Becky Hill Interview

Becky Hill became the first Voice U.K. contestant to score a number one single when Dutch EDM star Oliver Heldens' "Gecko (Overdrive)," featuring her vocals, topped the U.K. singles chart in June 2014. Born on February 14, 1994 in Bewdley, Worcestershire, England, Hill was no stranger to music when she first auditioned for the then-new The Voice in 2012. As a teenager, she had sung with the acoustic rock 'n' soul group Shaking Trees, which created some local buzz and received several plays on BBC Radio. On The Voice she made it to the semi-final with her powerful renditions of R&B songs by the likes of John Legend, before being knocked out. She was, by her own admission, a novice in the music industry game and it took her 18 months to finally get a record deal. In the meantime, however, her sultry, soulful, older-than-her-years voice was highly sought after by dance artists looking for feature vocalists. Her first recorded appearance, on British drum'n'bass artist Wilkinson's single "Afterglow," went to number eight on the U.K. singles chart. She then appeared on Rudimental's single "Powerless," singing with them at several U.K. festivals in 2013, including Glastonbury. Following her success with Heldens, Hill worked extensively with London-based dance producer MNEK on her debut album, which was scheduled to be released in 2014. Her debut solo single, "Caution to the Wind," was more electronica than pop, with twinkling melodies and production reminiscent of Four Tet.