Biography
From Essex stages to UK pop charts
Early life and karate
Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson was born on 7 April 1990 in East Tilbury, Essex, and is an English singer and songwriter. She goes to stage school from the age of five, attends St Clere's School and later Palmer's College, and grows up in a family where her mother works as a local teacher and her father as a builder. Performing, rather than recording, is the frame through which she meets an audience, and that stage discipline stays with her as her career develops.
Away from the stage she trains in Shotokan karate from the age of nine, earns a black belt and becomes a triple world champion, including double gold at the Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association World Championships in 2002 and further gold and silver in 2007, plus gold at the United Kingdom Traditional Karate Federation National Championships. She has said that karate teaches her the discipline and focus she brings to singing, even as touring later makes the sport difficult to sustain.
Stage beginnings and early recordings
West End work comes early. She auditions for Les Miserables aged six without telling her parents and, at twelve, appears in Whistle Down the Wind alongside Jessie J. Those childhood seasons give her a performer's grounding in harmony, stamina and discipline before she ever steps into a pop studio, and she later says that songwriting grew out of singing to herself in her room as a teenager.
A chance meeting leads to studio time at Elton John's Rocket Studios, which signs her after hearing her sing. The 2013 demo Summer Girl draws attention when Ed Sheeran shares it with his followers, but a solo launch is postponed so she can develop as an artist. Guest appearances with Magnetic Man, Gorgon City and Raized by Wolves follow, and that work leads directly to an invitation from Rudimental.
Rudimental and the road to solo status
In 2014 Anne-Marie is asked to replace a vocalist who has left Rudimental, and she tours with the band for about two years as a featured singer. She appears on four tracks from their 2015 album We the Generation; Rumour Mill, recorded with the group and Will Heard, reaches number 67 on the UK Singles Chart, and she has said the experience gave her the confidence to go solo while she was writing every day on the road.
Her debut EP, Karate, is released on 10 June 2015 through Rudimental's then-new Major Tom's label, produced by Josh Record and Two Inch Punch. The Guardian's 2015 spotlight introduces her as an Essex-born, karate-loving former West End child star and quotes Rudimental's Amir Amor predicting that she is going to be huge. The single Do It Right, issued that November, peaks at number 90 in the UK, and she has been signed to Asylum Records since 2015.
Speak Your Mind and the breakthrough years
Anne-Marie breaks into the UK mainstream in 2016. Alarm peaks at number 16 on the Official UK Singles Chart, while Clean Bandit's Rockabye, sung by her with Sean Paul, spends nine consecutive weeks at number one and takes the Christmas number one of 2016. Ciao Adios follows in 2017 at number nine, and that year she is nominated for Critics' Choice and British Breakthrough Act at the BRIT Awards while Rockabye is shortlisted for British Single.
The debut album Speak Your Mind, released on 27 April 2018, peaks at number three on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified platinum in the UK. The Guardian's review called it relentlessly commercial while noting that Anne-Marie's plain-speaking everywoman voice kept some tracks connecting beyond the template. Friends with Marshmello reaches number four, and 2002, co-written with Ed Sheeran, reaches number three and spends 47 weeks on the singles chart. She has toured with Ed Sheeran and told Billboard that as soon as she started making music she was making it for an album.
Therapy, television and writing
A second album begun earlier is scrapped, and Anne-Marie returns on 23 July 2021 with Therapy, which peaks at number two on the UK Albums Chart. She has said the record grew out of therapy sessions, including work she did during lockdown, and Time Out reports that lockdown was a turning point in which she found a therapist who clicked. Singles from the album include Don't Play with KSI and Digital Farm Animals, Our Song with Niall Horan and Kiss My (Uh-Oh) with Little Mix.
Television becomes a second stage. She coaches on The Voice UK from 2021 to 2023, and Craig Eddie, the winner of the 2021 series, is on her team; she also wins the 2021 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special. In September 2021 she publishes You Deserve Better: An Imperfect Guide to Finding Your Own Happiness through Orion Spring, extending her writing beyond song lyrics and giving her a platform for the self-help themes that run through her interviews.
Unhealthy and industry recognition
A medley of Kiss My (Uh-Oh) and Don't Play opens the 2022 BRIT Awards ceremony, and later that year Psycho, recorded with Aitch, reaches number five on the UK Singles Chart. In 2023 she issues Baby Don't Hurt Me with David Guetta and Coi Leray, and the third album Unhealthy, released on 28 July 2023 with a title track featuring Shania Twain, peaks at number two, her third consecutive UK top-three album.
Recognition follows the records. The BPI presents Anne-Marie with a BRIT Billion Award on 4 May 2023 for passing one billion career UK streams, verified using Official Charts Company data, and at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards she has been nominated, with David Guetta and Coi Leray, for Best Pop Dance Recording for Baby Don't Hurt Me. Together the honours mark a career built as much on featured performances as on her own releases.
Recent years
After the first leg of The Unhealthy Club Tour, Anne-Marie steps back from commitments for several months in early 2024. She returns that year with The Idea of You, recorded with Nicholas Galitzine for the film soundtrack, a second appearance at Glastonbury, and Cry Baby with Clean Bandit and David Guetta, released on 9 August 2024, a collaboration that reunites her with partners from her earlier singles.
Since 2025 she has released two short-form EPs, the single Depressed and a cover of Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody, and in January 2026 she appears on The Masked Singer as a guest panellist and performer under the alias Goldfish. She continues to record and perform, and her official site and label channels remain the primary places where new music and live plans are announced to listeners.
Selected moments
Career highlights
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Debut EP Karate released
Anne-Marie issues her debut solo EP, Karate, on 10 June 2015 through Rudimental's Major Tom's label, marking her step from guest appearances toward a solo career.
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Rockabye tops the UK chart
Clean Bandit's Rockabye, sung by Anne-Marie with Sean Paul, spends nine consecutive weeks at UK number one and becomes the Christmas number one of 2016.
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Alarm breaks through
Her single Alarm peaks at number 16 on the Official UK Singles Chart, establishing her as a solo presence in the UK mainstream.
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BRIT Awards nominations
Anne-Marie is nominated in Critics' Choice and British Breakthrough Act categories at the 2017 BRIT Awards, and Rockabye is shortlisted for British Single.
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Speak Your Mind album debut
The debut album, released on 27 April 2018, peaks at number three on the UK Albums Chart, is certified platinum, and spawns the hits Friends and 2002.
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Four BRIT Awards nominations
At the 2019 BRIT Awards she receives four nominations, including British Female Solo Artist and British Album of the Year for Speak Your Mind.
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Therapy and The Voice UK
Second album Therapy, released in July 2021, peaks at number two in the UK; the same year she joins The Voice UK as a coach and publishes You Deserve Better.
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Unhealthy reaches number two
Her third studio album Unhealthy, issued on 28 July 2023, peaks at number two, her third consecutive UK top-three album, with a title track featuring Shania Twain.
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BRIT Billion Award
The BPI presents Anne-Marie with a BRIT Billion Award on 4 May 2023 for more than one billion career UK streams, as calculated by the Official Charts Company.
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Grammy nomination for Baby Don't Hurt Me
At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards she is nominated for Best Pop Dance Recording for Baby Don't Hurt Me with David Guetta and Coi Leray.
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New EPs and Depressed single
Anne-Marie releases two-track EPs in February and April 2025, the single Depressed in September 2025, and a cover of Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody in November 2025.
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The Masked Singer appearance
On 3 January 2026 she appears on The Masked Singer as a guest panellist and performer under the alias Goldfish.
Recognition
Awards and nominations
Anne-Marie's award recognition spans the BRIT Awards, the Recording Academy and the BPI's BRIT Certified scheme. Published counts state that she has received ten BRIT Award nominations to date, including four at the 2019 ceremony, where she was one of the most nominated artists of the night, alongside British Album of the Year recognition for Speak Your Mind.
In 2023 the BPI presented her with a BRIT Billion Award for passing one billion career UK streams, verified using Official Charts Company data, and at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards she was nominated for Best Pop Dance Recording for Baby Don't Hurt Me, recorded with David Guetta and Coi Leray. Earlier BRIT nominations date from 2017, when she was shortlisted for Critics' Choice and British Breakthrough Act.
- BRIT Award nominations
- 10
- Grammy nominations
- 1
- BRIT Billion Awards
- 1
| Year | Award | Category | Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | BRIT Awards | Critics' ChoiceNominee | |
| 2017 | BRIT Awards | British Breakthrough ActNominee | |
| 2017 | BRIT Awards | British SingleNominee | Rockabye |
| 2019 | BRIT Awards | British Female Solo ArtistNominee | |
| 2019 | BRIT Awards | British Album of the YearNominee | Speak Your Mind |
| 2019 | BRIT Awards | British SingleNominee | 2002 |
| 2019 | BRIT Awards | British Artist Video of the YearNominee | 2002 |
| 2023 | BRIT Billion Award (BPI) | One billion career UK streamsWinner | |
| 2024 | Grammy Awards (66th Annual) | Best Pop Dance RecordingNominee | Baby Don't Hurt Me |
| 2018 | Music Week Awards | Breakthrough Artist of the YearWinner |