Misha B

Biography

Misha Bryan (born 10 February 1992 in Manchester), known as Misha B, is a British singer-songwriter, rapper and recording artist who came to national attention when she auditioned for the 2011 series of the The X Factor (UK) with Aretha Franklin's Respect, complete with a rap break. She was described as "one of the most exciting singers to emerge from the show" Music-News.com while The Daily Telegraph picked her first performance as one of the highlights of the series, saying she "oozed star qu...

Misha Bryan (born 10 February 1992 in Manchester), known as Misha B, is a British singer-songwriter, rapper and recording artist who came to national attention when she auditioned for the 2011 series of the The X Factor (UK) with Aretha Franklin's Respect, complete with a rap break. She was described as "one of the most exciting singers to emerge from the show" Music-News.com while The Daily Telegraph picked her first performance as one of the highlights of the series, saying she "oozed star quality from the start... Like a 21st century Grace Jones or an urban Lady Gaga, the teenager seemed like a proper pop star already". The Telegraph stated in August 2012, that the X Factor lost serious credibility, when its most gifted entrant, rapping Mancunian diva Misha Bryan, didn’t end up winning. BBC 1xtra describes her as a "break from the traditional X Factor contestant" and that Misha B could be noted for her "show-stopping performances".

Her debut single, "Home Run" was released on 15 July 2012, entering the UK Singles Chart at No. 11 and the UK R&B Chart at No. 2. Her second single " Do You Think Of Me?". Her third single " Here's to Everything (Ooh La La)" was released on the 28th April, 2013. In April 2012 she released a mixtape Why Hello World and in February 2013 she released her second mixtape Knock Knock. An album is expected for summer 2013.

Misha B was raised by her aunt in Manchester’s Moss Side and Longsight districts, and is of Jamaican descent. Prior to X Factor Bryan performed on the Manchester open mic circuit and took up busking in order to tackle her stage fright.

Single Releases

Shortly after Bryan left The X Factor, she performed a live freestyle F64 for SB.TV on December 24, 2011. Choosing a recording contract, Bryan said "[she] had various meetings with different labels but was able to go with the one she had an instant connection with". In February 2012, it was announced that Bryan had signed a record deal with the Relentless Records. In the same month, she participated in The X Factor Tour from February 25 to April 4, 2012. Whilst on the tour, Misha spent time working on her first mixtape, Why Hello World, mixed by Manchester’s DJ Stylus, and released for free to download on 27 April 2012. The following week it became BBC Radio 1Xtra's mixtape of the week.The mixtape received positive reviews and gained over 16,000 downloads and 25,000 streams. The mixtape features a collection of original material, as well as re-interpretations of her favourite cuts; including samples of five original songs, including "Big Dreaming", "Last Forever" and her debut single "Home Run", as well as covers of "Rolling in the Deep", "Mirror" and "Climax".

On 2 May 2012, she announced her debut single "Home Run", co-written and produced by British songwriter MNEK. A snippet of the single was first unveiled on BBC Radio 1Xtra[38] The single was added to both BBC Radio One[39] and BBC Radio 1Xtra[40] playlists, as well as the video being on the MTV playlist. The music video for the single which was directed by Rohan Blair-Mangat, premiered on June 15, 2012.[42] Bryan cited her performance of Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want to Have Fun on The X Factor as influencing the single's creation. The song was officially released on July 15, 2012 by Relentless Records and charted at No. 11, on the Official UK Singles Chart. On the released EP the are several remixes including Kat Krazy, Zed Bias and Taiki & Nulight. "Home Run" received mixed to generally positive reviews from critics.

On 20 August 2012, Bryan announced the title of her second single, "Do You Think of Me", co-written by herself, Ayak Thiik and TMS and co-produced by TMS and Bryan. On 7 September 2012, Misha B unveiled a Benny Page hi-tempo, dub-step and drum and bass influenced remix of the track that MTV described it as featuring "powerful and melodic vocals". The Irish Times selected it as the record of the week on September 21 The official video to the track was also released on October 8. "Do You Think of Me" peaked at No. 9 on the Official UK Singles Chart on Sunday November 11. While the Official Charts Company recorded that the single reached numbers 3 and 2 on their 1Xtra Singles Top 40 chart and VH1 Urban Chart Top 20, respectively on 10 November 2012. "Ride or Die", as the B-side to Angel's "Time After Time", featured Misha B and was released on the 29th November 2012, with a music video published a week later on the 6th December. The track was composed by Misha B, Sirach Charles ("Angel") and Kassa Alexander. On 27 November 2012, it was revealed that Misha would feature in a series of ob-docs shorts on 4Music as part of a partnership with youth charity vInspired. The Taking Care Of Christmas docs are due in December and will highlight the benefits of volunteering for a good cause and how it can make job applicants more attractive to prospective employers.

On 8 February 2013, she announced that, Here's to Everything (Ooh La La), would be released as the third single from her forthcoming debut album, and received it's worldwide premiere on The Hits Radio. On 27 February 2013, a lyric video for the single was uploaded to her official VEVO page. On 21 March 2013, the official video directed by Justin Dickell was released via VEVO. On 12 February 2013, she released her second mix-tape, Knock Knock, which contained six snippets of original songs and two covers, Otis Redding's "Respect" and American girl group SWV's "Weak". Her debut album is planned for release in 2013. For her debut studio album, Misha B has been collaborating with various writers and producers, including MNEK, TMS and Naughty Boy. Talking about her forthcombing album SixtyNine Degrees it’s going be "fun, free and adventurous" and will take in "rock, indie, blues, pop, hip-hop, soul, R&B – bit of everything" and to MTV "there will be raps on a few songs but it won’t be drowned in rap."

Touring and performances 2012


On 25 June 2012, she performed an acoustic version of, Home Run, live for i-D magazine at Red Bull studios, for SB.TV on July 11. On 23 July 2012, Misha B was announced as the supporting act for the United Kingdom section of American rapper Nicki Minaj's second tour, Pink Friday: Reloaded Tour, which took place October 21 to November 7, 2012, performing in cities including Nottingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Newscastle, Birmingham and London and ending in Cardiff. Apart from the X Factor tour, this was Misha B's first national tour as an artist. She was supported on stage by her tour DJ Manny Norté. Misha B ‘may still have a small repertoire,’ but working the crowd, her ‘emotional and genuine’ short sets were well received. The Redbrick student publication reviewing Misha B’s performance said “It was great to hear that her voice, which sounds powerful on recordings and post-production, was just as good, if not even better, when performing live.”

On 9 October 2012, she performed an acoustic session for her second single, Do You Think Of Me, which featured the Mancunian X Factor graduate with just an acoustic guitar by her side was produced, edited and directed by MOBO TV at the Soho Sanctum hotel. On 29 October 2012, she performed another acoustic version for her second single, featuring a cello, 'keys', guitar and drums for the 1Xtra Live Lounge for Trevor Nelson, together with a cover of Labrinth and Emeli Sande's "Beneath Your Beautiful". On 30 October 2012, she performed a Halloween-themed acoustic cover of Michael Jackson's Thriller, plus 'Do You Think Of Me' for MSN. On 13 November 2012, Misha B performed at 1Xtra Live 2012 concert at the Manchester Apollo for one of four BBC Radio 1Xtra gigs taking place across the country. For her set Bryan sang her two singles, Adele’s Rolling in the Deep and a new song Runway. She also performed a duet with Daley on his single Remember Me covering for Jessie J. VIVA Lifestyle Magazine described her performance as “A true entertainer...her stage presence, confidence and ability are all top notch.” Before the show, Misha B joined a panel of music industry experts for a ‘Take It On’ 360 Session, to an invited audience of local young people. 'Take it On", is a Radio 1 and 1Xtra’s project to inform young people interested in the music industry, based on Radio 1 and 1Xtra’s Academy in Hackney, summer 2012. An acoustic preview of '"Ride Or Die"' a duet featuring Misha B and Angel was uploaded to YouTube in November 2012. The duo performed a medley of their singles, with Angel giving us a rendition of Misha's "Do You Think Of Me" and Misha taking on Angel's "'Time After Time'", before the pair sing "Ride Or Die". 4music described the performance as “pretty impressive, pretty soulful and pretty darn emotional too!”

Bryan headlined the last day of Manchester Pride on Monday August 27th, 2012 - one the UK's biggest pride festivals entertaining 150,000 over the bank holiday. Bryan reflected upon her feelings towards performing live remarking, "I never had a band. It was me, my CDs or sometimes just my voice, my heels, the audience and a huge stage to fill. I loved that!” January 17, 2013, Misha headline, half time, performance during the 'hyperactive spectacle' of American National Basketball Association game between Detroit Pistons v New York Knicks which took place at the London O₂ Presented by Adidas, for the event she performed her debut single 'Home Run' and her high-energy track 'Runway'

Musical style and influences

Misha B has been compared to several female artists, including Missy Elliott, Chaka Khan, Jennifer Hudson, Nicki Minaj, Tina Turner, Grace Jones and Eartha Kitt."People do compare me to various different people," she said. "Like, I get Missy Elliott a lot, which I think is just a lazy comparison. She's great, she's one of my main inspirations, but our styles are different." Misha B told So So Gay Magazine that her biggest musical influences were Missy Eliott, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson (other musical influences include James Brown, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé Knowles, and Labrinth).

Bryan spoke of the influences of growing up in Moss Side, Manchester, saying in an interview:

Music is just something that I grew up literally living as part of daily life... Like we have our carnival every year which everyone looks forward to. Plus in the summer as well we also have these big parades that go on from early morning to the end of the day where you hear music just blasting from so many different places! They have the soca, the dancehall, the pop, the reggae, the bashment - you know, basically just everything you can think of!... Then growing up in my household was very, very soul heavy. So when you add all that together, I guess that’s where my influences come from. Like right now as I’m talking to you, I’m having this very, very big flashback where I'm remembering watching the Jackson 5 movie as a child over and over again - which is probably why Michael Jackson is my greatest inspiration.

In another Interview for this is local london:

"Reggae is a style close to my heart, and I love to draw on my Jamaican roots. So Drums and rhythm are a real priority to me, but it’s not just about the beat.

"Lyrics are equally important, and everything I write comes from real life experience and is from the heart. "

Bryan told MTV "I just can’t wait for people to hear my other music and then to be able to say 'That’s Misha B’s style'." Bryan has said that her music style can best be described as "free", and that she does not want to be boxed in by any one style. Bryan was nominated in the "Best Newcomer" category of the 2012 MOBO Awards, performing live at both the nomination and awards ceremonies. The Telegraph has noted that Bryan delivers "impressive soulful vocals and a quirky rapping style" to the tracks she has covered; often injecting well-known songs with a "fresh UK urban twist", this has been noted in various performances including Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and Adele's "Rolling in the Deep". On September 12, 2012, Bryan released a video cover of her rendition of Alicia Keys' track "Girl on Fire" on YouTube. SoulBounce commented that it was an example of an "awkward moment when someone sings your new song better than you...accompanied only by an acoustic guitar Bryan delivers a moving ballad full of soul and urgency." FemaleFirst described Bryan as "a completely unique and diverse artist", with EntertainmentWise commenting that her acoustic performances were "powerful" and "versatile".



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