Judith Hill | |
|---|---|
 Hill performing at the 2011International Women of Courage ceremony | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Judith Glory Hill (1984-05-06)May 6, 1984 (age 41) Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Pop,soul,Contemporary R&B,neo-soul,funk,jazz |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, musician, composer |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, guitar, bass |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Sony Music NPG |
| Website | judithhill |
Judith Glory Hill (born May 6, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California.[1][2] She has provided backing vocals for such artists asMichael Jackson,Prince, andJosh Groban. In 2009, Hill was chosen as Jackson's duet partner for the song "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" during hisThis Is It rehearsals. After Jackson's death in 2009, she, along with the rest of theThis Is It cast members, performed atJackson's memorial service and attracted global attention when she sang the lead on the song "Heal the World". Hill's rise to fame is recounted in20 Feet from Stardom, a documentary film that tells the untold story of the backup singers behind some of the "greatest musical legends of the 21st century". She is also a featured artist on the film's soundtrack. She won theGrammy Award for Best Music Film for her performance in this film.
A number of Hill's original ballads, including "Desperation" were featured in the 2012Spike Lee filmRed Hook Summer. In March 2013, Hill became a contestant during thefourth season ofThe Voice. Hill opened forJosh Groban during the third leg of hisAll That Echoes World Tour (North America) in Fall 2013. She also performed two duets with him in his set for "The Prayer" and "Remember When It Rained", the latter of which was released as a single. She also toured withJohn Legend on the UK leg of his#AllOfMe tour in the Fall of 2014.
Her debut albumBack in Time, recorded atPaisley Park withPrince as co-producer, was officially released as a free download[3] on Judith Hill's WeTransfer account on March 23 and made available until March 25, 2015, via a Livenation email with a note from Prince.[4]
Hill's mother Michiko Hill (née Yoshimura)[1] is a pianist from Tokyo who met Hill's father Robert Lee "Pee Wee" Hill in afunk group in the 1970s. Judith's mother is Japanese and her father is African-American. She can speak and sing in both English and Japanese[5] and is also fluent in French and Spanish. Hill is a 2002YoungArts alumnus.[6]
After a degree in music composition fromBiola University, Hill went to France in 2007 to perform with the French singerMichel Polnareff. She began a career as a singer-songwriter when she returned to the United States.
According to Tom Meek ofLA Weekly, Hill's voice is distinctive, soulful and has an earthy quality that makes it unique. She moves easily from R&B to funk to hip-hop to jazz to gospel.[7]
Hill is credited for singing backing vocals and/or choir forGregg Allman (Low Country Blues);Anastacia (Freak of Nature);Patrizio Buanne (Patrizio);Andraé Crouch (The Journey);Harold Faltermeyer (Copout);Josh Groban (All That Echoes);Taylor Hicks (Taylor Hicks);Carole King (A Holiday Carole);Evelyn "Champagne" King (Open Book);Mike Oldfield (Man on the Rocks);Barry Manilow (15 Minutes);Dave Stewart (The Ringmaster General andThe Blackbird Diaries);Rod Stewart (Soulbook);Robbie Williams (Intensive Care);Incubus (Trust Fall (Side A), song "Dance Like You're Dumb").
She is a featured vocalist for albums such asInspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole byGeorge Benson,I'll Take Romance bySteve Tyrell,The Last Ai byAi andThat's Life byLandau Eugene Murphy Jr. She has also provided vocals for soundtracks such asDr. Seuss' The Lorax: Original Songs from the Motion Picture andHappy Feet Two (Soundtrack).
A number of Hill's original ballads, including "Desperation" produced byBrian West, were featured in the 2012Spike Lee filmRed Hook Summer which premiered at the2012 Sundance Film Festival. About Hill, Lee said toRolling Stone: "She's a phenomenal talent. She can sing with the best of them."[8]
Hill signed a record deal withSony Music in 2013.[9]
On February 9, 2014, Hill appeared as a back-up singer in the CBS showThe Beatles: A Night That Changed America.[10]
Hill was the featured singer onGerard Way's original song titled "Here Comes the End", released July 8, 2020 and which appears on the second season ofThe Umbrella Academy.[11]
Hill was a featured vocalist onEric Clapton's single "How Could We Know", released on July 14, 2023. Other featured guests on the song areSimon Climie on vocals and Daniel Santiago on acoustic guitar.[12][13] November 17, 2023 in Atlantic City, she performed lead vocals for Chicago and Friends.
On June 21, 2024, in Minneapolis, The Revolution welcomed Hill as a special guest vocalist when they reunited to celebrate 40 Years of Prince's albumPurple Rain. Joe Lynch ofBillboard stated that when she took lead on the yearning, lusty vocal showcase "The Beautiful Ones", "Hill offered up effortlessly silky runs and skyscraping, soulful peaks, absolutely dominating a song that's near impossible to cover."[14]
Judith Hill's debut solo album,Back In Time released in 2015. The 11-track album was written by Hill and produced by Prince. Livenation.com offered it as a free download to subscribers and received 50,000 downloads on the first day.[15]
2021'sBaby, I'm Hollywood! garnered acclaim from SPIN.[16] That year, Hill also penned a guest essay for Atwood Magazine about the culture of music.[17]
On September 15, 2023, Hill released "Runaway Train," the first single from her studio albumLetters from a Black Widow, which released April 26, 2024.
In 2009, Hill was selected asMichael Jackson's duet partner for theThis Is It concerts; she practiced for months with Jackson up until his death on June 25, 2009.[18]
Michael Jackson's death caused the concerts to be cancelled. Along with the rest of theThis Is It cast members, Hill performed atJackson's memorial service at theStaples Center in downtown Los Angeles on July 7, 2009. She attracted global attention when she sang the lead on the song "Heal the World" which was one of the climactic moments of the service.[19]
Hill also released a tribute to Jackson, "I Will Always Be Missing You", named after her duet with Jackson "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" in the to-beThis Is It concert. It was given as a free download from her website starting late 2009, and was released on iTunes on January 26, 2010 (the same day as theThis Is It DVD release) — with all proceeds going to Childhelp US.
Hill auditioned for thefourth season ofThe Voice. In the first episode of the season broadcast on March 25, 2013, she sang "What a Girl Wants" byChristina Aguilera with all four judges,Adam Levine,Shakira,Usher andBlake Shelton pressing their "I Want You" button and turning their chairs. After a hard decision, she chose to join Team Adam. "She's going to be a Grammy-winning superstar, and she's on my team", Levine stated.
For the battle rounds, Hill faced off with Karina Iglesias, singing "It's a Man's Man's Man's World", which along with Amanda Brown and Trevin Hunte's "Vision of Love" and also Jesse Campbell and Anthony Evan's "If I Ain't Got You", was considered one of the best battles in Voice history. Levine chose her to move on from his team, thus entering the Knockout Rounds. In the Knockout Rounds, Hill was paired against Sasha Allen and won. Therefore, she entered the top 16, the start of the live shows. She was considered a frontrunner in the competition; however, after her Top 8 performance, she was eliminated on May 28, 2013. She and her teammate Sarah Simmons' eliminations at the Top 8 show was considered one of the most shocking of the season. Said Katy Kroll ofRolling Stone: "It's a sad loss for the show, as Judith had the type of vocal chops and stage presence that should really be rewarded by such a competition."[20]
Performances onThe Voice:
| Stage | Song | Original Artist | Date | Order | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blind Audition | "What a Girl Wants" | Christina Aguilera | March 25, 2013 | 1.14 | All four chairs turned Joined Team Adam |
| Battle Rounds | "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"(vs. Karina Iglesias) | James Brown | April 15, 2013 | 7.6 | Saved by Coach |
| Knockout Rounds | "Always on My Mind"(vs. Orlando Dixon) | Brenda Lee | April 29, 2013 | 11.5 | Saved by Coach |
| Live Playoffs | "Feeling Good" | Nina Simone | May 6, 2013 | 14.8 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 12 | "You've Got a Friend" | James Taylor | May 13, 2013 | 17.9 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 10 | "The Way You Make Me Feel" | Michael Jackson | May 20, 2013 | 20.2 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 8 | "#thatPOWER" | will.i.am feat.Justin Bieber | May 27, 2013 | 22.1 | Eliminated |
Hill and several backup singers are featured in the documentary film20 Feet from Stardom, which debuted at the2013 Sundance Film Festival[21] and opened in US theaters on June 14, 2013. The movie won the2014 Oscar &Critics Choice Award for documentary feature and Hill won aBlack Reel Award for Outstanding Original Song for "Desperation".20 Feet from Stardom also won the 2015Grammy Award for Best Music Film, with the award being presented to the featured artists as well as the production crew.[22]
Hill sings backing vocals on three ofJosh Groban's songs for the albumAll That Echoes and was the opening act during the third leg of hisAll That Echoes World Tour (North America) in Fall 2013. She also performed two duets with him in his set for "The Prayer" and "Remember When It Rained",[9][23] the latter of which was released as a single. She appears in Groban's official video for his song "Brave".
Hill was the opening act forJohn Legend on his#AllOfMe Tour in the UK in the autumn of 2014.
Hill is the featured vocalist on her composition "Party Rockers" which appears onGordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band's albumLife in the Bubble. The song was nominated for a 2015Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals.[22]
On March 22, 2015,Prince invited representatives from several Minnesota media outlets to preview Hill's debut album at Paisley Park. Six selections were played fromBack in Time, which Hill recorded in two or three weeks at Paisley Park with Prince as producer. "It's the fastest album I've ever made," he said. Surprisingly, Prince did not discover Hill onThe Voice or in the Michael Jackson movieThis Is It, where she was featured as a backup singer in rehearsal for his upcoming tour. He learned about her when he saw a video clip of her being interviewed on aRevolt TV show and she mentioned that she would like to work with Prince.[2] He went on to produce her debut album,Back In Time (2015).
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Michael Jackson's This Is It | Herself |
| 2013 | 20 Feet from Stardom | Herself |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
