Ruth B.
Ruth B. | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ruth Berhe |
| Born | July 2, 1995 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Genres | R&B[1] |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels | Columbia |
| Website | ruthbofficial |
Ruth Berhe (born July 2, 1995),[2] better known by her stage name Ruth B., is a Canadian singer and songwriter from Edmonton, Alberta. She started by singing songs on Vine in early 2013. In November 2015, she released her debut extended play, The Intro. On May 5, 2017, she released her debut album, Safe Haven. It has gathered over 1 billion overall streams on Spotify as of October 2021. Her hit single "Lost Boy" has accumulated over 630 million streams on Spotify, and her YouTube channel has received a total of 340 million views as of October 2021.
Early life and education[]
Berhe was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta.[3] Her parents emigrated from Ethiopia in the 1980s. Berhe speaks her parents' native language Amharic fluently.[4] She spent some of her teenage years working at a local Reitmans clothing store and described herself in an interview with The Canadian Press as an "introvert".[5] She said she was "never the big party chick."[citation needed] While working part-time she started to dabble in posting videos on Vine. She say she chose the six-second video service because it took less effort to upload short clips, compared to other popular services like YouTube.[5]
Berhe graduated from Ross Sheppard High School in 2013. She attended MacEwan University, but took time off her studies to focus on music.[2]
Career[]
Berhe posted her first Vine video in May 2013, and started making singing Vines about a year later.[2][3] Her singing Vines, typically six second covers of popular songs, helped her grow a following.[3] In November 2014, she posted a Vine of herself singing a line that she had made up, which was inspired by the television series Once Upon a Time.[2] It garnered around 84,000 likes within a week, which was unusual for her at the time. She took note of its popularity, with some of her followers commenting that she should make it into a full song.[6] It became "Lost Boy", which she posted on YouTube on January 18, 2015 and which was released on iTunes on February 12, 2015.[citation needed]
Berhe entered the studio in early 2016 to begin recording her debut full-length album with Joel Little, a New Zealand producer who helped Lorde create her first album. She say she was writing songs long before the album went into production, so she had many songs to pick from when her label told her it was time to start putting something together.[5]
She honored National Arts Centre Award winner Michael Buble at the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards gala by performing his song "Home." Later, at the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, she performed Neil Young's song "Heart of Gold" to honor his induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame.[7]
At the 2017 Juno Awards Berhe was nominated for the Juno Fan Choice Award and Songwriter of the Year, and won Breakthrough Artist of the Year. She later performed her single "Lost Boy."[citation needed]
The following year at the 2018 Juno Awards, she was nominated for three awards including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Pop Album of the Year.[citation needed]
In 2018, the CBC Kids television series debuted, with a theme song performed by Berhe. In May 2018, her song "Shadows" appeared in the second season of the Netflix series Dear White People.
In the summer of 2020, she issued a new song called "If I Have a Son," and on August 28, 2020, the song and video for "Dirty Nikes" through new label "Downtown Records.
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [8] | |||
| Safe Haven |
|
17 | |
| Moments in Between | — |
EPs[]
| Title | Extended play details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [8] |
US [12] | ||
| The Intro |
|
20 | 52 |
| Maybe I'll Find You Again[13] |
|
— | — |
Singles[]
As lead artist[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [14] |
DEN [15] |
NLD [16] |
SWE [17] |
UK [18] |
US [19] | ||||
| "Lost Boy" | 2015 | 14 | 14 | 41 | 19 | 97 | 24 | The Intro and Safe Haven | |
| "Superficial Love" | 2017 | —[A] | — | — | — | — | — |
| |
| "Rare"[24] | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Maybe I'll Find You Again | |
| "Slow Fade" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Dirty Nikes" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Moments in Between | |
| "Situation" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Promotional singles[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE Heat. [25] | |||
| "In My Dreams" | 2016 | — | Safe Haven |
| "If This Is Love" | 2017 | — | |
| "Dandelions" | 15 | ||
| "Crave" | 2018 | — | Maybe I'll Find You Again |
| "If I Have a Son" | 2020 | — | Non-album single |
| "Die Fast" | 2021 | — | Moments in Between |
Awards and nominations[]
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Shorty Awards | Best Vine Musician | Herself | Nominated |
| iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards | Fan Fave Vine Musician | |||
| Teen Choice Awards | Next Big Thing | |||
| BET Awards | BET FANdemonium Award | |||
| 2017 | Juno Awards | Juno Fan Choice Award | ||
| Breakthrough Artist of the Year | Won | |||
| Songwriter of the Year | Herself — •"Lost Boy" •"Superficial Love" •"2 Poor Kids" |
Nominated | ||
| Canadian Radio Music Awards | Best New Group or Solo Artist: Hot AC | "Lost Boy" | Won | |
| Best New Group or Solo Artist: Mainstream AC | Nominated | |||
| Best New Group or Solo Artist: CHR | Won | |||
| Western Canadian Music Awards | Pop Artist of the Year | Herself | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Juno Awards | Artist of the Year | ||
| Album of the Year | Safe Haven | |||
| Pop Album of the Year |
Artistry[]
Berhe has listed Lauryn Hill, The Beatles, Carole King, Grouplove, Adele, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran as some of her musical influences. She said that "the one thing all my favourite artists have in common is she are all storytellers. Something that I try to incorporate in my music", in an interview with Idolator.[26]
Notes[]
- ^ "Superficial Love" did not chart on the Canadian Hot 100, though did peak at number 44 on the CHR/Top 40 chart.[23]
References[]
- ^ "Ruth B / Canadian-Ethiopian Singer-Songwriter Plans To Write & Produce Her Own Album". Flaunt Magazine. September 28, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Edmonton singer Ruth B launches career in an instant". CBC News. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- ^ a b c Sperounes, Sandra (November 25, 2015). "Who is Edmonton's Ruth B? The latest online star to get a record deal". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- ^ Kohn, Daniel (2016-08-31). "Inside Ruth B's Outspoken Debut". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
- ^ a b c Friend, David (November 15, 2016). "Edmonton singer Ruth B on life after Vine: 'I write full songs now, not just 6 seconds'". Global News. Global News/The Canadian Press. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
- ^ Khan, Sarah (November 30, 2015). "Ruth B Talks Vine, The Intro & Getting Inspired By 'Once Upon A Time'". ANDPOP. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- ^ "News". Ruth B. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
- ^ a b "Ruth B Chart History: Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
- ^ a b "Gold/Platinum - Music Canada". Music Canada. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
- ^ a b c "American certifications – Ruth B." Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Moments in Between by Ruth B. on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ "Ruth B Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
- ^ "Maybe I'll Find You Again / Ruth B." Tidal. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
- ^ "Ruth B Chart History: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
- ^ Hit Listen Top 40
- ^ Dutch Charts
- ^ Sverigetopplistan
- ^ "RUTH B | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
- ^ "Ruth B Chart History: Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
- ^ "Certified Awards" (To access, search "Ruth B" in Keywords and select "Artist" in Search by). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- ^ "Ruth B "Lost Boy"" (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. February 2, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ^ "Ruth B – Swedish Certifications" (in Swedish). Grammofon Leverantörernas Förening. April 27, 2016. Archived from the original (To access, enter the search parameter "Ruth B" and select "Search by Keyword") on May 21, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ^ "Ruth B Chart History: Canada CHR/Top 40". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ RuthBVEVO (2018-09-21). "Ruth B. - Rare (Official Video)". Retrieved 2018-09-22.
- ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 47". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
- ^ Wass, Mike (November 25, 2015). "Popping Up: Ruth B". Idolator. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
External links[]
- Official website
- "Lost Boy". Vine. December 1, 2014. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014.
As of April 2016, the first release achieved 1+ m loops and the re-release had 3+ m loops
- 1995 births
- Living people
- Canadian women singer-songwriters
- Columbia Records artists
- MacEwan University alumni
- Musicians from Edmonton
- Vine celebrities
- Canadian people of Ethiopian descent
- 21st-century Black Canadian women singers
- Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year winners
- Canadian women pop singers