Celeste album Not Your Muse goes to number one in UK chart

Celeste clinched the number one spot in the UK album chart with her record Not Your Muse this week.

It went straight to top spot.

On Twitter she told fans: “I first started writing eight years ago so today is a little overwhelming for me. I haven’t much I can put into words but just thank you to everyone who has made this possible.”

The 26-year-old, born in California, moved to Saltdean when she was aged five.

The Celeste album Not Your Muse has reached number 1 in the UK album chart

In her teenage years she performed in pubs and worked in charity shops in Sussex.

She moved to London with just £100 in her pocket, the BBC reported, and was signed for Lily Allen’s record label Bank Holiday Records, which released her first EP, and later by Polydor, who signed her in 2018.

Celeste Waite says she is heavily influenced by soul singers Aretha Franklin and Ella Fitzgerald who she often listened to in her Sussex home.

Celeste

Speaking to BBC Radio 2 host Ken Bruce she said: “I lived in the house with my mum and my grandparents, I would just be around there, having lots of conversations with them and hear little snippets of the music they were interested in which was Nina Simone, Etta James and Aretha Franklin.

She also fondly remembers singing in a Brighton church, where she honed her talents as an artist.

Speaking to OfficialCharts.com Celeste said: “I just want to thank everyone that made this possible and bought and streamed my album.

“It means so much to me and it means a lot for this music to get heard in this way. I can't wait to make more and hopefully I'll see you at all the shows.

“This has done the world of good for me and my music so thank you very, very, very, very much.”

Her voice has also been likened to the late Amy Winehouse.

Handout photo of Celeste. See PA Feature SHOWBIZ Music 2020. Picture credit should read: Mia Clark. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ Music 2020..

Celeste wrote her first song, Sirens, at the age of 17 in tribute to her Jamaican father who died of lung cancer when she was 16.

In December she recorded the John Lewis Christmas advert, which for the first time was not an artist making a cover of an original song but was instead her own original work.

It is the first time a woman musician’s debut album has reached number one in the album chart since I Cry When I Laugh by Jess Glynne in August 2015.

Music Week reported that Celeste enjoyed 22,475 sales including selling more than 18,000 physical copies of her record and more than 2,000 downloads.

Celeste with the Brits Rising Star Award in the press room at the Brit Awards 2020 held at the O2 Arena, London. PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday February 18, 2020. See PA story SHOWBIZ Brits. Photo credit should read: Ian West/PA Wire.

Celeste has recently appeared on BBC’s The Graham Norton Show, and won the BBC’s Sound of… poll for 2020, an award previously won by chart-topping artists like Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding and Adele.

She also won the Rising Star award at the Brit Awards last year, and impressed with her performance at the Royal Variety Performance.