Kimberose is a destiny apart. A nurse, she dreamed of being a singer, but didn't dare to take the plunge. It took a click, an encounter, for the young French girl to put her goddess voice on the most beautiful stages. Today, in the footsteps of Nina Simone or Amy Winehouse, she shines.
As a child, she would spend hours singing in her room, in front of her mirror. But Kim Kitson-Mills, who took a long time to mature her music, is a destiny apart. Today, the big night crowds have replaced the ice, and the silence has died down in favor of long cheers. Yes, with her band, Kimberose, she dared, walking in the footsteps of Nina Simone or Amy Winehouse, forcing her destiny: she left everything behind, wrapped up her nurse's coat and took her courage in both hands to embrace her dreams with a diva voice that plays with our most intimate pulsations and feelings.
She has soul in her soul, like Billie Holiday's contemporary mirror, with a French romance to boot, the Ghanaian warmth borrowed from her mother and the language of Shakespeare inherited from her father. A strong and fragile woman, Kimberose shines with a thousand lights. However, one should not always rely on the apparent sunlight that illuminates her face. For behind her thick timbre lies an open wound that does not close, but which the music, like a powerful analgesic, helps to channel. "My father, his death is my pain, my crack", she repeats over and over.
So, in order to pay him a heartfelt tribute, she overcomes her natural shyness and forcefully deploys a sincere energy that exudes tenderness. Her voice is ageless. Kimberose is a kind of avant-garde past, bringing a dose of freshness and modernity to a state of mind sculpted over decades by other great ladies of soul. Today, entering through the big door, she sits in the courtyard of the greats, and nothing, oh never, seems to be able to stop her race towards the heights of elegance.
Viewers discover a young woman with a golden voice. It was her husband, Anthony, captivated by her natural class, who inspired her to take the stage and participate in the show La Nouvelle Star. It's a mixed bag experience for Kimberose. "I don't think I'm the right candidate for this kind of show, she says. It's pretty violent with the whole thing a little bit fake sometimes. But to go through the stages when I didn't believe in it at all at first, it's a boost. And then the fact that I was singing in front of an audience, that was magnificent".
She has only a few discreet concerts on the meter. But her producer tries a poker move: to send the first songs recorded in the studio to Nagui. The host falls under the spell and takes a risk: inviting this artist, unknown to the battalion, to perform on the Taratata stage. "After the show, we ended up on TV sets and signed with a record company. Everything changed".
Chapter One, his first record, was critically acclaimed and now a gold record. The French press is under the spell of this new voice of soul. Even Rolling Stone is getting into it: "If Kimberose's flights of fancy are often compared to those of legends such as Nina Simone and Amy Winehouse, the young woman shares more than a surprisingly thick vocal fabric with these divas". With her 120-date tour ending in 2019, it's a good bet we'll be hearing about this amazing singer.
Kimberose is back in 2021 with a new album, "Out", and a highly acclaimed single, "Back on my Feet". It's the return of a strong woman, a fighter who has entered the spotlight. The album will be followed by a tour throughout France, including a performance at the Salle Pleyel on 14 December 2021. The album includes a collaboration with pianist Sofiane Pamart on the track "L'envie de valser", her first song in French. "It's good to get out new things and it gives me an energy that I've been missing a lot," says the singer.