Joy Crookes has released ‘Somebody to You’, a reflective new single featuring backing vocals from Sam Fender. It’s the latest preview of her second album Juniper, due on 19th September.
Co-written and co-produced with long-time collaborator Harvey Grant, the track moves at an unhurried pace, its alt-soul arrangement leaving space for Crookes’ measured delivery. She describes it as “a song that I wrote when questioning the reliance I had on someone I’m very close with and their reliance on me – and whether that needed to change in order for me to understand myself better.”
Fender’s contribution is understated, adding harmonies that deepen the song’s emotional pull. The pair first met at the 2022 Mercury Prize ceremony, with Crookes later calling him “my fav Geordie mate”. Their voices blend easily here, the track’s intimacy matching the candid subject matter.
‘Somebody to You’ follows a run of singles that have kept Crookes in the spotlight this summer, alongside high-profile festival appearances including a set on Glastonbury’s Other Stage. Juniper will be her first album since 2021’s Skin, a Mercury-nominated debut that established her as one of British soul’s most distinctive voices.
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