SPOTLIGHT on soul singer Earl

Alaskan-born Earl’s unique sound is soul’s best-kept secret. By Laura Silverman

WHO? Earl is a sultry soul singer with a fairy-tale story. Born Kate Smithson to a Filipina mother and Dutch-Welsh Korean war veteran father, she dreamed of fame while working at her parents’ petrol station in Anchorage, Alaska. ‘I would sing to the trees and pretend they were clapping for me when the wind blew,’ she says. Earl is the name of her teenage sweetheart. BIG BREAK Kicked out of home aged 17 by her stepdad, Earl escaped to California, where she began college and made her first single. One day, she was almost killed by a ‘kid’ driving a van. He offered her a lift – and she offered him her single, which he gave to a friend at a record label. She moved to LA, signed a deal and released her debut album Fate is the Hunter in 2005. Since then, she has lived in Miami and New York. Now 34, she has a six-year-old son, lives in London and has reinvented herself from a quietly dressed brunette to a blonde siren. Last year, she was chosen as one of six from 200,000 entries to perform on the BBC Introducing stage at BBC Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park. MUSICAL INFLUENCES Earl’s mum loved ballroom music; her dad wartime classics. ‘I would sit in my dad’s van singing Billie Holiday songs to him while he drove,’ she says. HIGHS Damien Rice spotting her on Myspace, leading to a gig at the London Palladium. LOWS Being so broke that she had to sell her mother’s diamond engagement ring at a pawn shop. PHILOSOPHY ‘Go down in a blaze of glory or don’t try at all.’ FOLLOW Instagram @earlmusic; Twitter @earlmusic_

Earl will play St Pancras Old Church, London on 3 November, with more dates to follow. Her new single ‘I Love You’ is out now on BMG