Hope Tala
British singer-songwriter (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hope Natasha McDonald (born 18 November 1997), known professionally as Hope Tala, is a British singer-songwriter. Her musical style has been described as pulling from R&B, Latin, neo soul, and bossa nova. Tala released her first studio album, Hope Handwritten, in February 2025.
Hope Tala | |
|---|---|
Tala performing at the Gramercy Theatre in New York | |
| Born | Hope Natasha McDonald[1] 18 November 1997[2] |
| Academic background | |
| Education | University of Bristol (BA) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Bossa nova, R&B, neo soul[4] |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2018–present |
| Label | Republic Records |
| Website | Official website |
Early life
Hope Tala was born in West London to a Jamaican-descended Black father and a mother of British and Irish heritage.[5] She learned to play various musical instruments during her childhood.[1][5] Tala first started to sing at the age of 15 and wrote her first compositions during her study of AS-Level music.[6] At home, she experimented with Logic Pro, producing demos which she published on SoundCloud.[5][7][8] Tala describes her favourite instrument as the guitar, with a preference for nylon-string guitars but also enjoying acoustic and electric guitars.[9][10] Her moniker is derived from her birth name; "Tala" is a diminutive form of her middle name, Natasha.[1]
Career
2018–2019: Studies, Starry Ache, Sensitive Soul
Tala studied English literature at the University of Bristol.[3] graduating with first-class honours in 2019.[4][11][12][10] Tala turned down the chance to pursue a master's degree at the University of Cambridge in favor of pursuing a career in music.[4][5][7][11][10] Tala finished her first and second EPs, Starry Ache and Sensitive Soul, while she was at university.[11] She finished her single "Lovestained" as she was finishing her dissertation.[11][13]
Tala's first single was "Blue",[14] released in 2018 which was later included on the EP Starry Ache.[15] She would proceed to release her singles "Lovestained" and "D.T.M." in 2019. "Lovestained" was written as Tala was working towards her degree in English literature.[16][6] Tala's "Lovestained" would later be placed on Rolling Stone's "50 Best songs of 2019" list at #8.[17] The two singles would be compiled into her EP Sensitive Soul.[18]
2020–present: Girl Eats Sun and other singles
Tala's "All My Girls Like To Fight" was her first song in 2020.[19] It was around this time that Tala had declined pursuing a master's degree in favour of a career in music.[20] Speaking to Wonderland, Tala described music as a "one-shot career"[20] and that she would have "regretted continuing her studies" when there was the opportunity to continue on later in life.[20] Tala described writing "All My Girls Like To Fight" as "constructing an expansive narrative in a song"[20] and she "wanted to portray women having strength and agency in the narrative".[21] The song would be included in her EP Girl Eats Sun.[20]
Critical reception
Tala's All My Girls Like To Fight was listed as one of Barack Obama's favourite songs of 2020.[4][22] Her song "Tiptoeing" was chosen by Clara Amfo as BBC Radio One's "Hottest Record in the World" on 19 October 2021.[23][24]
Personal life
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Hope Handwritten |
|
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Floating (feat. Hope Tala)" (Raveena featuring Hope Tala) |
2019 | Lucid |
Extended plays
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK DL | ||
| Starry Ache |
|
— |
| Sensitive Soul |
|
— |
| Girl Eats Sun |
|
— |
Singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Blue"[14] | 2018 | Starry Ache[15][26] |
| "Moontime" | ||
| "Lovestained"[16] | 2019 | Sensitive Soul |
| "D.T.M."[18] | ||
| "All My Girls Like To Fight"[19] | 2020 | Girl Eats Sun |
| "Cherries" (featuring Aminé)[27] | ||
| "Crazy"[28][29] | ||
| "Mad"[30] | 2021 | Non-album singles |
| "Tiptoeing"[31] | ||
| "Party Sickness"[32] | 2022 | |
| "Is It Enough"[33] | ||
| "Leave It On The Dancefloor" | ||
| "Stayed at the Party" | ||
| "I Can't Even Cry" | 2024 | Hope Handwritten |
| "Bad Love God" | ||
| "Thank Goodness" | ||
| "Shiver" | ||
| "Jumping the Gun" | ||
| "Survival" | ||
| "Phoenix" | ||