Mabel at the BBC’s Biggest Weekend in Swansea on May 26, 2018 and broadcast on BBC Radio 1.
Diving into Pop/R&B this morning – Mabel comes from a long line of musical talents, starting off with her grandfather, the legendary Don Cherry, her uncle Eagle-Eye Cherry and her mom Nenah Cherry, Mabel (whose full name is Mabel Alabama-Pearl McVey) hit the ground running with her debut single, Finders-Keepers in 2017 and quickly rose to prominence by 2019 when her debut album, High Expectations came out to rave reviews and Platinum status two weeks after release.
Mabel, who was born in Spain, and moved to England. At age four, she taught herself to read through phonetics and audiobooks, but soon 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 in southern Sweden, and later moved to Stockholm in October 2004. First she attended an international school, but later transferred to Kulturama a school with aesthetic training and courses including musical, music & song as well as visual arts and design. At age 15, Mabel enrolled at the Stockholm music school Rytmus Musikergymnasiet (a music high school) where she took a three-year course in songwriting, production and music theory. She commented on her time at the school on Swedish radio: “I was drawn to RnB and wanted to write songs on piano, but the most popular students wrote indie songs on guitar.” While in high school she had a popular Swedish style blog, chronicling her girl-gang’s style. It was so successful that it landed her in the front row of international runway shows with her mother Neneh Cherry, including the likes of Stella McCartney and the Paris Fashion Week. Mabel’s stylist is her Swedish high school friend Simone Beyene.
This gig comes just before her debut album came out and is loaded with anticipation.
In case you missed it – dive in and celebrate Friday Jr.
