culture
As the velvet-voiced R&B star drops her second album, she talks Stylist through the songs that shaped her
“I feel a lot – I always have,” says Mahalia Burkmar, the 25-year-old from Leicester whose heartfelt ballads and break-up anthems have seen her courted by major music labels since the age of 13. “I think that’s why my parents were cool with me pursuing music as a career: they could see it was a healthy outlet for all these emotions.” This is the magic of Mahalia, whose honest R&B has earned her multiple Brit and Grammy nominations, plus a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. From viral hit to hot, Mahalia is an artist who lays her real experiences and big feelings bare, so we can all see ourselves in them. Listening to her sophomore album IRL, out next month, I found myself jotting down phrases in my Notes app – lyrics like “My head is where my heart is, my heart is somewhere safe”, which perfectly pinpoint the cautious mood of the current dating landscape. On this album Mahalia takes being real to a whole new level, and hearing her sing about how to deal with disappointing boyfriends and set emotional boundaries is like dissecting the world with your wisest friend. Here, she unpacks the musical moments that have made her one of the UK’s most authentic artists.
