Judith Hill 25 years old PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, United States
Judith Hill: Mystery Singer at the Michael Jackson Memorial
I'm the same age as Michael Jackson. As such, I don't keep up with the current generation of singers. I had to use twitter to get the identity of a couple of the performers at Michael Jackson's memorial. However, nobody could tell me about the young Asian singer who sang lead on "Heal the World".
It turns out that the mystery singer was Judith Hill, a Pasadena, California-based vocalist who was recruited to be one of the backup singers for Jackson’s This Is It! concerts at London’s O2 Arena.
JUDITH HILL (Tanya) - Judith Hill graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Composition from Biola University in Los Angeles, California. Her emphasis was writing music for orchestras, chamber ensembles, jazz bands, solo instruments, and voice. Judith has sung in several movies such as We Are Marshall, The Climb, Pride, and Dreamgirls as well as the documentary, It's Black Entertainment! She has also sung on various television shows including Mad T.V., Home for the Holidays, Martin, and the Golden Globe Awards. You can hear her voice as the station identification vocalist for the Rick Dees Morning Show on 93.9FM. Judith has also worked with several artists including Beyonce, Usher, Taylor Hicks, Joss Stone, Robbie Williams, Marcus Miller, Alex Acuna, Will Kennedy, and Billy Preston. She has also toured Europe with French pop star Michel Polnareff. As an artist in her own right, Judith is currently composing and producing music for her solo project. Her musical style is R&B/hip hop with elements of classical and world music.
Growing up, Judith was surrounded by all different kinds of music. Her parents, both professional musicians, introduced her to performing and recording at a very young age. In her high school and college years, her passion for music flourished as she absorbed every genre from world music to classical. Her thirst for knowledge also grew during her years at Biola University, where she received a Bachelor of Music in Composition. She emphasized in writing for orchestras, chamber ensembles, jazz bands, solo instruments, and voice. During her college and post college years, she also worked as a session singer in Los Angeles. She had the opportunity to sing on several movies including We Are Marshall, Pride, and Dreamgirls; as well as television shows including David Foster & Friends: The Hitman, MADtv, Home for the Holidays, Martin, The 39th NAACP Image Awards, and the Golden Globe Awards. You can also hear her voice as the station identification vocalist for the Rick Dees Morning Show on 93.9FM. Judith also sang with several artists including Smokey Robinson, Babyface, Brian McKnight, Josh Groban, Eric Benet, Boz Scaggs, Kirk Franklin, Lionel Richie, Peter Cetera, Usher, and Joss Stone. A year after her college graduation, she toured Europe with the French pop star, Michel Polnareff. This year, she has just completed her first solo album, which will be released very soon. On this project, she has opened her diary to the world with stories of love and pain. With a style of her own, she achieves a very organic, powerful message.
R.I.P Michael Jackson - The Memorial - Heal the World (Live)
Judith Hill: “Heal The World” Singer From Jackson Memorial Revealed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGBavN_9gHU
When the all-star Michael Jackson memorial ceremony in Los Angeles came to an end today, millions of fans watching the event became curious about the woman who sang lead on Jackson’s “Heal the World.” The mystery singer was Judith Hill, a Pasadena, California-based vocalist who was recruited to be one of the backup singers for Jackson’s This Is It! concerts at London’s O2 Arena. Hill wowed the crowd and the millions watching around the world with her rendition of the Dangerous song, but her identity had most viewers baffled — the “We Are the World” and “Heal the World” performers weren’t identified in the handouts at the Staples Center or on any other documents distributed to the press.
(Check out photos from Michael Jackson’s all-star memorial.)
According to the bio on Hill’s official Website, “Judith was born in Los Angeles and raised in a family of musicians. Her mother is an immigrant from Japan who met her father in a funk band in the 1970s.” Hill is described as discovering her love of music at an early age while growing up in a deeply religious household, which led her to attend the Christian university Biola University in Southern California. Hill’s bio says the singer next headed to France after graduation to perform with French singer Michel Polnareff.
“France is where I collected my stories,” Hill writes. “It was everything from finding true love, to sitting on the curb with gypsies, to running away from thugs (don’t ask), to just taking in the beauty of such an amazing country. I came back rich.” From there, Hill returned to the States, begin work on her own album (three songs are currently streaming on Hill’s MySpace page) and ultimately became a crew member on what’s described as the biggest production in concert history, Michael Jackson’s This Is It! concerts.
On June 8th, Hill announced on her official Website that she would be joining the cast of Jackson’s run at London’s O2 Arena. “Judith will be touring with Michael Jackson in a few weeks. You can catch her on stage in London at the 02 Arena,” reads a post. Sadly, the This Is It! run was canceled, but Hill and her fellow crew members played an important role in today’s memorial service, and Hill will likely feature in the tribute concert AEG Live is reportedly planning using the This Is It! production.
Wondering who the youngster who sang “Who’s Lovin’ You” at the Jackson memorial was? See Who Is Michael Jackson Memorial Performer Shaheen Jafargholi?
Plus, here’s footage of Hill performing “One Love Forever” at Santa Monica’s the Temple Bar from 2008:
Judith Hill Judith Hill singing, "One Love Forever" at the Temple Bar
Imma pump your system with shots that shock, your body rocks to a new crazed hysteria. This is whatever you make it, take and shake it, break it down its your sound!—“Excuse Me!” Judith Hill
What word best describes Judith Hill’s music? Innovation. She pushes the envelope with a melting pot of so many styles, and yet achieves her own signature sound that is consistent from track to track. With a charcoal, soulful voice and amazing range and versatility, she paints a vivid picture of her life. Her palette of colors and unique tones are so extensive, you may discover something new during every listen. In her vocal you may hear the rawness of Janis Joplin, the tenderness of Corine Bailey Rae, or the powerful conviction of Aretha Franklin. Her production is a blend of R&B/hip hop beats fused with a Led Zeppelin rock edge and peppered with impressionistic harmonies. But what is more amazing is that none of these elements are thrown together randomly. They are all integral parts of her story.
Judith was born in Los Angeles and raised in a family of musicians. Her mother is an immigrant from Japan who met her father in a funk band in the 1970s. She laughs about her bi-racial experience, “I was a skinny mixed kid with a lot of hair that I didn’t know what to do with (and still don’t know what to do with it). And my mom could not help me with it!” She lived in a Christian home and embraced Jesus Christ at an early age. She comments, “I had a pretty good life in my childhood. Me and God were friends since the beginning. That helped a lot. But, it didn’t save me from walking a path of pain and asking the deep questions of life. I was a philosopher as a kid, and in school you could find me in the library.” She admits that she never “fit in”. Depending on the social circle, she was labeled “too quiet”, “too loud”, “too black”, “to asian”, or too something. Judith expresses, “I was a traveler, kind of a drifter. But, looking back I see how all of those experiences, friends, and cultures made me who I am today.”
So when did it all start? Judith doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t singing. Her mother discovered the talent during a drive home from school one day when Judith was practicing a song she learned in class. At four years old, she recorded her first song, God has made. She looks back on the earlier years,“It was painful. I was my own worst critic and I knew that I sucked! People tried to sell me as a prodigy, but I wasn’t ready.” Constantly surrounded by musicians and singers, she resisted the whole thing. She admits, “I rebelled because I was stubborn. I didn’t want to do what people expected of me.” It wasn’t until later, when the young talent found her voice on her own. She recalls, “Three women: Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Aretha Franklin, and Ella Fitzgerald. I sang along with cassette recordings of them because the sounds they made with their voices gave me hope. It was something that took me away from my reality. It was something I had to be a part of.” It wasn’t long before Judith was able to make a statement of her own that began to gain recognition in the industry.
In college, she went on to study music composition under Dr. John Browning at Biola University. Classical music had always been a vital part of her musical upbringing. She remembers, “I use to always listen to the Mendelssohn violin concerto in E minor as a kid. I would get lost in it; it was so sad and passionate; it was what I felt inside. I was hungry for more, and I wanted to know what made that piece so amazing? And how could I create something like that? That’s when I realized I was a composer.” During her college years, she won several awards and flourished in her works for chamber ensembles, orchestras, jazz bands, and quartets. Her professor recognized her exceptional talent and encouraged her to pursue a master’s degree. However by then her passion for singing was too great to ignore. She explains, “Eventually, I became more expressive, and I felt like I was pouring my heart out when I sang. I needed it and it needed me; and people wanted more.”
The year after graduation, she sang in France with French pop star, Michel Polnareff. “France is where I collected my stories,” says Judith. “It was everything from finding true love, to sitting on the curb with gypsies, to running away from thugs (don’t ask), to just taking in the beauty of such an amazing country. I came back rich.”
After her return, Judith spent the following year putting the songs together and finding her sound. But, this was no easy year for her. She disappeared. She grieved over painful relationships, trauma in the family, and suffered from severe depression. But, she came out stronger than ever and found a way to channel her emotional experience into music. She says, “Sometimes I wake up because I hear songs in my dreams. I have to turn the lamp on and scribble the melodies down in the middle of the night. My dad always told me God told him I needed to be born. I guess there’s a reason for my madness.”
Judith’s musical integrity and depth is astounding. She has a way of digging deep into her soul and challenging the listeners to find that place in their hearts. She’s not afraid to visit the places that hurt; in fact much of her rawness is contributed to her vulnerability. And yet, she also comes up for air with catchy, upbeat songs like “Excuse Me” and “Yellow Light”. But at the end of the day, Judith sends one message: hope.
Oh I’ll just keep walking. Oh, tempted to stop and turn but I won’t. Oh, I’ll just keep walking, ‘til I reach the other side, I reach the other side---“Walking” Judith Hill
