| Riva Taylor | |
| Birth Name: | Rebecca Jane Grosvenor Taylor |
| Birth Place: | Hammersmith, London |
| Genre: | Pop · jazz · soundtrack |
| Label: | EMI · Virgin Music Group |
| Years Active: | 2001–present |
Rebecca Jane Grosvenor Taylor, known professionally as Riva Taylor, is an English singer, songwriter and actress.
Taylor was born in Hammersmith, London.[1] She had her first experience on the stage at the age of seven in London's West End, playing Little Eponine at the Palace Theatre.[2] Other early achievements include winning the Thorndike Talent competition for ages 8–24, and winning a British Arts Award for her dance performance of the Secret Garden, both of which she achieved at the age of 8. She also appeared on Blue Peter, performing "My Heart Will Go On" at the age of 10. She attended Danes Hill School, Surrey before studying for her GCSEs and A Levels at Tormead School, Guildford. Taylor has said that living the life of a normal school girl was important for somebody exposed to the music industry from a young age.[3]
Taylor is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance. Taylor graduated with a degree in History from the University of Durham in 2010.[4]
At the age of 12, she landed a recording contract with EMI, making her the youngest artist to have been signed to the record label. Her debut album, A Dream Come True (2001) recorded at Abbey Road Studios and arranged by Simon Hale enjoyed international success. That same year she sang at the Farm Aid benefit gala concert at the Royal Albert Hall. This was attended by Prince Charles who praised the young Taylor and stated he would watch her career with great interest. She also caught the attention of Mohammed Al Fayed who, after hearing her sing at her album launch at Harrods, invited her to open the Harrods Sale with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Salma Hayek.
Over these years, Taylor toured worldwide promoting her music. Her US tour was supported by promotional performances on Live With Regis and Kelly hosted by guest presenter Usher and the MDA Labor Day Telethon, Los Angeles. Taylor has performed at the FA Cup Final and at the Six Nations, Twickenham Stadium.[5]
In 2017 Taylor released a club remix of her song Deeper Than Us which charted at number #3 in the Music Week pop charts and was backed by Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1 and Tiesto on his Club Life[6]
In 2018 she released a single titled My Mouth which was selected by Sir Elton John for his Beats1 show Rocket Hour.[7]
In 2020 she released an album titled This Woman's Heart .1, featuring the singles This Woman's Heart, Jealous and Running at Walls.[8] She showcased the songs at British Summer Time where she supported Barbra Streisand.[9]
Taylor helped found the Songwriters' Circle in 2019, held at Roundhouse, London with Nashville songwriter Jeff Cohen. Later rebranded The Online Songwriters' Circle during the pandemic.[10]
In 2021 she released This Woman's Heart .2 including BBC Radio 2 favourite If I Could Ever Stop Loving You and Woman.[11]
In 2022 Taylor began writing songs between London and Mexico City, inspired by a love of jazz and the rhythms of Latin America.[12] Her first release was a bossa nova song called Colours Of Blue which which Taylor performed live in Mexico on Sale el Sol (TV program).[13] Her follow up single Cubano was supported by Los 40 and Exa FM and peaked at #17 in the radio charts In Mexico.[14] . In 2024 Taylor released a multi-cultured pop album 'Colours of Blue'.[15]
Taylor has performed the theme tunes for a number of film and TV programmes including BBC Christmas feature film Second Star to the Left starring Barbara Windsor and Hugh Laurie,[16] Taylor performed the song "You Can Be A Hero" and the theme tune for Barbie as Rapunzel.[17] In 2014 Taylor featured as a guest artist on the Video Games Live World Tour, performing her song from Assassin's Creed and Grammy nominated music from Journey. Some venues included the Eventim Apollo, London and the Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam. Taylor also opened the Bafta Game Awards where she performed and presented the award for music with film composer David Arnold.[18] [19]