Beth McCarthy (singer)
Musical artist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bethany May McCarthy (born 23 June 1997) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and presenter. After self-releasing an EP, at age 16, she[a] competed in the third series of The Voice UK (2014). She has since gained prominence as a solo artist.
Beth McCarthy | |
|---|---|
McCarthy in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Bethany May McCarthy 23 June 1997 York, England |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels |
|
| Website | bethmccarthymusic |
Early life
McCarthy was born in York and grew up in the suburb of Rawcliffe. She is the daughter of a dentist and a hygienist. McCarthy attended the Mount School. She studied music at the local Access to Music college in The Groves.[1]
Career
Music
At age 13, McCarthy began busking in St Helen's Square. She self-released her first single "Hero" in 2012 followed by her debut EP Northern Light in 2013.[2]
In 2014 at age 16, McCarthy competed in the third series of The Voice UK, auditioning with an acoustic cover of LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" to a yes from Ricky Wilson. McCarthy was eliminated in the knockouts.[3] That year, she performed at Live at Leeds.
McCarthy contributed a "Streets of London" cover to the 100 Streets (2016) film soundtrack. She performed at the Tramlines Festival. Her January 2017 single "Pretty Lies" reached #2 on the iTunes singer-songwriter chart,[4] She also released a charity single "Lemonade" as well as "Mr & Mrs Brown".[5] She embarked on a headline tour called the Outline Tour.[6]
In 2018, McCarthy released the singles "Shame", "Crazy for You"[7] and "Wildfire" ahead of her 2019 EP Self Portrait.[8]
McCarthy began making reworkings of songs. She posted a TikTok in 2020 reworking Will Joseph Cook's "Be Around Me", which became a single "Omg Did She Call Him Baby?". She gained further viral prominence with the 2021 single "She Gets the Flowers".[9][10] This was followed by the singles "If You Loved Me Right",[11] "Friendship Bracelet" in 2021[12] and "No Hard Feelings" in 2022.[13] She performed at Liverpool Sound City and the Great Escape Festival.[14]
In 2023, McCarthy supported Emlyn's No One Came to Grieve Tour and Ellie Dixon's In Case of Emergency Tour[14] and returned to the Great Escape Festival.[15] She released the singles "What Do You Call It?", "She's Pretty" and the titular track ahead of her 2024 third EP IDK How to Talk to Girls.[16] Another single was "Good Bi". She embarked on a headline IDK How to Talk to Girls Tour[17] supported by Catty, Nxdia, Go-Jo and Carla Wehbe. In addition, McCarthy supported Caity Baser's Still Learning Tour and performed at Live at Leeds, Radio 1's Big Weekend,[18] Mighty Hoopla, Rock for People, Pinkpop Festival, Kendal Calling and FM4 Frequency Festival.[14]
MCarthy's fourth EP Hot and Stupid followed the next year in 2025.[19] Singles from the release were "All My Friends Are Hot" and the titular track. Other singles she released were "Treat Me Like a Rockstar", "What If I Never Make It?", "Drama at the Disco", "Exes in Bedsheets" and "How Am I Supposed to Love Myself?".[20] McCarthy performed at Glastonbury Festival[21] and Boardmasters Festival[22] and embarked on a headline Hot & Stupid Tour supported by Aleksiah and Catty.[23][24] McCarthy also supported G Flip on tour.[25]
She is attached to perform at the 2026 Reading and Leeds Festivals.[26]
Presenting
From 2018 to 2021, McCarthy was a Monday evening and later Thursday night presenter on BBC Radio York.[27]
Artistry
Through her father, McCarthy grew up listening to AC/DC, Meat Loaf, Deep Purple and Queen.[28] Her initial sound was country folk influenced pop before moving towards a more electronic/synth and then pop rock sound. McCarthy's early influences included Max Milner, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Damien Rice,[29] The Script, Gabrielle Aplin and Taylor Swift.[2] In 2024, McCarthy mentioned Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch, P!nk and Carly Rae Jepsen as influences.[16]
Personal life
McCarthy is bisexual.[30]
Discography
EPs
- Northern Light (2013)
- Self Portrait (2019)
- IDK How to Talk to Girls (2024)
- Hot and Stupid (2025)
Singles
- "Hero" (2012)
- "Left Behind" (2016)
- "Streets of London" (2016), cover
- "Pretty Lies" (2017)
- "Lemonade" (2017)
- "Mr & Mrs Brown" (2017)
- "Shame" (2018)
- "Crazy for You" (2018)
- "Wildfire" (2019)
- "Omg Did She Call Him Baby?" (2020)
- "She Gets the Flowers" (2021)
- "If You Loved Me Right" (2021)
- "Friendship Bracelet" (2021)
- "No Hard Feelings" (2022)
- "What Do You Call It?" (2023)
- "She's Pretty" (2023)
- "IDK How to Talk to Girls" (2024)
- "Good Bi" (2024)
- "All My Friends Are Hot" (2024)
- "Hot and Stupid" (2025)
- "Treat Me Like a Rockstar" (2025)
- "What If I Never Make It?" (2025)
- "Drama at the Disco" (2025)
- "Exes in Bedsheets" (2025)
- "How Am I Supposed to Love Myself" (2025)
- "Hey Handsome" (2026)
Notes
- McCarthy uses she/her and they/them pronouns.