Mabel Alabama-Pearl McVey (born 19 February 1996) is a singer and songwriter. The daughter of English music producer Cameron McVey and Swedish singer Neneh Cherry, she rose to prominence in 2017 with her single "Finders Keepers" which peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart.
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.[13][14] Her parents—who were against the use of medication—encouraged Mabel to express herself through music and a journal.[15][16] The following year, she learned piano and wrote her first song.[13][17]
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.[18][19][20][21] 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.[18]
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."[22][23][24] 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.[25] Mabel's stylist is her Swedish high school friend Simone Beyene [26]
Mabel told Swedish morning show Nyhetsmorgon that she moved to London as soon as she graduated Rytmus musikgymnasium in Stockholm because she found the London R&B scene appetizing.[27]
Mabel released her debut single "Know Me Better" in July 2015,[28] which caught the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, who made the song her Tune of the Week. Within weeks, Mabel signed a recording contract with Universal.
Just after leaving Stockholm for London, The Guardian's Tshepo Mokoena spotlighted Mabel as one of Sweden's rising stars in a profile of three new Swedish R&B singers:
Better Swede symphony: how a new generation is redefining Scandipop. In a genre once typified by blonde singers and ice-cool beats, artists like Mabel, Zhala and Seinabo Sey are multi-racial and multi-genre, yet create music indebted to Sweden's pop heritage[29]
In March 2017, after the releases of the 2015 and 2016 singles "My Boy My Town" and "Thinking Of You", she released "Finders Keepers" featuring British rapper Kojo Funds, which reached the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart in late 2017.[30] In May 2017, she released her debut extended playBedroom.[citation needed]
In October 2017, Mabel released "Begging", the lead single from her debut mixtape Ivy to Roses, which was released shortly after. In December, she collaborated with Not3s on "My Lover". Following the January 2018 release of a second Not3s collaboration, "Fine Line", Mabel opened for English singer Harry Styles during the European part of the second leg of a tour in the support of his debut studio album.[31] After her tour with Styles, she embarked on her own headline tour through the United Kingdom and Europe.[32] In June, she was featured on "Ring Ring" alongside American rapper Rich the Kid and British DJ Jax Jones. Later that year, after releasing "One Shot", she co-wrote "Blind", a song for British girl group Four of Diamonds.[33][34]
In January 2019, Mabel was nominated for British Breakthrough Act at the 2019 Brit Awards.[35] She re-released Ivy to Roses with a new cover art and the inclusion of all the singles that had been released since the first edition's release. With this, Mabel also released "Don't Call Me Up", which debuted at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. The song peaked at number 3, becoming her highest-charting single to date.[36] On 7 June 2019, she released "Mad Love", the second single from her debut studio album, High Expectations, which was released on 2 August that year. The song debuted at number 18 in the UK, later peaking at number 8.[36]
Following a teaser titled 'Allow me to reintroduce myself', posted to her social media in June 2021,[49] "Let Them Know" was released on 18 June 2021.[50][51] On 16 July 2021, Mabel released the song "Take It Home" as part of Pokémon's 25th anniversary album.[52] In August 2021, she performed on the ITV2 reality series Love Island.[53] On 29 October 2021, Mabel and Joel Corry released the song "I Wish".[54] The song was followed by a cover of the Cyndi Lauper song "Time After Time", which she recorded for the 2021 McDonald's Christmas television advertisements.[55] The second single, "Good Luck", featuring Jax Jones and Swedish EDM duo Galantis was released on 18 March 2022. Mabel's second album is called About Last Night...[56]
About Last Night peaked at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, Mabel's highest-charting album to date, it also peaked at number 4 on the Scottish Albums Chart, once again her highest to date.[58]
2023–present: Sommar and upcoming third studio album
On 8 June 2023 Sveriges Radio announced Mabel would be one of the hosts of the 2023 season of Swedish radio show Sommar.[59][60] While hosting the show, Mabel said she had been writing new songs with her brother Marlon, and with support from her parents and her boyfriend Preye Crooks.[61] She stated that in the past she was reluctant to include her family, but that has now changed. She added that this material is different from her previous work, and adds that she knows this is a cliché. "This is a new chapter in my life. I have once again changed the team I work with. And for the first time, I have decided to let my family in. I need them. They are my anchor that keeps me grounded, but they are also my compass that guides me back to my true self. As soon as I feel lost or inadequate".[61] In October 2024 Mabel stated in Swedish Elle that she has been working in Max Martin's studio with her brother. [62]
On 19 January 2024, a remix of "Finders Keepers" by South African DJ and music producer Jaydon Lewis was released on streaming platforms.[63] On 9 February, Mabel was featured in Ghanaian rapper Black Sherif's song "Zero".[64] On 20 March, Mabel posted a statement on Instagram saying that she will be releasing new music after being in an 18-month hiatus.[65] On 25 April, she released "Vitamins" as a standalone single.[66] On 10 May, she released "Look at My Body, Pt. II" featuring British musician Shygirl as the lead single from her upcoming third studio album.[67] On 17 May, Mabel received a Brits Billion Award.[68] On 25 May, she performed at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend.[69] On 19 July, she released "Female Intuition" as the second single from her upcoming third studio album.[70] On 30 August, McVey released her third single, “Chat” from her third upcoming studio album. On 11 October, McVey released her fourth single, “Stupid Dumb” featuring Ty Dolla $ign
Mabel is dating Preye Crooks, who runs the Strawberries & Creem Festival and is son of ex-footballer and BBC pundit Garth Crooks. They started dating in November 2021.[71] At the end of 2024, they got engaged.[72]
^"MTV Video Play Awards: Check Out Which Artist is Most Played - BNL". Beirut The Only Way It Should Be, NightLife, Clubbing, Events, DineOut, Concerts, Festivals, Clubs, Pubs, Bars, Hotels, Restaurants, Lifestyle, Music, Fashion. 13 February 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.