Album: Skin by Joy Crookes (2015)
Genre: Soul
Record Label: Sony Records
Format: Album

Description: Skin is the debut studio album by British-Irish-Bangladeshi singer-songwriter Joy Crookes, released through Insanity Records on 15 October 2021. The album has spawned four singles, including "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" and "When You Were Mine", both of which reached number one on the UK Asian Top 40 chart.

Primarily a modern soul-jazz record led by orchestral string arrangements, Skin is an "autobiographical body of work" inspired by Crookes' heritage and identity, as well as her experiences of young adulthood and heartbreak. The album was met with widespread acclaim upon release, with critics praising the subject matter, production and Crookes' vocal performance.

Background and release
At the 2020 Brit Awards, Joy Crookes was nominated for the Rising Star Award, which predicts the biggest upcoming British musicians. In September of that year, she gained moderate mainstream attention with the release of her cover version of The Wannadies' 1994 single "You & Me Song", which was featured in an O2 TV advertisement, consequently entering both the UK Singles Downloads and the UK Singles Sales charts. In June 2021, Crookes released the single "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" and its accompanying music video. The track debuted atop the UK Asian Music Top 40 chart, while the music video was nominated for Best Pop Video - UK, Best Wardrobe Styling in a Video and Best Hair & Makeup in a Video at the 2021 UK Music Video Awards.

In August 2021, Crookes announced the release of Skin, and released its title track alongside a music video as the second single. "When You Were Mine" was released later that month as the third single and reached number one on the UK Asian Top 40. Its accompanying music video was released in early October 2021. "Trouble" was released as the fourth single on 13 October 2021, two days before the release of the album.

Composition and lyrics
Described by Clash as "orchestral soul-jazz", Skin is primarily a modern soul record with elements of R&B, jazz, pop, neo-soul and trip-hop, and is characterized by its orchestral string arrangements. There are also a number of piano ballads on the album. Inspired largely by her own British-Irish-Bangladeshi heritage, Crookes lyrically explores themes of young adulthood, heartbreak, and identity. In a post on social media, Crookes wrote "This is the proudest work I have made to date. It is an autobiographical body of work, the album consists of songs I wrote when I was 15 up until 22. This is an album about my identity."

Artist Background: Joy Elizabeth Akther Crookes (born 9 October 1998) is a British neo soul singer-songwriter of Bangladeshi-Irish heritage. She incorporates details about relationships, self-reliance, her culture, her South London roots and her identity in her music. Crookes has released three extended plays since 2017 and was nominated for the Rising Star Award at the 2020 Brit Awards. She has been included in various lists of predicted breakthrough acts for 2020 by publications such as BBC, MTV, NME, Vevo an... Part of the London, England music scene. Emerged in the contemporary era. Associated with Soul movement. Known for Urban/R&B style.

Related Artists: Pip Millett, Olivia Dean, Jorja Smith, Greentea Peng

Music Scene: Part of the London, England music scene. Emerged in the contemporary era. Associated with Soul movement. Known for Urban/R&B style.

Tags: Soul, 2010s, Album, Sony Records


Skin is the debut studio album by British-Irish-Bangladeshi singer-songwriter Joy Crookes, released through Insanity Records on 15 October 2021. The album has spawned four singles, including "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" and "When You Were Mine", both of which reached number one on the UK Asian Top 40 chart.

Primarily a modern soul-jazz record led by orchestral string arrangements, Skin is an "autobiographical body of work" inspired by Crookes' heritage and identity, as well as her experiences of young adulthood and heartbreak. The album was met with widespread acclaim upon release, with critics praising the subject matter, production and Crookes' vocal performance.

Background and release
At the 2020 Brit Awards, Joy Crookes was nominated for the Rising Star Award, which predicts the biggest upcoming British musicians. In September of that year, she gained moderate mainstream attention with the release of her cover version of The Wannadies' 1994 single "You & Me Song", which was featured in an O2 TV advertisement, consequently entering both the UK Singles Downloads and the UK Singles Sales charts. In June 2021, Crookes released the single "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" and its accompanying music video. The track debuted atop the UK Asian Music Top 40 chart, while the music video was nominated for Best Pop Video - UK, Best Wardrobe Styling in a Video and Best Hair & Makeup in a Video at the 2021 UK Music Video Awards.

In August 2021, Crookes announced the release of Skin, and released its title track alongside a music video as the second single. "When You Were Mine" was released later that month as the third single and reached number one on the UK Asian Top 40. Its accompanying music video was released in early October 2021. "Trouble" was released as the fourth single on 13 October 2021, two days before the release of the album.

Composition and lyrics
Described by Clash as "orchestral soul-jazz", Skin is primarily a modern soul record with elements of R&B, jazz, pop, neo-soul and trip-hop, and is characterized by its orchestral string arrangements. There are also a number of piano ballads on the album. Inspired largely by her own British-Irish-Bangladeshi heritage, Crookes lyrically explores themes of young adulthood, heartbreak, and identity. In a post on social media, Crookes wrote "This is the proudest work I have made to date. It is an autobiographical body of work, the album consists of songs I wrote when I was 15 up until 22. This is an album about my identity."

Album: Juniper by Joy Crookes (2025)
Format: Album

Artist Background: Joy Elizabeth Akther Crookes (born 9 October 1998) is a British neo soul singer-songwriter of Bangladeshi-Irish heritage. She incorporates details about relationships, self-reliance, her culture, her South London roots and her identity in her music. Crookes has released three extended plays since 2017 and was nominated for the Rising Star Award at the 2020 Brit Awards. She has been included in various lists of predicted breakthrough acts for 2020 by publications such as BBC, MTV, NME, Vevo an... Part of the London, England music scene. Emerged in the contemporary era. Associated with Soul movement. Known for Urban/R&B style.

Related Artists: Pip Millett, Olivia Dean, Jorja Smith, Greentea Peng

Music Scene: Part of the London, England music scene. Emerged in the contemporary era. Associated with Soul movement. Known for Urban/R&B style.

Tags: 2020s, Album


Joy Crookes emerges from a long period of personal tumult that followed the release of her acclaimed debut album Skin (2021) with a different outlook on life and a striking record, Juniper, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the South London-born singer-songwriter. “I know we’ve got problems/That’s just family/And God knows what we carry from our history,” she sings on “Mother”, bold, punctuating percussion building up and breaking into twinkling piano riffs as she draws connecting lines through the generations. Relationships and their rippling effects are central to Juniper: “House with a Pool” narrates an abusive scenario in soulful, melancholic tones; “Paris” explores how bittersweet memories have altered her perception of the city of love; and sensual, slow-burn “Carmen” holds up a mirror to Crookes’ relationship with herself. 

Star turns come from Vince Staples, who contributes a poetic eight-bar evaluation of jealous rivals to “Pass the Salt”, and Kano, offering the other side of the equation to Crookes’ raw calculation of heartbreak on “Mathematics”. (Listeners may also recognise the resonant backing vocals on warm, retro groove “Somebody to You” as belonging to alt-rock singer-songwriter Sam Fender.) But, of course, it is Crookes herself that shines the brightest, cutting straight to the heart of her expressions and observations with scathing acerbity and exercising the versatility of her distinctive, malleable voice to evocative effect.

Joy Crookes

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