Katy was born in Peckham, London[6]andattended Lyndhurst Primary school, Haberdashers' Aske'sHatchamCollege,[citation needed] and the BRIT School. Katy alsoattendedthe Glenlyn Academy in South London where she took danceclasses.[3] Katy's father, David O'Brien, was a member of the LesHumphriesSingers, who represented Germany at Eurovision 1976 withthe song"Sing Sang Song".[7]
Katy has guested on many tracks, both before and during heralbumrelease campaign. DJ NG's song "Tell Me", on which shefeatured asBaby Katy,[4] was initially released on a white labeland thenlater signed to Ministry of Sound.[8][9] She also providedvocalson the track "Hold Me" for The Count & Sinden's debutalbumMega Mega Mega,[10] and features on Magnetic Man's tracks"PerfectStranger" and "Crossover".[11]

Katy B has also collaborated with Rinse FM[12] DJ Geeneustocover the Kevin Saunderson produced "Good Life"[13] and thetrack"As I".[14] It was following the official recognition of theformerpirate radio station Rinse FM in June 2010[15] that Katy Bsaw herfirst single release: "Katy on a Mission", presented byRinse andproduced by Benga, was released on 22 August 2010.[16][17]Thesingle reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and numberoneon the UK Indie Chart.

Katy B performed at the London Jazz Festival in 2009 withMsDynamite,[18] who also featured on Katy's second single"LightsOn", which was released in the United Kingdom on 19 December2010,and debuted at number four on the UK Singles Chart. Herthirdsingle "Broken Record" was released in March 2011, and peakedatnumber eight. The fourth single "Easy Please Me" was released on3June 2011. Her fifth single "Witches' Brew" was released on28August 2011. Katy's debut album On a Mission was released on4April 2011, and peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart.

Katy B supported Tinie Tempah on his tour during Spring of2011,and on 30 April 2011 she embarked on her own debut concerttourthroughout Europe until September, then the UK in October.[19]In2011, Katy B and Mark Ronson teamed up for the song "Anywhereinthe World", which was created as an advert for Coca-Cola to tieinwith the 2012 Summer Olympics, and was released as adigitaldownload on 13 May 2012.

On 1 October 2013, Katy announced that her second studioalbumwould be titled Little Red.[20] A single, "What Love Is MadeOf",was released on 7 July 2013, charting at number 21 on theUKSingles Chart; although when the official Little Red tracklistwasrevealed on 13 December, "What Love Is Made Of" was nolongerincluded.[21] Lead single "5 AM" was released on 4 November2013,charting at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. "Crying ForNoReason" was released on 10 February 2014, reaching the Top 5 ofthesingles chart.[22] Little Red topped the UK Albums Chart on19February 2014.[23]

On 18 February 2014, Katy's video for the ongoing 'RinseSessionsx Metropolis' project was revealed, which included aback-to-backcover of Beyoncé's 'Drunk in Love' and Tinashe's'Vulnerable'[24] InFebruary, she also appeared on the BBC One showThe Voice as RickyWilson's team mentor.[25]

In March 2014 Katy took part in the recording of England's2014World Cup song, collaborating with fellow pop stars MelanieC,Eliza Doolittle, Emma Bunton, Conor Maynard, Kimberley WalshandPixie Lott on "Greatest Day", a track originally performed bytheBritish band Take That. The track was produced by Gary Barlowandrecorded at Sarm Studios in London, and also featuredformerfootballers such as Gary Lineker, Michael Owen, Geoff Hurst,DavidSeaman, Peter Shilton, Glenn Hoddle and Dion Dublin onbackingvocals.[26]

She performed at Birmingham Pride in May 2014.