Katie Melua
With opening act David Berkeley.
Katie Melua is a unique and remarkable vocalist/guitarist known and loved for singing open-hearted ballads. Born in Georgia (former USSR) in 1984, she lived in Belfast for five years before settling in South East London. At sixteen Katie joined the Brit School for Performing Arts where she met composer/producer Mike Batt.
After an appearance on The Royal Variety Show, 19-year-old Katie shot to the top of the UK album charts and became the biggest selling female artist for the next two years. Her two albums, (the second of which contained the hit “Nine Million Bicycles”) have sold more than 10 million copies to date. She is currently Europe’s biggest selling female solo artist.
The past years have been quite extraordinary for Katie (now 24). She has met and played for Nelson Mandela in South Africa visiting his AIDS charity, has become a hard working ambassador for Save The Children and picked up various prestigious awards within Europe, including a World Music Award, a Golden Camera Award, and two German Echo Awards. In December 2007, Katie had her first number one single with a duet with her idol, the late Eva Cassidy, entitled “What A Wonderful World”, with proceeds from the single going to support the UK work of the British Red Cross.
Katie’s third studio album, Pictures, will be released on Dramatico/Universal April 28th, 2009 in conjunction with a U.S. tour.
“I’m really proud of Pictures,” says Katie of the finished album. “It definitely feels like the third part of the trilogy that Mike and I have collaborated on as a creative team. It stays true to what we have always tried to focus on – the lyrics and melody, with emotional songs that hark back to the roots of songwriting.”