling Jackson "my idol".

Tours

Awards and nominations

Year Organisation Award Result
2012 BBC Sound of 2013 Sound of 2013[4] Nominated

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "New music: A*M*E – City Lights (Fuller Refix vs Gold Top Remix)". The Guardian. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  2. ↑ http://www.unrealitytv.co.uk/x-factor/x-factors-gary-barlow-uses-mentoring-skills-with-ame-saying-just-be-true-to-yourself/ unreality 9 April 2013
  3. ↑ http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/110783/Gary-Barlow-Advises-AME-To-Avoid-Getting-Sidetracked-After-Number-One-Single Entertainment Wise April 2013
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Sound of 2013 Profiles: A*M*E". BBC. 9 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  5. ↑ "Catford Sedgehill teenager A*M*E keeps anti-Thatcher song from number one spot". News Shopper. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "Sedgehill Students sign record deal". Sedgehill School. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "BMI Repertoire: Songwriter/Composer:Aminata Kabba". Broadcast Music Incorporated. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Release information: A*M*E – Find a Boy featuring Mic Righteous". Euro Solution. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Cheryl – A Million Lights". Discogs. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  10. ↑ "New music: A*M*E – Play the Game Boy". The Guardian. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  11. ↑ "Playlist: 10 tracks you need to hear". Digital Spy. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  12. ↑ "'Play the Game Boy' – A*M*E". iTunes. 11 November 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  13. ↑ Peak positions for the featured singles in the UK:
  14. ↑ "Discography A*M*E". Hung Medien. australian-charts.com/.
  15. ↑ "Discografie A*M*E". Hung Medien. ultratop.be/nl/.
  16. ↑ "A*M*E discography". Hung Medien. danishcharts.com.
  17. ↑ Peak positions for Ireland:
  18. ↑ "Discografie A*M*E". Hung Medien. dutchcharts.nl/.
  19. ↑ "Neon Jungle – Welcome to the Jungle". Josep Vinaixa. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  20. ↑ "A*M*E – City Lights feat. Bartoven". YouTube. 14 January 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  21. ↑ "A*M*E – Ride or Die". YouTube. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  22. ↑ "A*M*E – Play The Game Boy". YouTube. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  23. ↑ "A*M*E – Heartless". YouTube. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  24. ↑ "A*M*E interview: 'I call Gary Barlow Uncle G'". Digital Spy. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  25. ↑ "Gigography: A*M*E". SongKick. Retrieved 10 December 2012.

External links