Freya Olivia Rose Ridings (born 18 April 1994) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Ridings rose to prominence in 2017 with her ballad, "Lost Without You", which became a top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart. She followed this with the release of her debut extended play, You Mean the World to Me (2019). Her self-titled debut album was supported by the single "Castles", which would become her international breakthrough.
Early and personal life Freya Olivia Rose Ridings was raised in North London and grew up in Palmers Green. She is the daughter of English actor and musician Richard Ridings, and learned guitar from watching him play. Her mother, playwright , is three quarters Irish and one quarter Scottish. St Christopher School in Letchworth, followed by the BRIT School from the age of 16.
Ridings has dyslexia. In November 2022, she married folk singer Ewan J. Phillips after a two-and-a-half month engagement.
Career
Ridings released her debut single, "Blackout", on 5 May 2017. She released the single "Maps" (a cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs hit) on 30 June 2017. On 22 September 2017, she released her debut live album Live at St Pancras Old Church. After releasing the album she went on to her first full headline tour in the UK. She spent most of 2017 supporting the likes of Tears for Fears, Tash Sultana and Lewis Capaldi. She released "Lost Without You" on 3 November 2017. The song peaked at number 9 in the UK Singles Chart, after being featured on the reality show Love Island in July 2018. It was subsequently chosen by Scott Mills' as his 'Tune of the Week' on his Radio 1 show in August 2018. She released her second live album, Live at Omeara, on 30 March 2018. She released the single "Ultraviolet" on 15 June 2018.
In 2019, she released the single "You Mean the World to Me", which was re-produced by Greg Kurstin, followed by an extended play of the same name. She also announced her self-titled debut album, with an original release date of 31 May 2019, but it was pushed back to 19 July 2019.
On 29 June 2019, Ridings played a set on the John Peel Stage at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival, after the festival founder Michael Eavis personally attended one of her concerts in Bristol.
In March 2020, Ridings toured Australia for the first time, performing shows in Sydney and Melbourne.
In January 2023, Ridings released her first single in three years, "Weekends". This was followed by the announcement that her second studio album, Blood Orange, would be released on 5 May 2023; this was subsequently brought forward to 28 April 2023 and would coincide with a number of album release parties at several venues around the UK.
Ridings was due to perform at the Coronation Concert, marking the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023, but she pulled out at the last minute after contracting an unknown illness.
In June 2023, Ridings co-wrote (alongside her husband) and performed the song "Rise" for the teen comedy film Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken.
On 9 November 2024, Ridings' single "I Can't Hear It Now" was featured in the first act on the second season of the League of Legends animated series Arcane.
On 9 August 2025, Ridings performed at the Glastonbury Extravaganza as support act to The Script.
On 8 October 2025, Ridings was announced as the support act for OneRepublic on their 2026 tour of Australia and New Zealand, after original opener Zara Larsson pulled out due to a scheduling conflict.
Discography Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications UK AUT GER IRE SCOPeaks on the Scottish Albums Chart: For Live at Omeara: For Freya Ridings: For Blood Orange: For Mother of Pearl: SWI Freya Ridings Released: 19 July 2019 Label: Good Soldier Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming 3 49 27 18 3 19 BPI: Gold Blood Orange Released: 28 April 2023 Label: Good Soldier, AWAL Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming 7 71 18 82 9 28 Mother of Pearl Released: 29 May 2026 Label: BMG Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming 26 — 36 — 12 42
Live albums Title Details Peak chart positions SCO Live at St Pancras Old Church Released: 22 September 2017 Label: Good Soldier Format: Digital download — Live at Omeara Released: 30 March 2018 Label: Good Soldier Format: Digital download 75
Extended plays Title Details You Mean the World to Me Released: 1 March 2019 Label: Good Soldier Format: Digital download, streaming
Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album UK AUS AUT BEL(FL) GER IRE SCOPeaks on the Scottish Singles Chart: For "Lost Without You": For "You Mean the World to Me": For "Castles": For "Love Is Fire": SWI UKRAir. USACPeaks on the Adult Contemporary chart: "Lost Without You": "You Mean the World to Me": "Castles": "Blackout" 2017 — — — — — — — — — — Freya Ridings "Lost Without You" 9 — — 53 — 16 5 — — 16 BPI: 3× Platinum ARIA: Platinum BVMI: Gold MC: Platinum IFPI SWI: Platinum "Ultraviolet" 2018 — — — — — — — — — — "Waking Up" — — — — — — — — — — Waking Up EP "You Mean the World to Me" 2019 57 — — — — 78 26 — — 15 BPI: Silver Freya Ridings "Castles" 16 20 28 12 51 12 2 14 — 15 BPI: Platinum ARIA: 3× Platinum BVMI: Gold IFPI AUT: Platinum IFPI SWI: Platinum MC: Gold "Love Is Fire" — — — — — — 25 — — — "Weekends" 2023 31 — — — — 100 — — 3 — Blood Orange "Face in the Crowd" — — — — — — — — — — "Can I Jump?" — — — — — — — — — — "Perfect" — — — — — — — — — — "I Feel Love" — — — — — — — — — — "Rise" — — — — — — — — — —Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken and Blood Orange (live at Apollo) "Wicker Woman" 2025 — — — — — — — — — — Mother of Pearl "Wild Horse" 2026 — — — — — — — — — — "I Have Always Loved You" — — — — — — — — — — "Dancing in the Kitchen" — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Promotional singles Title Year Album "Maps" 2017 "Unconditional" 2019 Freya Ridings
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Result Ref 2020 BRIT Awards British Female Solo Artist
References
External links
Homepage Freya Ridings, Bintang Baru dari Britania on Cultura Magazine