Becky Hill CRSSD Festival Photo Diary

For nearly a whole decade, British singer Becky Hill has been a force to be reckoned with, dominating the UK music scene with her infectious, radio-friendly anthems that draw in thousands of fans at her live sets. Only recently, she was named the third most-streamed British female solo act (behind none other than Dua Lipa and Adele) after acclimating more than 4 billion streams on Spotify alone, which comes as no surprise as Hill has collaborated with some of the world’s biggest producers (David Guetta, Meduza, Galantis, and Tiësto), sold-out nationwide tours, produced over 10 platinum hits, and achieved a debut top 10 album. Now considered a household name in her home territory, Hill is continuing her journey to global superstardom by branching out to other territories, particularly stateside.

On March 4, EUPHORIA. was given access to follow and photograph Hill as she joined today’s biggest electronic acts at CRSSD Festival in San Diego. To accompany our exclusive photo diary, Fabio Magnocavallo caught up with the singer a few weeks prior for a chat to discuss her jam-packed schedule and career that continues to reach new heights. 

It’s a Monday morning in the middle of February and Hill has a lot to celebrate. The following day is her 29th birthday and she’s just won another BRIT Award for Best Dance Act for a second time running. After a crazy weekend, Hill is back at home but still can’t escape all the madness as she is easily distracted by the gifts she receives at her door. Honestly, if we were gifted luxurious Cartier jewelry, we’d be the same. “It was quite an overwhelming night for me,” she admits. “I think this year I’m gonna feel a little bit more relaxed once it’s all soaked in.” 

Winning the BRIT wasn’t the only thing that came out of her evening as Hill was also given the honor to close the ceremony with a show-stopping performance with David Guetta that was also joined by Ella Henderson and Sam Ryder. “I mean, I was flying from the ceiling to the floor. It doesn’t get much more iconic and cool than that,” she declares. “That was the stuff of dreams, let alone doing it at the O2 arena, let alone doing it at the Brits, let alone after having just won my second BRIT Award for Best Dance Act. I mean, that, that’s it. It doesn’t get much better than that. I’m really glad that people not only got to see me win but also got to see why I’ve won.”

As a seasoned performer who is no stranger to entertaining crowds packed with thousands of fans, the aspect of being able to reach millions on live television is a concept she considers more exciting, rather than daunting. “You have an opportunity to reach an audience that you wouldn’t usually get to reach,” she says. “I’m all about trying to branch out and to show people who I am and what I’ve got. You know, I’ve always felt like the underdog in this industry. So, to be able to be on TV in front of millions at home and be able to perform and show people who I am and what I do, I think that’s never gonna be a bad thing and I’m always gonna be incredibly, incredibly grateful for that.”

Anyone who has followed Hill’s journey from competing as a contestant and reaching the semi-finals on The Voice UK in 2012 to now knows the hustle has been real. But, it’s that same hustle she’s willing to bring across the pond in order to have her breakthrough in the US. Knowing that it’s a much larger market, Hill is aware this will be a bigger challenge, but one she’s definitely up for. “I think I’ve got a lot of work to do in America to kind of show everybody who I am over there, what I do, and why they should emotionally invest in me,” she says. Last September, Hill embarked on a mini North American tour, which, much to her own surprise, did completely sell out. “We were doing quite small venues last year but every one of them had sold out and I thought the label was just having a bit of a laugh and had bought out all the tickets at the venues and that nobody was gonna turn up. They were rammed with people that really deeply knew my music, which was such an honor to see,” she continues.

And for that reason, going into this year’s festival season in the US is something Hill has been really looking forward to. “I only did Life Is Beautiful last year because I feel with festivals, people do take more of a risk on coming to see somebody they may not know as well as others,” she says. “I think it’s gonna be so much fun being able to basically start again and try and get people on board over in the States and get the people that already know to tell everybody.”

See also

INTERVIEWS

Katelyn Tarver

While making her CRSSD Festival debut, Hill is also anticipating her first-ever trip to San Diego. “I really have no idea what I’m getting myself into here at all,” she says while laughing. “I think this is the dream, right? I’m traveling around, performing my own music to a new audience at a different time of the year in a different place,” she says. “I just think this is all about the adventure and I think it’s gonna be so incredible to be able to do those sorts of things because this is a dream job for me.”

Touring isn’t the only thing on Hill’s agenda. She’s been working on a second studio album, a project she believes will either drop at the end of the year or at the beginning of the next. With her debut, Only Honest On The Weekend, written over the past nine years of her life, Hill penned a collection of songs that ultimately made up an album she describes felt like a compilation. Whereas this upcoming LP has been written over a matter of a couple of months, focusing in more on recent events. “It was nice to go into it knowing how to kind of put an album together or at least having experience of doing that because, with the first one, I had no idea what I was doing,” she says. “There’s a lot more confidence there as an artist, whereas the first time around, it really felt like I was seeking a lot of approval. This one is definitely way more dance-led, it’s a lot cooler, and more personal as well. I’m more vulnerable and it feels nice to be able to do that not as a 19-year-old all the way up to a 28-year-old, but it does feel nice to do that as a 29-year-old and come into this as an adult this time around.”

2023 is the year Hill is manifesting big things. “I wanna play Glastonbury, I want to start getting into different territories for touring, I want to release four singles, I want to finish my album this year. I wanna take over the world, that’s what I want to do,” she declares. Honestly, as one of the most hardworking pop stars in the game, Hill is well on her way to global domination and we can’t wait to watch her every step of the way.