Izzy Bizu is an 19 year old singer-songwriter from South West London. Born to an Ethiopian mother and English father she grew up listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Bettye Swann, Betty Wright and James Brown and draws on these alongside new influences, such as Amy Winehouse and Adele to create a fusion of Soul, Funk, Jazz and Pop that sounds classic and brand spanking new all at once. She performed at the ILUVLIVE Open Mic in February 2013, winning over a crowd which included Emeli Sandé and Naughty Boy.
Needless to say she won, and performed at the following ILUVLIVE event to another rapturous response. Since then she has gained enormous interest from music industry heavyweights and is fast becoming one of the most holy anticipated acts of 2013.
Wanting to tread her own path and write her album before signing a major deal (and there have been a number of offers on the table), Izzy opted to release her debut EP with the independent ILUVLIVE Records. The EP is acoustic and features six tracks including the highly acclaimed, 'White Tiger'.
In July 2013 White Tiger was reviewed on Edith Bowman's Radio 1 Review Show to a rapturous response and was subsequently picked up in Augusts for BBC Introducing receiving plays across all daytime and evening shows on BBC1Xtra. Since then it has received more plays on Radio 1 and 1Xtra and been picked up by Zane Lowe as his ‘next hype’.
Throughout July and August, Izzy performed a series of free Sunday sessions in some of London's most famous parks. Open to all, there was fun, games and a 40-minute acoustic set from Izzy.
Now set to support Sam Smith on tour in the UK in September, the future is looking very bright for Izzy Bizu.