Who Is Yola? 5 Things to Know About the AMAs’ 1st Ever Song of Soul Winner

Breaking boundaries. Yola was named the first ever Song of Soul winner ahead of the 2022 American Music Awards on Sunday, November 20. The “Diamond Studded Shoes” songstress, 39, will perform her track “Break the Bough” live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, marking her first appearance on the awards show. “I have long dreamed of performing at the American Music Awards, and honored to be included during the ‘Song of the Soul’ moment,” the Elvis actress said in a statement in October. “I hope the song brings a little peace and joy to anyone who has lost someone close to them regardless of how challenging the relationship may have been.” The U.K. native went on to explain that she

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wrote “Break the Bough” in tribute to her mother, who died in 2013. “‘Break the Bough’ creates a loving false construct of what I hope my mother experienced in her afterlife,” Yola — whose full name is Yolanda Quartey — explained. “A mix of all the things she held dear and brought her happiness during her life. Specifically, her pre-Windrush Barbados childhood, disco and sci-fi.” Though Yola’s AMAs honor includes the world “soul,” her music also incorporates elements of rock, Americana, R&B and country — and she likes to keep listeners guessing. “You might go, ‘That’s quite a countrified song’ — then you listen to the drums, and it’s kind of a Mersey beat,” she told Variety of her song “Whatever You Want” in July 2021. “Then you go, ‘OK, that’s maybe a bit Stax-ier than I thought it was. But that doesn’t really sound like a soul melody. Hmm, there’s something a little bit Brit-y here. Is that … Stone Roses?’ Yeah! It’s Britpop, people. I’m English!” The “Walk Through Fire” singer has been candid about the struggles she’s faced over the years as a Black woman in the music industry. “One record company executive told me that no one wanted to hear a Black woman singing rock ‘n’ roll, which I thought would be a challenge given a Black woman invented it,” Yola told Elle UK in June, referring to pioneering musician Sister Rosetta Tharpe. “That was the kind of ignorance I had to deal with, from punter and peer to executive level.” Yola played Tharpe, who was known as “the godmother of rock ‘n’ roll,” in Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 biopic, Elvis. “There is no Elvis without Sister Rosetta, categorically,” the “Stand for Myself” singer told Grazia in August, adding that it was a “profound honor” to play the rock legend. “It’s the environment of Black America that made her, and then she makes this wonderful gift that we all get to take for granted.” Keep scrolling for five things to know about Yola:

The Grammy nominee was born in Bristol, England, to a Barbadian mother and Ghanaian father. She later moved to London to go to college, but she later dropped out to pursue her music career. At age 21, she was evicted from her apartment and was briefly homeless before she moved back to Bristol.

Yola’s debut solo album, Walk Through Fire, was released to critical acclaim in February 2019, but by then she’d already been a musician for nearly two decades. She performed with her own band, Phantom Limb, from 2005 to 2012, and she also sang with acts including Massive Attack, Bugz in the Attic and Duke Dumont. In 2016, she played a showcase at the Americanafest in Nashville, releasing her debut solo EP, Orphan Offering, that same year.

In addition to her solo work, Yola is an honorary member of The Highwomen, the supergroup comprised of Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires. She is featured on the band’s track “Highwomen” and joined them on stage at the 2019 Newport Folk Festival when they performed with Dolly Parton. Her 2021 album, Stand for Myself, was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys.

Yola made her acting debut playing Tharpe in 2022’s Elvis, which starred Austin Butler as the titular rock star. Tharpe, who died in 1973, was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 in the Early Influence category. “If she was as beloved as she should be, she would have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame way before 2018,” Yola told Variety in July 2021. “It would have been decades ago. You know, if I invented something, I would expect to be first into the Hall of Fame!”

The “Hold On” singer has been named UK Artist of the Year at the UK Americana Awards three times, winning in 2017, 2020 and 2022. She also won UK Album of the Year in 2020 and 2022. In 2020, she was nominated for Best New Artist at the 62nd Grammy Awards, though she lost to Billie Eilish. She’s earned five additional Grammy nods as well as a 2021 nomination for International Achievement Award at the Country Music Association Awards.