Mabel
Origin: Spain
Mabel Alabama-Pearl McVey was born on 20 February 1996 in Alhaurín el Grande, Málaga, Spain. She is the youngest child of English music producer Cameron McVey and Sierra Leonean – Swedish singer Neneh Cherry. When she was two, her family relocated to Notting Hill, West London. Mabel developed anxiety from being sensitive to her surroundings and being bullied due to racial backgrounds. Her parents—who were against the use of medication—encouraged Mabel to express herself through music and a journal. The following year, she learned piano and wrote her first song. To help manage her anxiety, the family moved to Sweden when she was eight and lived in her mother’s native countryside home near the town of Hässleholm. At age 15, Mabel enrolled at the Stockholm music school Rytmus Musikergymnasiet where she took a three-year course in songwriting, production and music theory.
In 2017, she had her breakthrough with “Finders Keepers”, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart. Her debut studio album, High Expectations (2019), entered the UK Albums Chart at number three and was certified platinum. It included the UK top-10 singles: “Don’t Call Me Up”, “Mad Love” and “Boyfriend”. Mabel won the Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist in 2020.