Hear Her Voice

Laura Whitmore is joined by her special guests Olivia Dean and Rio Fredrika to showcase the next generation of female musical talent.Today Laura and her guests are on the lookout for the brightest young talent, and they’re picking their favourite songs and lyrics from a new generation of female music stars.Olivia Dean is a singer songwriter who was named Amazon Music’s ‘Breakthrough Artist of the Year’ in 2021. Raised in Walthamstow, East London, Olivia took musical theatre lessons and participated in a gospel choir from a young age. She then went on to attend the famous Brit School. Olivia released her first EP ‘Okay Love You Bye’ in 2019.  Her fourth EP ‘Growth’, released in 2021, was created during lockdown. DJ and presenter Rio Fredrika has long championed promising young talent.  She started her career presenting on MTV and on Hoxton Radio and Capital FM’s show ‘The Capital Weekender’. She went on to host the ‘Monday Drive’ show on Capital Dance, before moving to the all-new ‘Breakfast Show’ on Capital Dance where she can be heard waking up the nation with her infectious energy every weekday morning.Featuring Hear Her Voice’s resident music expert Laura Snapes on Bree Runway.Laura Snapes is one of the foremost music journalists in the UK. Currently deputy music editor at The Guardian, she has also worked as features editor for NME and associate editor at Pitchfork. Episode Spotify Playlist:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4r4iKsyfdU5I8puSghWPkb?si=4559f766356e4858  Follow Hear Her Voice on social:FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | TIK TOK

Laura Whitmore is joined by her special guests Nicola Roberts and Lucy Porter to explore music that celebrates the special bonds that women have.Today Laura and her guests are celebrating their favourite songs about female friendships and women supporting each other, as well as taking a temperature check on how the sisterhood is doing in the music world and beyond.  Nicola Roberts was a member of Girls Aloud, the hugely successful girl group created through ITV's ‘Popstars: The Rivals’. Girls Aloud enjoyed 20 consecutive top-ten singles, spawning five albums. ‘Sound of the Underground’ released in 2003, peaked at number two and was certified platinum.  Since the band split in 2013, Nicola has gone on to pursue her solo career: her album ‘Cinderella Eyes’, which drew inspiration from her time in the group, was released in 2011. She won ‘The Masked Singer’ in 2020 and is a successful songwriter.  Lucy Porter is a writer and comedian who has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Brighton Festival and many other clubs around Britain. She appears regularly on numerous TV panel and quiz shows including ‘Have I Got News For You’, ‘Mock the Week’, ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’, ‘QI’ and the radio show ‘Just a Minute’.  She co-hosts the podcast ‘Fingers on Buzzers’ and is touring with the stand-up show ‘Be Prepared’.Featuring Hear Her Voice’s resident music expert Laura Snapes on The Spice Girls.Laura Snapes is one of the foremost music journalists in the UK. Currently deputy music editor at The Guardian, she has also worked as features editor for NME and associate editor at Pitchfork.Episode Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4YesIS4CGGTDJg08sB9LUD?si=b18e2c09f19941e4Follow Hear Her Voice on social:FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | TIK TOK

Laura Whitmore is joined by her special guests Lauren Mayberry and Amy Lamé to explore how female artists have used their songs to express their identity and go against the grain.Today our host and guests will discuss artists who have attempted to break moulds and defy female stereotypes in their own unique ways. These are a class of artists who don’t just own their identity - they wear it with pride.Lauren Mayberry is the lead vocalist in the Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches.  The band formed in 2011 and two years later they released their ‘Recover’ EP, which included the break-through hit ‘The Mother We Share’.  Their debut studio album, ‘The Bones of What You Believe’, was released in 2013, elevating them into the ‘Sound of 2013’ list by the BBC. This was followed by ‘Every Open Eye’ in 2015 and ‘Love is Dead’ in 2018. Their fourth and highly acclaimed concept album, ‘Screen Violence’ was release in 2021.  Amy Lamé is a radio and TV presenter, performer and writer. She hosts a weekly music show on BBC Radio 6 Music and is a long-time champion of LGBTQ+ rights, using music as a platform, through her work as a writer, presenter and DJ and via her pioneering club night ‘Duckie’ at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.  In 2016 she was appointed London’s Night Czar, where she’s been tasked with promoting London’s nightlife both in the UK and internationally.Featuring Hear Her Voice’s resident music expert Laura Snapes on Dusty Springfield.Laura Snapes is one of the foremost music journalists in the UK. Currently deputy music editor at The Guardian, she has also held roles as features editor for NME and associate editor at Pitchfork.Episode Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/06iY0TraCe3oRlxtmQ0y4O?si=bf96a1d26ebd45a9Follow Hear Her Voice on social:FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | TIK TOK

In episode 3 of Hear Her Voice, Laura Whitmore is joined by her special guests, Yola and Jamz Supernova to celebrate songs and artists that champion the freedom of expression, speaking up and speaking out.  Today Laura and her guests explore songs and lyrics which reveal the obstacles to social justice through the lens of women, while also affirming and celebrating their invaluable role in bringing about change.Yola is a six-time Grammy nominated musician, singer and songwriter, who released her much anticipated second album, ‘Stand For Myself’ in summer 2021, she is currently touring across the US, Europe and the UK. Her debut album, ‘Walk Through Fire’, was released to critical acclaim in 2019 and lead to four Grammy nominations, including the much coveted all-genre Best New Artist category. Yola is playing the role of the pioneering guitarist and godmother of Rock N Roll, Sister Rosetta Tharpe in Baz Luhrmann’s forthcoming biopic of Elvis Presley. Jamz Supernova is a top British DJ and radio presenter, hosting shows on BBC Radio 1Xtra, Selector Radio, Radio 1 and 6 Music. She first cut her teeth on the community London radio station Reprezent before moving the BBC at the tender age of 19.  Days after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, she played a three-hour long show, choosing music that reflected the sorrow and the solidarity of the BLM moment.Featuring Hear Her Voice’s resident music expert Laura Snapes on Nina Simone.Laura Snapes is one of the foremost music journalists in the UK. Currently deputy music editor at The Guardian, she has also held roles as features editor for NME and associate editor at Pitchfork.Episode Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3FwgmYLW9yoZQ4Js9Sbakx?si=IfOm4DUvQgSejYjczbyw0w Follow Hear Her Voice on social:FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | TIK TOK

In episode 2 of Hear Her Voice, Laura Whitmore is joined by her special guests KT Tunstall and Daisy Buchanan to explore songs from the heart about losing love and finding yourself along the way.Together they celebrate the best breakup anthems of all time, and the artists who know what it’s like to lose love, own it and sing about it straight from the heart. The message is loud and clear: don’t just put up with things, take control!KT Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter who first gained attention with her debut album ‘Eye to the Telescope’ in 2004, which gained a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize. A year later she won a Brit award for Best British Live Act and has also won a Grammy award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. KT’s released six albums internationally and written soundtracks for several films. But while KT’s career hit major highs, her world was rocked to its foundations in 2012 when she went through a divorce and the loss of her dad, which triggered a life changing relocation to LA.Daisy Buchanan is an award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster. She has written for every major newspaper and magazine in the UK, from the Guardian to Grazia, as their in-house agony aunt columnist (writing the popular Dear Daisy column). Daisy hosts the successful ‘You’re Booked’ and ‘Daisy is Insatiable’ podcasts and is the author of the critically acclaimed books ‘How To Be A Grown Up’, ‘Insatiable: A Love Story for Greedy Girls; and her new novel, ‘Careering’. Featuring Hear Her Voice’s resident music expert Laura Snapes on Amy Winehouse.Laura Snapes is one of the foremost music journalists in the UK. Currently deputy music editor at The Guardian, she has also held roles as features editor for NME and associate editor at Pitchfork.Episode Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5tnyEG18jQHrcIm2dROXgu?si=b61859d0fb9e4068

In the first episode of Hear Her Voice, Laura Whitmore is joined by her special guests, Self Esteem and Lliana Bird, to discuss how female musicians have expressed themselves through music, addressing how they relate to celebrating their sexuality, confronting their body image and analysing their place in the world through their songs. Together they explore how taboo-breaking female musicians have used both their lyrics and their visuals to empower women and take control of their sex and sexuality, making the private - public, expressing their sexuality on their own terms and destigmatising female sexual desire over the decades.  Self Esteem is the experimental solo pop project of Rebecca Lucy Taylor. Her debut album under the name Self Esteem, ‘Compliments Please’, was released in 2019 and Self Esteem’s second and latest album, ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ was released in October 2021. The Guardian, The Sunday Times and Gigwise all ranked ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ as the best album of 2021. And the Guardian also named Self Esteem’s song ‘I Do This All The Time’ as the best song of 2021. Lliana Bird, aka Birdy, is a Radio host / DJ on Radio X (Xfm). She’s the host and creator of #LazyMumRecipes @llianabird on Instagram and host and co-creator of feminist podcast ‘Get it Off your Breasts’, and the science podcast ‘Geek Chic’s Weird Science’. Author of the book ‘The mice who sing for sex: and other weird tales from the world of science’.Featuring Hear Her Voice’s resident music expert Laura Snapes on Shania Twain.Laura Snapes is one of the foremost music journalists in the UK. Currently deputy music editor at The Guardian, she has also held roles as features editor for NME and associate editor at Pitchfork.Episode Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5JMerK8ZoqUjXfyZmsB71F?si=278dab23764f47a0