Nieve Ella Pickering (born 1 January 2003) is an English singer. Her 2023 release, Young & Naive/Lifetime of Wanting, charted at No. 38 on the UK Independent Album Chart. She has also supported Dylan, Inhaler, and the Courteeners, and is a member of Loud LDN.
Nieve Ella Pickering[1] was born on 1 January 2003,[2] grew up in Albrighton, east Shropshire,[3] and has two brothers. Their father moved to Spain when she was a child, having never lived with Nieve Ella, and died when she was eleven,[4] while their mother, Helen, is a hairdresser, and named her Albrighton High Street salon[5] "Nieve-Ella's Hair & Beauty" after her,[3] later renaming it to "Nieve Ella's Hair Salon".[5] Her first musical interest was in High School Musical.[6] Growing up, she applied twice to be on Britain's Got Talent;[4] in 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown,[6] she discovered her late father's guitar, and taught herself how to play it after studying tabs online, writing her first song, "Four Years Gone", in less than a week.[4]
She attended Telford College,[7] but dropped out after receiving harsh criticism of her guitar playing abilities, and deciding to continue teaching herself.[8] Her first single, "Girlfriend", was released in July 2022 on AWAL;[9][10] the following December, she released "Glasshouses", a song about grieving,[11] and the month after that,[10] she released a five-track EP, Young & Naive,[12] which featured "19 In a Week", a song about adolescence.[13] In February 2023, she supported Dylan[14] and Inhaler on tour.[15] She then released "Big House", a rock song written about wanting to live with her boyfriend,[12] and in May 2023, she released "His Sofa", a love song about her insecurities.[16] She then supported the Courteeners at Lytham Festival.[17]
The following July, she released "Your Room", which was released alongside a music video,[18] and which described an ex-partner's new boyfriend and their infatuation with Phoebe Bridgers;[19] the following month, she and Hannah Grae performed at Reading Festival.[20] In September 2023, she released the EP Lifetime of Wanting, which included "Big House", "His Sofa", and "Your Room".[19] Both it and Young & Naive were released on vinyl by Blood Records in November;[21] said release charted at No. 38 on the UK Independent Album Chart later that month.[22] Later that month, she announced a short solo headline tour in February 2024,[23] during which she covered the Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" and the Wannadies' "You and Me Song".[24] In December 2023, she appeared on Dork's Hype List,[25] and in March 2024, she released "The Things We Say", which she wrote shortly after arguing with her best friend.[26]
Her earlier works were inspired by Billie Eilish,[12] while her later works including "Girlfriend" were inspired by Sam Fender, who she saw live in Birmingham[27] in August 2021.[28] In July 2023, Wonderland described her music as indie pop.[18] She is a member of Loud LDN,[29] a collective of London-based women and genderqueer musicians founded in May 2022.[30]
