Artist
Tulisa Contostavlos
Why we feature this artist A familiar group voice stepping into a solo chorus Tulisa's voice was already familiar through N-Dubz when Young introduced her solo catalogue. The new record gave a conversational singer a much larger dance-pop frame, with the choru…
- From
- United Kingdom
- Sound
- Pop, R&B, hip-hop
- Active
- 2000–present
Start with the music
Tracks to explore
The artist, in context
The story of Tulisa Contostavlos
Why we feature this artist
A familiar group voice stepping into a solo chorus
Tulisa's voice was already familiar through N-Dubz when Young introduced her solo catalogue. The new record gave a conversational singer a much larger dance-pop frame, with the chorus offering a direct release from the story around it. The Female Boss then placed that first impression beside material with a stronger American R&B and ballad influence.
From N-Dubz to Young
Tulisa Contostavlos developed the group with her cousin Dappy and their collaborator Fazer. The shared vocal setting allowed her to provide another melodic and emotional perspective within songs built around different performers. The solo work needed to establish a complete character without relying on that exchange, while still using the tone and phrasing listeners already recognised.
Young reached number one in Britain in 2012. The production made the shift particularly clear: an immediately legible melodic refrain, a broad electronic rhythm and a performance whose directness mattered more than elaborate ornament. The song could work as a large public singalong while retaining the sense of one person speaking through the vocal.
The Female Boss and later singles
The Female Boss appeared later in 2012, including Live It Up with Tyga and the Dream-produced Sight of You. The two tracks offered different answers to the question of what the solo project should sound like, one giving the voice a more relaxed rhythmic conversation and the other a more exposed, dramatic shape.
Living Without You in 2015 returned to an explicitly dance-oriented setting, while Sweet Like Chocolate with Akelle revisited another familiar British pop hook in 2016. The short solo album catalogue therefore contains several distinct recording approaches. Tulisa's strongest performances preserve the natural movement of a spoken phrase inside the melody, giving even a highly polished arrangement a recognisable person at its centre.
Essential releases
Young
The British number-one solo introduction places a direct vocal hook inside a large electronic-pop arrangement.
The Female Boss
Live It Up and Sight of You give the debut contrasting R&B and ballad settings.
Living Without You
A later single returns the voice to a more explicit dancefloor frame.