21st-century Black British women singers

Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 16 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is a British singer, songwriter, and dancer. She was a backup dancer for numerous musicians, and made her musical debut with EP1 (2012). Barnett's debut studio album, LP1 (2014), reached number 16 on the UK Albums Chart and number 30 on the US Billboard 200. It was nominated for that year's Mercury Prize. She released the EP M3LL155X (2015) and took a four-year hiatus, after which she released her second studio album, Magdalene (2019). After signing with Atlantic Records, she released the mixtape Caprisongs (2022). Her work has garnered acclaim and has been described as "genre-bending", drawing on various genres including electronic music, trip hop, R&B, and avant-garde.

Helen Folasade Adu CBE (Yoruba: Fọláṣadé Adú born 16 January 1959), known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade ( shah-DAY), is a British singer, songwriter, and actress, known as the lead singer of her eponymous band. She has been credited as one of the most successful British female artists in history, and is often recognised as an influence on contemporary music. Her services to music were recognised in the UK with an award of the OBE in 2002, and a CBE in the 2017 Birthday Honours.

Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. She was born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, where she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology. Lewis achieved national recognition when she won the third series of The X Factor in 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music. Her winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", peaked at number one for four weeks on the UK Singles Chart and broke a world record for reaching 50,000 digital downloads within 30 minutes. In February 2007, Lewis signed a five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records.

Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey DBE (born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists in Britain.

Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is an English singer, rapper, songwriter, dancer, author, model and television personality. Dixon rose to fame in 2001 as a member of the all-female R&B/garage/rap trio Mis-Teeq. The group disbanded in 2005 and Dixon pursued a music career as a solo artist, signing a recording contract to Polydor Records. She began recording her debut solo studio album, Fired Up, in 2005, releasing her debut single, "Lipstick" and "Knockdown", she was dropped from Polydor. Retaining the rights to her album she released Fired Up in Japan with Lipstick going to number 1.

Melanie Janine Brown MBE (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Scary Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the group became the best-selling female group of all time.

Ella Mai Howell (born 3 November 1994) is an English singer and songwriter. Her singing career began at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute in London in 2014, during which time she auditioned as part of a trio on the 11th season of The X Factor. In 2015, she uploaded a four-track solo EP of originals to SoundCloud titled Trouble, and was discovered on social media by American record producer Mustard and signed with his record label, 10 Summers Records.

Leigh-Anne Pinnock (born 4 October 1991) is an English singer, songwriter and a member of the British girl group Little Mix. The group was formed on the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011, and became the first group in the programme's history to win the competition. They have since sold over 60 million albums and singles worldwide, making them one of the best-selling girl groups.

Rebecca Caroline Ferguson (born July 21, 1986) is a British soul singer and songwriter. In 2010, Ferguson finished in second place in the seventh series of The X Factor. She later released her debut album titled Heaven in December 2011. The album peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart. Ferguson released three further top-ten albums: Freedom (2013), Lady Sings the Blues (2015) and Superwoman (2016). She cites Aretha Franklin, Kings of Leon, Christina Aguilera and Amy Winehouse among her influences.

Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is a British singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the British television series The X Factor in 2008, and has been signed to Epic Records, RCA Records and Syco Music.