Misha B

Misha Bryan (born 10 February 1992 in Manchester), known as misha b, is a British singer-songwriter, rapper and recording artist who came to national attention when she auditioned for the 2011 series of the The X Factor (UK) with Aretha Franklin's Respect, complete with a rap break. She was described as "one of the most exciting singers to emerge from the show" Music-News.com while The Daily Telegraph picked her first performance as one of the highlights of the series, saying she "oozed star quality from the start.

. Like a 21st century Grace Jones or an urban Lady Gaga, the teenager seemed like a proper pop star already". The Telegraph stated in August 2012, that the X Factor lost serious credibility, when its most gifted entrant, rapping Mancunian diva Misha Bryan, didn't end up winning.

Her debut single, "Home Run" was released on 15 July 2012, entering the UK Singles Chart at No. 11 and the UK R&B Chart at No. 2. Her second single will be B ? Do You Think Of Me?. An album is expected for a late 2012 release. In April 2012 she released a mixtape Why Hello World and is planning to release another in the autumn.

Misha B was raised by her aunt in manchester's Moss Side and Longsight districts, and is of Jamaican descent. Prior to X Factor Bryan performed on the Manchester open mic circuit and took up busking in order to tackle her stage fright.

A couple of weeks after the X-factor series finished, Misha performed a live freestyle f64 for SB.TV on the December 24: directed by Jamal Edwards, 2011, her rap quickly gained one of the highest view counts on the SBTV F64 playlist. That Grape Juice said that she boasted 'originality in abundance'. "Her 64 bars show variety in song, rap, powerful lyrics with soul and great deliverance plus bags of personality", L'ART Magazine.

Choosing a recording contract, Bryan said she had various meetings with different labels but was able to go with the one she had 'instant connection with'. In February 2012, it was announced that Bryan had signed a record deal with the Relentless Records. In the same month, she participated in the X Factor Tour from February 25 to April 4, 2012.

Whilst on the tour, Misha spent time working on her first mix-tape, mixed by Manchester's DJ Stylus, why hello world, which made its free to download debut on 27 April 2012. A collection of original material, as well as re-interpretations of her favourite cuts; the mixtape includes samples of five original songs, including "Big Dreaming," "Last Forever," and her debut single "Home Run", plus covers of Rolling in the Deep, Mirror and Climax. Reviewing the mixtape SugarScape called it 'It's pretty darn awesome' . On its debut, Why Hello World clocked up over 16,000 downloads and 25,000 streams, and became Radio 1Xtra's mixtape of the week.

[size=14]Debut single[/size]

On 2 May 2012, she announced her debut single home run, co-written and produced by British songwriter mnek; A snippet of the single was first unveiled in May on BBC Radio 1Xtra

Flavour Magazine described the song as being reggae-infused, and features jolting percussion and drum and bass influenced beats combined with Misha's soulful vocals. ?Home Run' is a fusion of multiple genres ? R&B, hip-hop, grime, dance, pop and soul The single was added to both BBC Radio One and BBC Radio 1Xtra playlists, as well as the video being on the MTV playlists, before its official release.The music video for the single, which was directed by Rohan Blair-Mangat, premiered on June 15, 2012. Home Run was released for digital download on July 15 in the UK, landing in at 11 at the end of its debut week.

Bryan cited her performance of Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want to Have Fun on X Factor as an influencing the single's creation. On the released EP the are several remixes including kat krazy, zed bias and Taiki & Nulight. On 25 June 2012, she performed an acoustic version of the song live for i-D magazine at Red Bull studios, for SB.TV on July 11. and on the 17 July 2012, for Ustream.

'Home Run' received mixed to generally positive reviews from critics. The Guardian said 'Misha B's Home Run bristles with youthful attitude', while Flavour Magazine said the single "Combined with her soulful vocals, it brims over at its catchy hook to electric effect." Digital Spy rated the single 4 out of 5 stars, describing the track as "fresh, exciting and best of all, unmistakably Misha." Mediamonkey praised the song: "Home Run is a promising offer and is one that is not lacking in personality, attitude and style... The track is a catchy one in which it showcases the star positively, not only demonstrating the fresh rap side of Misha B but the silky smooth diva-esque voice too." However, they also suggested the single was a bit rushed.Daily Record (Scotland) said "It's all going on but fails to find that killer hook."

[size=14]Future projects[/size]

On 23 July 2012, Misha B was announced as the special guest supporting act for the 10 UK dates of Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday: Reloaded Tour, due to take place in October and November.
Debut album

Bryan is currently working on her, self penned, debut album, and a second mixtape, collaborating with various writers and producers, including MNEK, tms and naughty boy. Speaking to the Daily Star about the overall sound of her LP she said: ?It's heavily soul...It's all good-feeling music, songs that make you want to party, stuff you can relate to and cheer you up." She also revealed that she plans on releasing the record in time for Christmas. In an interview with QX (British magazine) magazine Bryan referring to her forth coming album said "I'm heavily influenced by where my family come from, jamaica, so there's a dancehall vibe, but I'm from Britain so there's pop, too. I started out as a rapper before I became a singer, so there's hip-hop in there and also Motown/soul vibe"; speaking to MTV Bryan said "I wouldn't like to box the album with any specific genre of music because we've experimented with so many different styles".

[size=14]Musical style and influences[/size]

Misha B has been compared to several female vocalists, including a young Beyonc? Knowles, missy elliott, chaka khan, jennifer hudson, nicki minaj, tina turner, grace jones and eartha kitt. "People do compare me to various different people," she said. "Like, I get Missy Elliott a lot, which I think is just a lazy comparison. She's great, she's one of my main inspirations, but our styles are different." Bryan has said that michael jackson was her number one inspiration of all time. Misha B says that her musical inspirations and influences range from hip hop to the Motown greats, "I take inspiration from everybody"; however the artists that she has mentioned who have influenced or inspired her include James Brown, Aretha Franklin, mariah carey , Jennifer Hudson, lauryn hill , Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige , Beyonc? Knowles, and Labrinth.

Bryan told MTV "I just can't wait for people to hear my other music and then to be able to say 'That's Misha B's style' She has said that her music style can best be described as 'Free', that she does not want to be boxed in by any one style. The main music genres that have been associated with Misha B's vocals are R&B, soul, hip hop, rap, grime, and reggae fusion. Bryan delivers not only impressive soulful vocals but also her unique rapping style to the tracks she has covered; often injecting well known songs with a fresh UK urban twist. This can be seen in her various performances, both on X factor and after, applying her idiosyncratic urban take to, amongst others Aretha Franklin's Respect, adele's rolling in the deep , Cyndi Lauper's Girls wanna have fun , jessie j's who are you , Destiny's Child's Survivor and Jay-Z and Kanye West's No Church in the Wild.


Favourite Food: Jerk chicken and white rice ? a hearty Caribbean meal.
Never Leave The House Without: Vaseline ? perfect for those luscious lips.