‘More than the DJ’: How Becky Hill finally claimed her fame

“I guess people know it’s my song now,” two-time Brit-award winner Becky Hill said of dance hit Afterglow on her first Aussie tour.

It’s taken two-time Brit-award winner Becky Hill more than a decade for fans to finally put a name and face to her voice.

The powerhouse English songstress, who shot to fame on the first season of The Voice UK, is behind recent chart-toppers like Remember (with David Guetta), Lose Control (with MEDUZA) and Disconnect (with Chase & Status).

“It’s taken me 12 years to be recognised for my own music, and these Australian crowds singing every word has been so validating,” Hill said. “I’ve always felt like an underdog.”

Perennial summer festival hit Afterglow, by Hill and UK DJ Wilkinson, remains as popular in 2024 as it was in 2013 when they released it.

The only catch? No one knew who was singing the song, and this was to become a theme of her career trajectory.

British singer Becky Hill pictured in Woolloomooloo, Sydney. Picture: Julian Andrews

“I guess people know it’s my song now,” Hill told The Daily Telegraph after her first-ever Sydney concert.

“I feel like the first six or seven years of my career was all for the DJs.”

As the songwriter and vocalist working with popular DJs, Hill said she didn’t receive the same recognition as her male peers.

Reigan Derry on the red carpet of the 2022 ARIA Awards at the Hordern Pavilion, one year after she called organisers out for not recognising her as the voice of the Dreams cover. Picture: Jonathan Ng/The Daily Telegraph.

Her story is notably similar to Australian singer and X Factor contestant Reigan Derry, who had to engage in a highly public, and legal battle, with DJ Joylon Petch to be credited for her vocals on their smash hit cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams in 2021.

Petch was nominated for the Best Dance Release ARIA that year, whilst Derry’s name was not on the track, nor did she merit an invitation to the awards.

Recording artist David Guetta, whom Becky Hill has released several hits with, named winner of the Top Dance/Electronic Artist Awards, posinf in the press room during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. Photo: Getty.

Singer-songwriter Becky Hill. Picture: Julian Andrews/The Daily Telegraph.

“It is a struggle,” Hill said. “I remember when I did ‘Overdrive’ with Oliver Heldens, and it went to number one in my country. His live fee went up substantially, and I was still losing on mine,” she said.

Addressing the sold-out crowd at Liberty Hall on Saturday, she added: “You’ll know this song, it went viral on TikTok. The funny thing is, I didn’t gain any fans from it because no one knew it was me singing.”

They certainly do now.

UK singer-songwriter Becky Hill on her debut visit to Sydney, Australia. Picture: Julian Andrews

The first beat to 2019 anthem ‘Lose Control’ dropped, and Sydneysiders went nuts.

As a little nod to Australian collaborator Sonny Fedora, Hill also released Never Be Alone, the first single from her forthcoming “rave heavy” sophomore album. In four days, it’s been streamed more than a million times on Spoitfy.

“These shows have been so incredibly validating,” the 29-year-old said.

“You know, it’s taken a very long time to get the general public to give a shit that I’m writing and fronting these records, and to realise they are much mine as they are the producer’s who put their name to it.”