FEATURE:
Spotlight
Skye Newman
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AN artist who is rightly…
being talked about as a massive star of the future, I am taking the opportunity spotlight Skye Newman. This is someone who I have known about for a little while now. This year has really seen her blow up. So many people looking in her direction. I am going to come to some interesting information about this exceptional artist. Before then, here is some biography that gives you some insight into one of the U.K.’s most promising artists. Someone who is beyond compare. Such a staggering young talent with decades ahead of her:
“Skye Newman is a raw and unapologetically authentic voice emerging from the UK music scene. Having moved countless times throughout her life, she considers South East London her true home – having shaped her artistry through its diverse cultures, working-class resilience, and the real-life struggles she witnessed firsthand.
Growing up in low-income households, and moving often, Skye references being surrounded by people who came from nothing, and channels these experiences into her music, offering a voice to those often overlooked in mainstream narratives.
Inspired by the storytelling of rap and the emotional depth of soul, Skye’s musical journey began with her aunt, a jazz and blues singer, who introduced her to the magic of songwriting and studio life. Later influences like Amy Winehouse, Adele, Bob Marley, and Eminem further shaped her sound – working closely with her musical friends, Skye found her sound, blending poetic lyricism, raw emotion, and a fearless approach to honesty in her music.
Backed by a fiercely loyal support system of family and lifelong friends, Skye’s artistry is deeply personal, yet universally relatable. Whether she’s pouring her heart into her lyrics, vibing with her girl gang, or finding freedom in creative outlets like ice skating, she brings an energy that is both electric and deeply introspective.
With a voice that carries the weight of real-life experiences and a passion for storytelling, Skye Newman isn’t just making music – she’s creating a movement”.
As she is quite a new artist, I can find no published interviews with her. Only a very small selection of useable photographs too. I hope that this changes very soon.. There is some filmed bits and pieces and some interesting TikTok and Instagram stuff but nothing really in the way of anything else. It is quite rare that I highlight an artist where there is nothing really from them. Rather than rely on personal insight and words from the artist herself, I am instead going to bring in other features and people. I found this article from Music Week, where Columbia Records President Dipesh Parmar has hailed the chart success of Skye Newman. She achieved top twenty lacings for her first two singles. Not many other artists can claim that:
“At a time when UK talent has faced increasing competition on the domestic charts from US superstars, there are now signs of a resurgence for British acts – with Sony Music leading the way so far this year.
Sony Music UK has released half of the new domestic tracks in the Top 200 streaming chart so far this year, including tracks from Myles Smith, Central Cee, Skye Newman, Calvin Harris, Rudimental, Denon Reed, Shallipopi and Jade.
The Sony streaming results for the year to date cover UK-signed artists benefiting from investment from the major. If you included US-signed chart stars such as British metal band Sleep Token, who have made a Top 10 impact, the Sony market share would be even bigger.
Despite pressure from global hits on the domestic charts, Sony Music has managed to increase their number of domestic entries in the Top 200 streaming chart. The numbers were up in 2024 compared to 2023. So far in 2025, year-to-date domestic entries are in growth for a second consecutive year.
Crucially, the results represent a growth in market share based on an actual increase in the number of tracks entering the Top 200. In other words, Sony Music is improving its results for new UK music rather than just achieving a gain in share based on a favourable comparison with other majors.
According to Sony Music, 41% of UK representation in the Top 40 is signed to the major (including The Orchard), which puts Sony ahead of both Universal Music UK and Warner Music UK.
South London singer-songwriter Skye Newman has secured a significant breakthrough with a Top 20 double in the latest chart. As well as a new peak for debut hit Hairdresser at No.16 (18,717 units – up 38.6% week-on-week), Newman secured her first Top 10 single with a new entry for Family Matters at No.8 (25,305 units). Family Matters was streamed 3.2 million times in the UK in the past week, according to the Official Charts Company.
Skye Newman is the first UK female solo artist to reach the Top 20 with her debut single and follow-up since Ella Henderson in 2014. It’s a rare chart achievement for a new artist to chart in the Top 20 with their first two singles – Jessie J did it in 2011, as did Ruby Murray way back in 1955.
Newman is one of several domestic success stories in the UK chart for Sony Music – the major has four British tracks in the Top 20, three of them signed to Columbia.
Calvin Harris has secured his 31st Top 10 single with Clementine Douglas collaboration Blessings climbing to a new peak of No.7 (28,055, up 14.5% week-on-week ). The track is charting in more than 15 markets worldwide on Spotify.
Dipesh Parmar, president, Columbia Records, said: “Skye is a truly authentic artist and an incredible songwriter. I can’t remember a time where we’ve seen a British artist have two debut singles chart in the Top 20 at the same time, and this is only the beginning for her.
“Artist development is the heartbeat of what we do and to see Skye have her first taste of chart success alongside a British superstar like Calvin Harris, who has achieved 31 Top 10 singles, demonstrates the breadth of talent we are working with at Columbia, and proves that great music and exceptional talent can cut through.”
Columbia has also seen the highest entry to date for Wolf Alice with Bloom Baby Bloom – the band’s first single on the Sony label – cracking the Top 75.
Meanwhile, BRITs Rising star winner Myles Smith is at No.13 with his latest Top 10 single, Nice To Meet You (525,191 units to date), while his global hit Stargazing remains in the Top 50 (1,399,028 units to date). He is now chasing a third Top 20 hit with new single Gold.
Having secured the biggest global breakthrough for a UK artist last year, Myles Smith continues to perform well in global markets. Stargazing remains on Spotify’s Top 100 Global chart (No.73) with 12 million streams in the past week (and approaching 800m to date on Spotify alone).
On the albums chart, Sony Music has achieved four No.1s from UK artists so far this year – Robbie Williams, Central Cee, Sleep Token and Pink Floyd, following the rock legends' move to the major.
Central Cee became the first UK rapper in over a year to have a No.1 album domestically. With the release of Can’t Rush Greatness, he had the biggest streaming day of all time for a UK rapper globally on Spotify.
RCA-signed Jade won her first BRIT award as solo artist and saw a subsequent chart boost for debut single Angel Of My Dreams, which she performed at the ceremony”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Skye Newman alongside her pianist
In May, for NOTION, Skye Newman shared behind-the-scenes photos of her tour with Sienna Spiro. It would be nice to see some interviews with Newman. I am going to end with a review of Family Matters from Neon Music. There will be a lot of people excited about future possible music and a debut album.
“Skye Newman’s Family Matters doesn’t ease you in—it throws you into the middle of her story and dares you to look away.
After making waves with her debut single Hairdresser, a track that cracked the UK Top 30 with its dry wit and understated charm, Newman has followed up with something far more exposed.
Family Matters, released 16 May 2025 via Columbia, marks a shift from biting social commentary to raw autobiography.
Born out of what she’s described as “pure dysfunction,” the song doesn’t try to universalise trauma—it personalises it. It offers no resolution, only recognition.
The opening verse wastes no time on warmup.
“You’ve never worn these shoes / Don’t mean my new balance in blue”
It’s part clever wordplay, part accusation. A warning: this won’t be sugarcoated.
“Raised on pure dysfunction / But sleep I’ll never lose”
This isn’t about overcoming; it’s about learning to function with the mess still in the room.
“Got old wounds and fresh ones / But you won’t see me bleed”
What sounds at first like poetic stoicism lands more like a coping mechanism.
The line reads as someone who’s trained themselves to bleed internally—quietly.
The chorus carries a different kind of heat.
“Bitching ’bout problems / Like they’re stuck on your lips / You’re so dramatic”
It plays like a takedown—but not of a specific person. It’s the kind of resentment that builds when people trivialise your reality with gossip-level empathy.
“I could tell you ’bout me / But you won’t understand”
There’s a jadedness here. Not born from bitterness, but exhaustion. Explaining doesn’t help if the audience doesn’t have the language.
“No caller ID / It’s the police again / No pills to be out / But there’s no kids around”
Newman stacks these lines like flashes of a childhood she never asked for. Police, pills, absence. They don’t tell a full story, but they tell enough.
“Death knocked down my door / Walked in unannounced”
This is the lyric that’s stuck with most listeners. Not because it’s abstract—but because it’s terrifyingly plain. There’s no metaphor here. Just memory.
“A line meant two things / Since I was like five / Starved ’cause his words / But at least I’m alive”
Here, Skye Newman folds in dual meanings with eerie ease—“a line” could be punishment, drugs, expectation. Whatever it is, it’s shaped her since childhood.
“It is what it is / You call it traumatic / But it is what it is / It’s just family matters”
The refrain is devastating not because it’s dramatic, but because it’s numb. This is not catharsis. It’s emotional flatlining. A lived-in resignation many recognise and few articulate this clearly.
The second verse shifts from past to pattern.
“There’s times I can’t keep focused / ’Cause they’re all fucking raging”
The chaos didn’t end with childhood. It just got louder.
“A spliff stops my explosion / Bad habits I’m not facing”
She’s not romanticising the weed. It’s a pressure valve, not a plot twist.
“Then my brother’s drugs got harder / It became substance abuse”
The story expands. This isn’t just personal. It’s systemic. The kind of environment that passes down damage like a family recipe.
“So he’s a stupid bastard”
It’s blunt and bitter—resentment sharpened by helplessness.
By the time we reach the final stretch, the mask is fully off.
“I don’t eat, I feed / That’s who I am”
It’s not a line designed to impress. It’s a line that makes sense when you’ve grown up keeping everyone else afloat.
“You take the piss / Baby I burn / My fire’s hot / Yeah I’m fucked up”
This is where the polish drops. It’s the part of the song that feels less written and more confessed.
“But you haven’t met my family / So you’re in luck”
No fake smiles. Just the truth said with a half-smirk and a full scar.
The production here—by Boo and Luis Navidad—is intentionally threadbare. A fingerpicked guitar sets the tone.
A few background harmonies drift in and out, never overstaying. The effect isn’t lo-fi—it’s near-silent witness. Like being let into someone’s voice memo at 2am.
Newman’s delivery? Flatlined just enough to sound real. There’s no attempt to belt her way out of the pain.
Instead, she walks you through it in a steady, almost detached voice that hits harder for its restraint.
Listeners have said it feels like “listening to someone name the things you were never allowed to say.”
Newman’s writing doesn’t chase relatability. It invites discomfort. And that might just be what makes it essential”.
She has a couple of gigs coming up later in the year. There is a lot of understandable exactment around Skye Newman. She is a very special artist that is one of our very best. I am going to finish things here. Anyone who has not discovered her music yet, I would advise you follow her on social media. It may be early days for Newman, but you can see her ascending to the same heights as the best of the contemporary mainstream. When it comes to this simply incredible artist, it is clear that her…
FUTURE looks so bright.
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Follow Skye Newman
