Neo Jessica Joshua (born 20 December 1987), better known as Nao (), is an English singer-songwriter and record producer from East London. Her sound has been described as soul combined with electronic music, funk and R&B, while Nao herself coined the term "wonky funk" to describe her style. She released her debut album, For All We Know, in 2016, her second album, Saturn, in 2018, and her third, And Then Life Was Beautiful, in 2021. Her most recent album, Jupiter, was released in 2025.
Background and early life Nao is the youngest of five children in her mother's house, but is the only child of her mother and father, who raised her “as friends” between London and Nottingham, where he lives. Her single “Another Lifetime” was dedicated to her mother. She is of Jamaican, Vincentian and Grenadinian descent.
She studied vocal jazz at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London and went on to be a backing singer for artists such as Kwabs and Jarvis Cocker. In 2008, she joined to sing in an all-girl a cappella group called The Boxettes. The group, alongside Nao, made an appearance with other acapella groups in a flash mob performance for the 2010 T-Mobile advert "Welcome Home", which was shot in London's Heathrow Terminal 5."The T-Mobile Flashmob London Heathrow - Welcome Back Advert", YouTube, 29 November 2010. In 2014, she eventually left the group to pursue a career as a recording artist.
Career In October 2014, she released her first EP, So Good, it reached number 4 on the iTunes electronic chart and the title track made the BBC Radio 1 and BBC 1Xtra national playlists in the United Kingdom. This was followed by a second EP, 15 February (II MMXV), in May 2015, receiving the "Best New Music" tag from Pitchfork. Nao made her hit “Another Lifetime” for her mother. In September 2015 Nao was named as a nominee for best newcomer at the 2015 MOBO Awards. Nao was a featured vocalist and writer on Disclosure's UK number 1 album, Caracal, on the track "Superego". She was featured in the long list for the BBC Sound of... 2016 prize in November 2015, ultimately being named in third place in January 2016. Nao also featured as a co-writer on the track "Velvet / Jenny Francis (Interlude)" on Stormzy's debut album Gang Signs & Prayer.
Her debut album, For All We Know, was released on 29 July 2016, leading to a Brit Award Nomination for Best British Female Solo Artist.
In 2017, she released a buzz single, entitled "Nostalgia", as she tells fans that she was back in the studio recording material for her second album. During that time, she also appeared as a co-writer in Mura Masa's self-titled debut album on the song "Nothing Else!", featuring Jamie Lidell.
In mid-2018, she revealed that her next single was to be called "Another Lifetime" and co-written and produced by debut album affiliates Grades and Stint. It was eventually released in June 2018. She also performed live with Chic and Mura Masa on the song "Boogie All Night", which is included on Chic's 2018 comeback album It's About Time; she is a featured artist on the song alongside Mura Masa. She released her second album Saturn on 26 October 2018. Saturn respectively received nominations for Album of the Year at the Mercury Prize in 2019 and Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 62nd Grammy Awards in 2020.
On 29 July 2021, Nao revealed details of her third album, And Then Life Was Beautiful, which was released on September 24, 2021.
Personal life On 15 January 2020, Nao announced via Instagram that she was expecting her first child. She gave birth to a girl on 11 June 2020. In 2021, Nao announced that she would not be touring for her third album because of her diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Discography Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions UK UKR&BPeak chart positions for albums on the UK R&B Albums Chart: For All We Know: Saturn: And Then Life Was Beautiful: BEL(FL) NLD SWI USDance USHeat. USR&B For All We Know Released: 29 July 2016 Label: RCA, Little Tokyo Formats: Digital download, LP, CD 17 5 53 76 68 3 9 8 Saturn Released: 26 October 2018 Label: RCA, Little Tokyo Formats: Digital download, LP, CD 56 2 — — — — 20 — And Then Life Was Beautiful Released: 24 September 2021 Label: RCA, Little Tokyo Formats: Digital download, LP, CD 63 1 — — — — — — Jupiter Released: 21 February 2025 Label: RCA, Little Tokyo Formats: Digital download, LP, CD — — — — — — — — Autumn Released: 16 October 2026 Label: RCA, Little Tokyo Formats: Digital download, LP, CD — — — — — — — — "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart.
Extended plays Title Details So Good Released: 27 October 2014 Label: Little Tokyo Format: Digital download 15 February Released: 1 May 2015 Label: Little Tokyo Format: Digital download For All We Know – The Remixes Released: 12 February 2017 Label: Little Tokyo Format: Digital download
Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Album BEL(FL)Tip USAdultR&B "So Good" 2014 — — So Good "Zillionaire" — — 15 February "Bad Blood" 2015 57 — For All We Know "Fool to Love" 2016 — — "Girlfriend" — — "In the Morning" 2017 — — "Nostalgia" — — "Another Lifetime" 2018 — — Saturn "Complicated" 23 — "Make It Out Alive" — 25 Saturn "If You Ever" — — "Orbit" 2019 — — "Woman" 2020 — — And Then Life Was Beautiful "Antidote" 2021 — — "Messy Love" — — "And Then Life Was Beautiful" — — "Wait" — — "Balance" 2023 — — "Wildflowers" 2024 — — Jupiter "Elevate" — — "All of Me" — — "Happy People" 2025 — — "Light Years" — — "Eugene" 2026 — — Autumn "Save the World" — — "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart.
Promotional singles Title Year Album "Drive and Disconnect" 2018Saturn "Curiosity"
As featured artist Title Year Album "Firefly" 2015 Mura Masa"Heart Storm" 2021 Deacon
Guest appearances Title Year Artist(s) Album Notes "Make You Mine" 2015 Kwabs Love + War Background vocalist with Cass Lowe "Superego" Disclosure Caracal Featured vocalist "Brake Lights" 2018 Cosha R.I.P. Bonzai "Boogie All Night" Nile Rodgers & Chic It's About Time
Songwriting credits Title Year Artist(s) Album Credits "Be Alright" 2016 Ariana Grande Dangerous Woman Co-writer "Velvet / Jenny Francis (Interlude)" 2017 Stormzy Gang Signs & Prayer "Nothing Else!" Mura Masa Mura Masa "Till the World Falls" 2018 Nile Rodgers & Chic It's About Time "Where Are You Now" 2021 Danny L Harle Harlecore"Boomerang" 2023 Jamila Woods Water Made Us
Awards and nominations Year Organisation Award Nominee/work Result 2016 BBC Sound of 2016 Herself Third UK Music Video Awards Best Urban Video - UK"Bad Blood" Best Cinematography rowspan="6" 2017 Brit Awards Best British Female Solo Artist Herself 2018 UK Music Video Awards Best Pop Video - UK "Another Lifetime" 2019 Pop Awards Album Of The Year Award Saturn Mercury Prize Album of the Year 2020 Grammy Awards Best Urban Contemporary Album
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