Bellah (singer)

Isobel Akpobire, known professionally as Bellah, is a British-Nigerian singer, songwriter, and actress. She has been featured in numerous publications for contributing to the British R&B revival.

Akpobire was born in Enfield, North London. She grew up as an only child to a single mother and lived with her uncles, who influenced her musical tastes by playing 1990s R&B, such as Destiny's Child and SWV.

Akpobire began participating in musical theatre at four years old and recorded her first studio cover, "Be Without You" by Mary J. Blige, at age 10. After attending a Beyoncé concert seven years later, Akpobire released she wanted to pursue music professionally and wrote her first song at age 17. She performed Beyoncé's "Flawless" at a school talent show and received an invitation to perform at a local festival, where she found a management team.

After five years of artist development, Akpobire released her debut EP, Last Train Home, in 2019. The debut single, "Never Loved", was named Track of the Week by BBC Radio 1Xtra. This was followed by the release of her EPs In the Meantime and The Art of Conversation in 2020, the second of which was released by London-based independent record label Marathon Artists.

In 2021, Akpobire performed her single "Evil Eye" on the ColorsxStudios platform, garnering more than one million views. According to Akpobire, the video of her performance "opened so many doors for me, so many opportunities. I got into the rooms of so many amazing creatives after that." That same year, she was a supporting act for Tems's headline tour.

In 2022, Akpobire performed on the main stage at several large venues, including Wireless Festival, Strawberries and Creem, and Love Saves The Day. In that same year she released her third EP Adultsville, which was executive produced by Grammy Award winner Ari PenSmith. To promote the EP, Akpobire announced her first headline tour, for which the pre-sale tickets sold out within minutes.

Akpobire was nominated for Best R&B/Soul Act at the MOBO Awards in 2021 and 2023.

In 2024, she was nominated for Best New International Act at the BET Awards.

In June 2024, Akpobire starred as the character Kyazike Mayagenda in the British television series Queenie, which aired on Channel 4 and Hulu.

On 27 March 2026, she released the eight-track EP, State of Emergency Vol. 1.

Akpobire has sickle cell disease and used her single Cause U Can to help raise awareness of the disease.

• Bellah at AllMusic
• Bellah at MusicBrainz