She began her career in 2014 providing vocals for electronic producers such as Avicii, Tieks and Real Lies, while also self-publishing music onto SoundCloud on the side.

Celeste Epiphany Waite was born in Culver City, California, on 5 May 1994, to an English mother and a Jamaican father.

[13][14] At the age of 10, Celeste spent a year doing ballet at a performing arts school where teachers had offered her a scholarship.

[9] At 18, she started working in the studio after she graduated and began taking her music career seriously,[14] while playing her first gigs in and around Brighton.

[25] The song, which was produced by Tev'n, was described by Jim Carroll of The Irish Times as "a striking blast of soulful, seductive vocals backed by a ghostly electronic r'n'b groove.

[33] She also featured on Swedish musician Avicii's song "Touch Me" in 2015, prior to making her solo mononymous debut.

[12] Celeste completed her GCE Advanced Levels in Music and Textiles in 2016 before working at the local Black Horse pub in Rottingdean.

I was pulling pints and listening to Shirley Bassey imagining I was in Carnegie Hall doing a performance in floor length fur.

[46] Celeste embarked on her third-ever supporting tour of the UK and Europe with the band Skinny Living in October 2017.

[47][48][non-primary source needed][13] Celeste signed to Polydor Records where she caught the attention of singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka, who was already on the label.

[51] She saw support when "Father's Son" was promoted on BBC Radio 6 Music by Tom Robinson in March 2019,[54][55] as well as when "Both Sides of the Moon" was played on BBC Radio 1 by Annie Mac and Huw Stephens in October 2019,[56] "Both Sides of the Moon" was also played on Beats 1 by Elton John, who noted: "Celeste is quite something else...watch out for her.

[41] The five-track EP features "Both Sides of the Moon (Live)", "Lately", "Father's Son", "Summer (ft. Jeshi)" and "Ugly Thoughts".

[60] Shannon Mahanty of The Guardian wrote, "Proving Celeste's deft ability to sever a heartstring, [Lately] moves from the soul-tinged jazz of the title track, to sultry toxic love ballad 'Both Sides of the Moon', via 'Father's Son'".

[62][63] Gemma Samways from NME described Celeste's debut Primavera Sound set in June 2019 as "spellbinding", noting that "next year she'll be on a much, much bigger stage.

"[64] In the latter half of 2019, Celeste released 4 singles, namely "Coco Blood", "She's My Sunshine" and both a studio and live version of "Strange".

[65] "Coco Blood" was described by Savannah Sicurella of Paste as a "warm coming-of-age song" that references Celeste's British-Jamaican heritage.

I dare you x"[77] Celeste sold out a three-night residency at Omeara in London,[78][1] before embarking on a tour supporting Michael Kiwanuka in November 2019.

[91] On 9 January 2020, Celeste was announced as the winner of BBC's music poll Sound of 2020,[15] before she released her first single of the year, "Stop This Flame".

[101] In late March 2020, Celeste made the front cover of The Sunday Times Style, where she was named "fashion's new front-row star".

[104] For the April 2020 fundraiser telecast, The Big Night In, Celeste performed a cover of Bill Withers' "Lean on Me" and also appeared in the Live Lounge Allstars' charity single "Times Like These.

[112] During this time, her single "Stop This Flame", re-gained popularity after becoming the theme song for Sky Sports' weekend coverage (Saturday Night Football) of the Premier League.

[117] Celeste also provided the single "A Little Love" as the soundtrack to the 2020 John Lewis & Partners Christmas advert, becoming the first original song and non-cover version to do so.

[120] She also performed "Stop This Flame" and a cover of Nat King Cole's "Smile" during the 2020 BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony.

[121] Celeste and American jazz musician Jon Batiste provided a duet version of the song "It's All Right" inspired by the 2020 Disney-Pixar film Soul.

[132][133][10][3][134][20][135][136] Nick Reilly from NME described Celeste as a "once-in-a-generation talent" who is "the finest British soul singer to emerge in years.

"[10] Modestas Mankus from Our Culture Mag wrote: "Celeste has established herself as an artist who can mould and bring out authenticity and passion with fluency and maturity that not many artists can do so quickly in their careers [...], [her] consistency in putting out thoughtful and quality music puts her on a positive track to becoming a vastly influential figure in the world of music.

"[137] BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac said: "I have received countless emotional texts from listeners who have had to sit in their car and lose themselves to her song 'Strange' before carrying on with their evening.

[139]Celeste is also admired by many for her unique fashion sense that recalls the 1960s and is inspired by The Supremes, Édith Piaf and Shirley Bassey.

[143] In March 2020, Celeste made the front cover of Sunday Times Style, where she was named "fashion's new front-row star".