London singer Kathleen 'Katie' Brien, known professionally as Katy B, released her new single 'Last Day of Summer' on July 24. The track combines her signature R&B vocal tone with funk and electronic elements, marking her latest release following a period without new album projects.
The 37-year-old artist, who graduated from the BRIT School in London, has spent more than a decade and a half in the music industry. Her career began with her 2011 debut album 'On a Mission', which drew on dubstep and subgenres to blend warmth and vocal quality into the electronic music scene.
Career albums and electronic sound evolution
Following her debut, Katy B released her second album, 'Little Red', in 2014. The record featured a more electronic sound, incorporating house and dance music while retaining her R&B foundation. In 2016, she released 'Honey', which stands as her most recent full-length album entry in her discography.
After 2016, the singer released only occasional individual pieces over the following decade. In 2022, she issued a collection of tracks without a formal album structure, acting as a transition between her earlier electronic style and an updated sound. Among those songs, 'In Your Room' highlighted her control of phrasing, syncopated syllables, and melodic whispers.
Major tracks and collaborative singles
Katy B's third album featured the single 'Who Am I', a collaboration with British singer Craig David and electronic group Major Lazer. The song showcased British pop style and vocal contrast, backed by Major Lazer's production to demonstrate her ability to blend genres in joint projects.
Her catalog also includes her debut platform track 'Broken Record', released 15 years ago as part of her first album. The song incorporated a 1990s British club style with sound distortions and a dual-tempo rhythmic base.
Streaming figures and acoustic performances
From her second album, the single 'Crying for No Reason' features an unproduced vocal opening that transitions into layered production elements. The track has accumulated more than 20 million plays on the primary music streaming platform, where Katy B maintains more than one million monthly listeners.
Beyond her official studio releases, an unofficial acoustic video session recorded with a British radio station captured her performing a medley of Beyoncé's 'Drunk in Love' and 'Vulnerable'. Accompanied primarily by piano and percussion, the performance demonstrated her vocal range and dynamics without studio production effects.
