Coral Harris

Coral Harris
Coral in October 2011.
Background information
Born	July 13, 1989
Origin	London, United Kingdom
Genre	Hip hop, R&B, grime, Pop, Dance
Years active	2011-present
Label	Next Generation Records
Associated acts
Difused, 8-BIT

Coral Harris (born July 13, 1989) is an English singer, songwriter and producer. She is best known as being the only white female in the grime market. In April 2012, she launched Next Generation Records, acting as the label's founder. Her debut single "Last Night On Earth" hit #2 on the charts. Her second single "City Lights" peaked at #1. Both singles are taken from Coral's #1 Diamond certified debut album "The English Rose". She has also won a Urapopstar Award for "Best Newcomer" at the 22nd Awards show. Harris has sold over 3 million records in the UK alone.

Early life

1989-2011: Early Life

Harris grew up in a rough area of London, being born as the second of three children (the youngest being Keiran from boyband Difused). At the age of five, her father was sentenced to twenty years in prison for stabbing a man and Coral was left to act as the parent of the family, as her mother suffers from a disability. Coral often got into trouble with the law, being warned for various reasons such as underage drinking, violent behaviour and shop lifting. At the age of 14 she formed a group with her brother Antonio and close friend Smithy, named "Swagzstar", where they developed a following underground, however Coral left the group in 2009 while they were being offered a record label, at the age of 19 stating she wanted to "escape from the street crime and start her life fresh".

Career

2011-present: The English Rose

The English Rose (2012)

A press release on October 26, 2011 introduced Coral. It revealed that her debut single would not be out until 2012. Two days later it was revealed she would be releasing a download-only buzz single "Hard Shoulder" on November 21, 2011 just to build up interest, the song was the highest new entry on the download chart, at #5 however it rose to #4 the next week and the following week jumped to #2. She has stated her main aim for 2011 is to feature on tracks by as many artists as possible, to raise her profile. Her first feature was on a re-release of Kleo's album (Here's One For The) Massacre on a track titled "Not Man Enough". At the end of 2011, Coral was listed on the BBC Sound of 2012 shortlist and eventually was predicted as their 2nd biggest artist for 2012.

Her debut single and album currently have an April 2012 release date. January 2012 saw Coral's appearance on INTOXICATED's album "Love & War", on a track titled "Toyboy". She featured on the second single by 8-BIT, titled "The Haze", which was released on February 27 2012. The song easily became 8-BIT's biggest hit to date, charting at #6. Intoxicated also revealed that their duet with Coral, "Toyboy", shall serve as the third single from their album on March 19, however it was pushed back on several occasions, eventually settling on May 07. However 2 weeks before the release, the song was cancelled, due to problems within the girl group, although it did manage top 20 on downloads and airplay before it was even released. She has also recieved a URAPS Awards nomination before releasing anything on the official charts, for the first Critic's Choice Award. Coral also featured on "Guy Like You", the second single from Ruby and the Gems' third studio album and act as a support act for Candi on the One Heart Tour. A week before the tour began, on April 04, 2012 Coral created a new record label, named Next Generation Records. On 08 April, "Guy Like You" charted at #1 on the official singles chart, giving both Ruby and Coral their first #1 single. Coral also supported Bella-May on her tour Sex Before Marriage Tour, after she was voted the most popular candidate on a poll on Bella's website.

After weeks of teasing, Coral finally revealed the title to her debut single on April 21, 2012, exactly a month before the single's release. The title was revealed as "Last Night On Earth", due for release May 21. It premiered on May 03 on Radio 1. It debuted at #2 on the singles chart and spent a massive 18 weeks on the chart. Her second single "City Lights" is due for release on 27 August 2012, and will preceed the album by one week. A download only promotion single, "Karate Chop" shall also be released on 13 August 2012. To celebrate her twenty third birthday, Coral gave a gift back to her fans, revealing that her debut album would be titled "The English Rose", with a release date of 3 September, 2012. She also appeared on the track "Dim The Light" taking from Jetfire's self-titled debut album "Jetfire" and on "Runnin' Dis", the first track on L.E.X's second studio album "Lionheart". Upon their releases, "Karate Chop" debuted at #1 on the download chart, "The English Rose" charted at #1 on the album chart and "City Lights" charted at #1 on the singles chart, giving Coral her second chart topper, and first as the lead artist. On the same day, Coral won a Urapopstar Award for "Best Newcomer". The third single from the album is due for release on 03 December, 2012 and will be released as a double A side. The single "In Your Dreams/Runnin' Dis" includes "In Your Dreams" from Coral's debut album and "Runnin' Dis", the collaboration between Coral and L.E.X on his album "Lionheart". The single edition of "In Your Dreams" features a new verse and vocals from L.E.X for the single release. Upon it's release, the song charted at #2 on the charts.

On 17 March 2013, it was confirmed that Coral would feature on a brand new duet with Aimee Lyons titled "Masterpiece". The single was released on 20 May, 2013 and charted at #2 on the singles chart, becoming Coral's fifth consecutive appearance in the top two. She is also due to feature on the second single by the boyband that she's mentored, Victory. Their track "Boombox" will be released 22 July 2013. It has also been confirmed that she recorded a track with Dahlia for her debut album "Chasing Shadows". The track is titled "Airhead". Coral also featured on the track titled "13/2" for rapper 8-BIT's second studio album "Shall Not Be Mourned", making it the pair's second collaboration.

On 19 August 2013, Coral released "Boys Hearts Were Made To Break" as the fourth single from her debut album. A fifth official single will be released from the album later in the year. Upon it's release, "Boys Hearts" debuted at #04, becoming Coral's lowest charting solo single to date as well as her first and only to miss the top two. In August 2013, Coral confirmed work on her second studio album was well under way, with an expected release date of early 2014. Coral shall also feature on "Goldbridge High" the lead single from 8-BIT's third studio album, of the same name, making this their third collaboration. However the single charted lower than expected, debuting at #08 on the UK singles chart. Coral will also appear on Jetfire's fourth single "Dim The Lights", after it was voted the most popular choice to be fourth single by a poll on the bands website. It is due to be released 25 November 2013. On 10 November, "The English Rose" was certified Diamond, for sales of over 1,000,000 copies in the UK. On 01 December 2013, "Dim The Lights" debuted at #01 in the UK, giving Coral her third chart topper.

In October 2014, Coral featured on the track "Hallucinations" taken from Iris's fifth studio album "The Asylum Pt. 3".

In March 2016, Coral will feature on the track "Hate You" taken from Dakota Prescott's debut album "Welcome To The Brat Pack". A new version of the song is due to be released on 05 June 2017, marking Coral's first appearance on the charts in four years. It charted at #5 in the UK.

Other ventures

Next Generation Records logo

Coral has become known as a business woman in addition to being a renowned musician. When Coral first appeared on the music scene in 2011, she was offered a record contract with all the big labels, however Coral turned down all offers, and instead released her material independently, ensuring she kept 'creative control' of all her music. In April 2012, Coral announced that she would be creating her own record label, Next Generation Records. Many saw the move as extremely risky as Coral was still relatively unknown, and had invested all of her money into the label. The record label has however grown from strength to strength, and is now the third biggest record label in the United Kingdom (behind Blacklight and Fusion).

Through owning her own label, Coral has been known for talent spotting the new artists for her label personally and earned respect for her ability to personally discover brand new talent. Coral's hands on approach with her label has earned her praise from the media, naming her the 'most dedicated label owner' of the moment. Coral herself talent spotted Electra, Victory and Dakota Prescott and took the role of their 'mentor', guiding them throughout their career.

Discography

Main article: Coral Harris Discography

Albums

• 2012 The English Rose #1

Singles

• 2012 Last Night On Earth #2
• 2012 City Lights #1
• 2012 In Your Dreams/Runnin' Dis #2
• 2013 Boys Hearts Were Made To Break #4
  

Other releases

• 2011 Hard Shoulder (Download Only) #2
• 2012 Karate Chop (Download Only) #1
  

Awards and honors

Ceremony	Nominated work	Award	Achievement
Urapopstar Awards 21		Critic's Choice	Nominated
URAPS Rate 18			#48
Urapopstar Awards 22		Best Newcomer	Won
		Best Urban	Nominated
		Best Songwritter	Nominated