Charlene Soraia

Charlene Soraia Santaniello Jones, known as Charlene Soraia, is a British singer-songwriter.

Charlene Soraia
Birth nameCharlene Soraia Santaniello Jones
Born (1988-07-19) 19 July 1988
Sydenham, Lewisham, London, United Kingdom
OriginLondon
GenresPop, acoustic, folk
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter,
InstrumentsVocals, guitars, piano
Years active2004—present
LabelsPeacefrog Records (2011–present)
Websitecharlenesoraia.com

She first became known with a cover of The Calling's "Wherever You Will Go", which peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. She released her debut studio album, Moonchild, in November 2011, which features "Wherever You Will Go" as a bonus track. She released her second studio album, Love Is the Law, in September 2015, which features the singles "Ghost", "Broken", "Caged", and "I'll Be There".

Early life

Born and raised in Sydenham, London Borough of Lewisham in London, Charlene Soraia grew up with her parents. She first picked up her father's guitar at the age of 5, and played her first show at 8.[1] She was inspired by artists such as David Bowie, The Beatles, Pink Floyd and King Crimson, and was very interested in the prog-rock genre.

While still at school, Soraia used to appear at open mic night at The Studio, Beckenham, Bromley in London around 2004, where her style and songwriting were still developing. She used the time before her performances to do her homework.

She was accepted into the BRIT School despite not having a GCSE in music, alongside future chart artists Adele and Kate Nash. While being there, she formed a rock band called Retrospect, with whom she released an EP entitled Long Hair, Short Memories. She also joined a psychedelic blues band, Electriq Mistress. At the same time she released a solo EP, "Lemonade", which was mainly created to get her bookings. She began performing as a solo artist in 2008, releasing further EPs Daffodils and Other Idylls (March 2008); Postcards from iO later in the year and third in the series, One of the Sun. The former reached the top of the UK Folk Chart on iTunes. An iTunes Live Sessions EP was also released after she performed at the festival in early 2008.

Career

Soraia became noticed by a mainstream audience in 2011 when her cover of "Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling was featured in a Twinings commercial.[1] The song was subsequently released as a digital download on iTunes and reached number 2 on the UK Download Chart and number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. The original version of the song, which itself peaked at number 3 in the UK in June 2002 from the album "Camino Palmero", also re-entered the top 40 as a result, this time reaching number 16. Her debut album Moonchild, featuring the song as a bonus track, was released on 21 November 2011. On 10 January 2013, Soraia released the video for her song "Ghost". On 21 July 2014, she released another video for her song "Caged". And on 11 September 2015, she released her second studio album Love Is the Law.

Personal life

Soraia has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, specifically stating that she suffers from cyclothymia.[2] which she describes as a less severe form of bipolar disorder. [..] I wrote [a song on the LP called] 'Bipolar' and it came out really upbeat and funny despite the fact I was actually in pieces. [...]

Discography

Studio albums
Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
Moonchild 83
Love Is the Law —
Where's My Tribe —

Singles
Year Song Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[3]		 FR
[4]		 IRE
[5]
2011 "Wherever You Will Go" 3 145 20 Moonchild and Love Is the Law
"Bipolar" — — — Moonchild
2013 "Ghost" — — — Love Is the Law
"Broken" — — —
2014 "Caged" — — —
2015 "I'll Be There" — — —
2018 "Where's My Tribe" — — — Where's My Tribe
2019 "Tragic Youth" — — —
"Now You Are with Her" — — —
"Temptation" — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or not released yet.

References
  1. Cleveland, Barry; Jimmy Leslie (September 2012). "Four New Electric Players of Note". Guitar Player. pp. 36–44.
  2. Copsey, Robert. "Ones to watch: Charlene Soraia". London: Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  3. Charlene Soraia – Wherever You WIll Go (UK Singles Chart). The Official Charts Company.
  4. "lescharts.com". lescharts.com. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  5. "GFK Chart-Track". chart-track.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  6. "BPI Certified Awards > Search". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
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