Dakota Prescott

Dokata Elizabeth Prescott is an English singer/songwriter. Born in Islington, England, Dakota resented her rich heritage and 'upper class' family, and rebelled through creating her own punk music, posting this music online through YouTube videos and gaining significant notice as well as a cult following. It was until late 2014 when busking in London that Next Generation Records owner Coral Harris discovered her and invited her to a formal audition. Dakota released several promotional tracks throughout 2015, before her debut single "The Recipe" and album "Welcome To The Brat Pack" were released on 21 March 2015 and both charted at #1 on the UK singles and album chart.

1993–2014: Early life and career beginnings
Dakota Prescott was born in Islington, England, on 02 August, 1993. She is the youngest daughter of Rupert Prescott and Amanda Prescott (née Smith). Dakota was raised as an only child in a upper-class family, a lifestyle she resented. Growing up, Dakota often got in trouble at school and was expelled from four different private schools due to her bad behaviour. On her YouTube videos, Dakota has revealed she would spend most of her free time in the rougher areas of London instead of her own glamorous home, as she enjoyed being around 'real people who live and feel real pain on a daily basis' as opposed to the 'fake and plastic' people in her neighbourhood.

In 2007, around the age of fourteen, Dakota discovered several buskers in Camden, whilst she skived school. Fascinated with their talent, Dakota returned home and instantly began creating her own original music, eventually finding her own sound through a somewhat 'indie pop punk sound'.

In 2012, Dakota created her own YouTube channel, and posted a new video at least once a week of her performing either an original song or a cover. Dakota's subscribers quickly began to rise and by January 2014 she had over 60,000 subscribers. It was at this point Dakota began busking in the streets of London and telling her subscribers where they could find her. It was by chance that Next Generation Records owner Coral Harris had noticed Dakota's videos online and attended one of these gigs. Harris was massively impressed by what she saw and invited Dakota for a formal performance at the Next Generation Headquarters.

2014-present: Welcome To The Brat Pack
Having been invited to perform in front of Coral Harris and Kleo for the chance of getting signed at Next Generation Records, Dakota managed to impress the pair with a performance of her own original song "London Fuckerz". Regarding the performance, Dakota stated she was 'very nervous' as Next Generation Records was the only record label she wanted to sign with as she felt they allowed the most artistic freedom. Coral and Kleo signed Dakota to the label almost instantly after hearing her, and work began on her debut album the following month.

In early April 2015, NME revealed they had received demos of two tracks recorded by Dakota titled "80s Bomb" and "Fuck It!" Dakota revealed later in the month that she would be releasing several buzz/promo singles to the Digital chart before her debut single in order to build up some hype. "80s Bomb" was confirmed as the first promo track. It was released on 18 May 2015 and charted at #2 on the UK Digital Chart. On 05 June, Dakota revealed her next promo track would be titled "$ex Tape" with a release date of 22 June 2015. The third and final promotional release, "Hearts" was released on 17 August 2015 and charted at #4 on the Digital chart. The album is scheduled to have a release date of 07 December 2015.

In October 2015, Dakota was nominated for two awards at the Urapopstar Awards 27. "Best Digital Release" for "80s Bomb" and "Best Newcomer". On 15 February 2016, Dakota revealed the album would be released in late March. She revealed the albums delay was due to her "wanting to improve the quality" of the music. It is currently scheduled to have a release date of 21 March, along with the upcoming single. On 22 February, Dakota revealed the single would be titled "The Recipe" and featured Kleo. On 02 March, "Welcome To The Brat Pack" was revealed to be the title of Dakota's debut album.

On 08 March 2016, in celebration of International Women's Day, Dakota released a music video for her album track "Like Alesha", a song dedicated to pop icon Alesha. Upon the release of "The Recipe" and "Welcome To The Brat Pack", the single and album both hit #1 on the charts. Dakota also managed to simultaneously be #1 on every single chart (singles, album, airplay and digital), an impressive feature.

In April 2016, Dakota recorded a version of Prince's 1979 single "I Wanna Be Your Lover" for the album "Prince: A Tribute To His Purple Majesty". On 23 May, Dakota revealed she had already recorded the music video for her upcoming second single. On 13 June, Dakota revealed that the second single released from the album would be "Rich Youth", and the music video would star Candi, one of her heroes. The single was released on 18 July 2016 and originally charted at #4 in the UK, however it rose to #1 in it's second week, giving Dakota her second consecutive chart topper.

On 29 June it was revealed Dakota had recorded a new song titled "Drive" especially for the #1 film soundtrack "Exile in Nashville: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Dakota released a cover version of "Santa Tell Me" for the album 'A Very URAPS Xmas 4'. The third single from "Welcome To The Brat Pack" "Hate You" featuring Coral Harris, was released on 05 June 2017 and charted in the top five.

Influences
In 2015, Dakota revealed that her biggest influence in terms of music was pop singer Alesha, stating: "she never gave a fuck what anybody else thought, she was this cool bitch doing whatever she wanted and absolutely owning it in the process". She has since criticised modern day music for not being as innovative. Dakota further respects Shell Ruin, Jack Stevens and Neyssa and claims she 'should have been around in the era when they owned the charts'. Dakota's more modern day preferences are Midnight and Candi, as Midnight appeals to her dark, moody side and Candi appeals to her girly fun loving side.

Discography
Main article: Dakota Prescott Discography

Albums

 * 2016 Welcome To The Brat Pack #1

Singles

 * 2016 The Recipe #1
 * 2016 Rich Youth #1
 * 2017 Hate You #5

Promotional releases

 * 2015 80s Bomb (Download Only) #2
 * 2015 $ex Tape (Download Only) #2
 * 2015 Hearts (Download Only) #4