Precious Pepala

Precious Pepala
Precious Pepala in 2025
Precious Pepala in 2025
Background information
Born (2005-02-12) February 12, 2005 (age 21)[citation needed]
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active2021—present
Websiteshoppreciouspepala.com

Precious Pepala (born February 12, 2005 [citation needed]) is an Zambian-English singer-songwriter from Sheffield whose work focuses on dark pop, rock, alternative pop, indie rock, R&B, and soul music. Her lyrics are centered around religious trauma, romance and the difficulties of maintaining relationships, doubt, and her struggles with mental health.

Precious first began publishing independently-written songs in 2021 and has amassed approximately 37 million streams globally since then.

Early life

Pepala was born in Sheffield, England to Zambian parents where she spoke Bemba at home. Her father is a pastor. At 10 years old, Precious joined her church choir, where she first discovered her love for singing and her foundations of kindness & honesty.

Career

Pepala's first public recognition happened in 2021 when she was only 17 years old; her TikTok cover of the song Water Fountain by Alec Benjamin went viral, gaining 2.3 million views. Around the time of her viral video's peak in fame, Pepala's first contributions in the music industry came the same year with her singles "Stay" and "Water Fountain", but her first "debut" single released in 2022, titled "My Eyes Only". Her fourth single "Looking for Trouble" released that same year through Darkroom Records, with the intent of discussing rape culture and victim blaming.

Her fifth single, "Voices", released mid year in 2022, focused on the mental health spectrum and how losing control can be fearful. In an interview with NYLON, Pepala explained that the lyrics of the song was focused on the feelings of being left alone with your own thoughts. She also says she thinks lots of people must have related to her and her songs at some point, and how after pandemic, peoples lives were flipped upside down. The song was also included in Rolling Stone's Songs You Need To Know This Week.

By March 2023, Precious released "Pls Cheat On Me"-- a complex song about Precious' desire to have a reason to leave a relationship she wasn't content with without her being painted as the villain in the end-- which received more than 18 million streams as of November 2026, and has since been her most popular song out of all of her discography. In May, she released "Bubble Wrap", followed by "Fifth" in July, and finally, her very first EP, "Eve", in September-- which also featured "Pls Cheat on Me", "My Eyes Only", "Looking For Trouble", "Fifth", "Voices", and the as-of-release new songs [citation needed] "Familiar Stranger" and "231."

In early-to-late April 2024, Precious released "Death of the Party" and "Death of the Party (OG Version)" near back-to-back, then "Thumb War" and "Thumb War (Remix)" in May and June of that year. In August, she released "Unreal", followed by "The Effect"-- which mimicked the "My Eyes Only" album cover-- in October, then featured it again in November with the release of "Sunday Morning".

In January 2025, Precious released her seventeenth [citation needed] single titled "Lullaby". By March, she released the single "First Love", co-written and co-produced with Eg White and Jordan Rabjohn under Modern Sky UK. The single talks about the other side of romance, the grief, jealousy and guilt. Later that year, she released her second EP "Dark Days", making it her stay in the label.

By July 2025, Precious released "Church Live Sessions", her first live performance recorded & published for streaming and her third EP, where she performed her religious trauma-adjacent songs "Eve", "Bubble Wrap", and "Sunday Morning", alongside "The Effect" inside of the St Nicholas Church of High Bradfield, England. In November, she released "Dream Cheater".

As of 2026, Precious had released two more singles-- "Love Bombs" and "Too Good to Die"-- and her fourth EP, "Rosey", which featured the aforementioned singles that released that year, the titular "Rosey," "Dream Cheater", and "The After".

Discography

Singles

  • Stay (2021)
  • Water Fountain (2021)
  • My Eyes Only (2022)
  • Looking for Trouble (2022)
  • Voices (2022)
  • Pls Cheat On Me (2023)
  • Bubble Wrap (2023)
  • Fifth (2023)
  • Death of the Party (2024)
  • Thumb War (2024)
  • Thumb War – Remix (2024)
  • Unreal (2024)
  • Sunday Morning (2024)
  • The Effect (2024)
  • Lullaby (2025)
  • First Love (2025)
  • Dream Cheater (2025)

EPs

  • Eve (2023)
  • Dark Days (2025)
  • Church Live Sessions (2025)
  • Rosey (2026)

References

  1. ↑ Paul, Larisha (30 September 2022). "Precious Pepala Continues To Make Waves With Second Single 'Looking For Trouble'". uDiscover Music. Archived from the original on 9 February 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  2. ↑ Petersen, Justice (5 February 2025). "On Your Radar: Precious Pepala". Melodic Magazine. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Precious Pepala - Spotify Top Songs". kworb.net. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  4. ↑ "Sheffield's Smallest Giant: Precious Pepala Rewrites the Rules of Vulnerability". Vingt Sept. 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Carter, Daisy (23 April 2026). "Get To Know… Precious Pepala". DIY. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  6. ↑ April 2026, Words: Daisy Carter 23rd (23 April 2026). "Get To Know… Precious Pepala". DIY. Retrieved 7 November 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 Wang, Steffanee (2 December 2022). "Precious Pepala Is Going From TikTok Covers To Her Own Resonant Songs". NYLON. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  8. 1 2 Gonzales, Kristian (7 September 2022). "Rising UK Singer Precious Pepala Shares New Visual For Her Debut Single 'My Eyes Only'". uDiscover Music. Archived from the original on 27 April 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  9. ↑ Bouchard, Oliver (1 October 2022). "Precious pepala Looking for trouble". Glamglare. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  10. ↑ Paul, Larisha (30 September 2022). "Precious Pepala Continues To Make Waves With Second Single 'Looking For Trouble'". Discovermusic. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  11. 1 2 Armstrong, Sam (4 December 2022). "Precious Pepala Shares New Song 'Voices'". uDiscover Music. Archived from the original on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  12. 1 2 Savage, Emily (7 December 2022). "Precious Pepala – 'Voices'". When the Horn Blows. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  13. ↑ "Coi Leray, RM, Metallica and All the Songs You Need to Know This Week". Rolling Stone. 2 December 2022. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  14. ↑ Juvet, Aeden (18 April 2025). "Precious Pepala Discusses Her Femme Fatale Inspirations, Musical Inclinations, and More". Stardust. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  15. 1 2 Peterson, Justice (14 March 2025). "Interview: Precious Pepala Talks New EP 'Dark Days'". New Noise Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 March 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  16. ↑ Precious Pepala – Eve (Church Live Session), retrieved 7 November 2026
  17. ↑ Stave, Dillon (22 June 2022). "Precious Pepala Stops Us in Our Tracks With Debut Single "My Eyes Only"". Ones to Watch. Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  18. ↑ Vigil, Dom (30 September 2022). "Precious Pepala Shares New Single, "Looking For Trouble"". Prelude Press. Archived from the original on 15 February 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  19. ↑ Marotta, Michael O'Connor (5 December 2022). "Precious Pepala lets us into her head on the valiant 'Voices'". Vanyaland. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  20. ↑ Petersen, Justice (5 February 2025). "On Your Radar: Precious Pepala". Melodic Magazine. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  21. ↑ Paton, Kloe (20 March 2025). "Precious Pepala Pens A Classic Heartbreak Ballad with 'First Love'". INDUSTRYME. Archived from the original on 22 March 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  22. ↑ Mavroudis, Jimmy (14 March 2025). "Rising Star Precious Pepala Releases Vulnerable New Single 'First Love' • Pop Scoop". POP SCOOP. Retrieved 25 March 2025.