18 Black European female singers you should know

Floetry

Because it's always Black History Month, a special compilation of chart-topping Afro-European (or Black European) female singers, who made their mark nationally and internationally.  

The compilation is in chronological order and a pick from each European country. From the British band Sade to Ukrianian singer Gaitana (Гайтана) to Irish singer Emily Sande and many more.

1. Sade (UK) - Your Love Is King - 1984

The band Sade is named after the Nigerian born British female singer Sade Adu or simply Sade. Sade is considered as one of the most successful British female artists in history. "Your Love Is King" is from best-selling albums of the era, Diamond Life.  

Sade was born in Nigeria and moved to England. Her father is Nigerian, her mother English.

2. Mica Paris (UK) - My One Temptation  - 1988

The R&B song was the hit single of British singer Mica Paris, the debut album became platinum certified in the UK. 

Mica Paris, real name Michelle Wallen, was born in London to Jamaican parents. She is the cousin of Chris Eubank, a British former professional boxer.

 

3. Neneh Cherry (Sweden) - Buffalo Stance - 1988

Grammy nominated singer and songwriter Neneh Cherry was born in Stockholm as Neneh Mariann Karlsson to a Swedish mother and Sierra Leonean father. 

She topped the charts with the successful single  "Buffalo Stance" is part of her debut album "Raw Like Sushi". 

About the meaning of Buffalo Stance she said: "It means an attitude you have in order to get by. It's not about fashion but about survival in inner cities and elsewhere."  

4. Melis Sökmen (Turkey) - Özlediğim - 1992

Turkish singer Melis Sökmen is often called the Whitney Houston of Turkey. The title of the song Özlediğim" can be translated as 'The one that I miss". 

Melis Sökmen regards herself an Afro-Turk, she has Guinean roots from her grandmother. In the video clip "Özlediğim" she celebrates her African origin showing a picture of herself with her grandmother.

5. Native (France) - Si la vie demande ça - 1993

Native was the name French R&B group composed of the sisters Laura Mayne and Chris Mayne. The group separated in January 1999 for artistic and career reasons.

The hit song "Si la vie demande ça" can be translated as "If life demands that". 

Both sisters were born in France to Martinique parents.

6. Zap Mama (Belgium) - Adventures to Afropea I - 1993

Zap Mama is a five-woman a cappella group, which was founded by Marie Daulne. The album "Afropea I " became 1993's best-selling world music album and established Zap Mama as an international concert sensation.

Marie Daulne was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to a Belgian father and Congolese mother.

7. Des'ree (UK) - Life - 1998

The song "Life" by British singer and songwriter Des'ree remains the biggest hit of the singer. The song mixes stories about superstitions, phobias and travels around the world.

Des'ree, real name Desirée Weekes, was born in London, her mother is from Guyana and her father is from Barbados.

8. Les Nubians (France) - Makeda - 1998 

Les Nubian is the name of the French music group consisting of sisters Helene and Celia Faussart. Their album "Princesses Nubiennes"  became first French-language hit in the US in 25 years . 

The sisters Helene and Celia Faussart were born in France to a French father and a Cameroonian mother.

9. Floetry (UK) - Say Yes - 2003

"Say Yes" is a song performed by the British group Floetry. Floetry was comprised of Marcha Ambrosius, The Songstress, and her childhood friend Natalie Stewart, aka The Floacist. The single “Say Yes” peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 list on May 17, 2003. 

Ambrosius was born in the UK and has a mixed race Greek/African American father and a British Jamaican/African American mother. Stewart was born in Germany, but both parents are British Jamaican.

 

10. Buika (Spain) - New Afro spanish generation - 2005

Concha Buika is a Grammy nominated singer from Spain. In her music she combines jazz, flamenco, pop soul and African music.  "Buika"  is the name of her debut album.

Buika was born Concha Buika on the Spanish island of Mallorca, to parents who arrived to Spain as political exiles from Equatorial Guinea.

11. Joy Denalane (Germany) - Born & Raised - 2005

Joy Denalane is Germany's 'undisputed Queen of soul', wrote the BBC. The album's title and track "Born & Raised" is her story about growing up as a mixed race girl in Berlin.

Joy Denalane was born in Germay to a South African father and a German mother. The late South African flugelhorn legend Hugh Masekela was her uncle.

12. Tasha's world (The Netherlands) - Glowing Growing - 2005

Tasha's World is the artist name of Dutch singer Natascha Slagtand. She performed worldwide and is sometimes called the Dutch Erykah Badu. 

Natascha Slagtand was born in the city of Rotterdam to Surinamese parents. She was one the first Black female souls singers in the the Netherlands, but she needed Japan, the UK and the US, to be fully embraced in the Netherlands.

 

13. Corinne Bailey Rae (UK) - Put Your Records On - 2006

Corinne Bailey Rae is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". For her debut album she was in 2007 nominated for three Grammy Awards and three Brit Awards and won two MOBO Awards. In 2008, she won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year (for her work as a featured artist in Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters).

Bailey Rae was born in Leeds, England. Her father is from Saint Kitts and Nevis, and her mother is English. 

 

14. Sara Tavares (Portugal) - Balancê - 2006 

Sara Tavares was a Grammy nominated Portuguese singer and composer. She also reprensented Portugal in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. Her music is categorised as world music. Sara Tavares was born in  Lisbon to Cape Verdean parents.

For the album Balancê she wrote all the songs herself and during the recording she also played a large part of the instruments herself.

15. Ayo (Germany) - Down On My Knees - 2006

Ayo is the artist name of a German singer/songwriter Joy Ogunmakin, she was born near the German city of Cologne to a Nigerian father and a German-Sinti mother.

 "Down On My Knees" was a mega hit and the album reached Double-Platinum status in several countries.

16. Gaitana (Гайтана) (Ukraine)  - Shaleniy (Шаленій) - 2007 

Gaitana is the artist name of Ukrainian singer and songwriter Gaita Essami, she was born in Kyiv to a Ukrainian mother and father from the Republic of the Congo.

The R&B song entitled "Shaleniy (Шаленій)" can be translated as "Crazy". 

Gaitana represented Ukraine in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.

17. Estelle (UK) - American Boy [Feat. Kanye West] - 2008 

Estelle is the artist name of British rapper singer Estelle Swaray. The song "American Boy" was a worldwide hit and the album and ultimately won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Estelle was born in London to a Grenadian father and a Senegalese mother.

18. Emeli Sandé (UK) - Next to Me - 2012

Emeli Sandé is an award winning Scottish singer and songwriter. The song "Next to Me" became global hit and was the 14th best-selling single of 2012 in the UK

Emeli Sandé was born in the English city of Sunderland and raised in the large village of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father.

See also: 9 Black European male singers you should know
 

Updated 2024