Emma Bale - My World Untouched (2015)

With her delicate vocal style and moody pop sound, Belgian singer Emma Bale rose to fame competing on the 2014 Flemish production of The Voice Kids. Bale earned chart success as well as an MTV Europe Music Award with her 2015 EP My World Untouched. Following hit singles like "Run" and "Fortune Cookie," she released her full-length debut, 2021's Retrospect.

Born Emma Balemans in 1999 in Belgium, Bale started singing at a young age, inspired by artists like Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Michael Jackson. Over time, however, her style expanded as she listened to singers like Florence Welch and Dua Lipa. She gained national attention in 2014 after making it to the semifinals of the Flemish version of The Voice Kids. That same year, she released her first single, a cover of Kodaline's "All I Want," which cracked the Top Ten in both Belgium and the Netherlands. The song was included on her debut 2015 EP, the Hans Francken-produced My World Untouched, which also spawned the hits "Run" and "Fortune Cookie" with Milow. On the heels of her chart success, Bale took home the award for Best Belgian Act at the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2021, she returned with her debut full-length album, Retrospect, which found her moving in a sophisticated synth-pop direction. ~ Matt Collar