Karen Harding

With a rafter-rattling voice that can transform earth-shaking house grooves into transcendent anthems, Karen Harding is an undeniable force in the UK dance scene. Hailing from Consett, County Durham in North East England, the singer/songwriter (born in 1991) built her way up via the small screen. While still a teenager, she competed in BBC’s Eurovision: Your Country Needs You final, but fell short of representing the UK at the international song competition. In 2013, she appeared on the 10th season of the British series The X Factor, but was again eliminated—to many viewers’ dismay. However, her performances on the show caught the ear of both English electro duo Disclosure, who signed her to their Method Records label, and Grammy-nominated producer MNEK, who collaborated with Harding on her 2014 debut single, “Say Something.” The throbbing deep-house cut went platinum and inspired her to work with a variety of other musicians, including Italo-disco icon Giorgio Moroder (“Good For Me”), American house producer Le Youth (“Stay”), and UK garage giant Shift K3Y (“Morning”)—all of whom flex their flashiest moves in reverence to Harding’s immense vocal power.