| Carla Marie Williams | |
| Birth Place: | Harrow, London |
| Nationality: | British |
| Occupation: | Songwriter, singer, producer |
Carla Maria Williams, known professionally as Carla Marie Williams, is a British songwriter and singer. Notable songs she has written or co-written include Beyoncé's "Freedom", Naughty Boy's "Runnin'" and Britney Spears's "Private Show".[1] [2] [3] In 2016, Williams was nominated for two Grammy Awards for her work on Beyoncé's Lemonade album. She is the founder of Girls I Rate.[4]
Williams grew up in Wealdstone Harrow, London, England. At the age of 10, she formed the girl group the Likkle Mentions.[5] They entered local singing competitions and appeared on local radio. Williams completed her GCSEs and studied her A-Levels at Bentley Wood High School, an all-girl comprehensive school in Harrow. After completing her A-Levels, she worked as a youth mentor for four years to help young musicians and songwriters.
Williams moved to full-time songwriting in 2006 after losing her voice from muscular tension. She was signed to Xenomania as a songwriter by Brian Higgins.[6] Williams has written tracks for Girls Aloud, the Saturdays, Kylie Minogue and Alesha Dixon. Most notably she co-wrote Girls Aloud's "The Promise", for which she received a BRIT Award.[7]
Since leaving Xenomania, Williams has founded her own writing collective, New Crowd Media.[8]
Williams was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to music.