‘It’s been a long time since Soul Holiday babe!’ Marisha Wallace chuckles when I join the Zoom call for our interview. I crossed paths with the West-End-star-turned-solo-artist back in 2017 at one of her first solo concerts, celebrating her independently produced Christmas album.

Three years later and Wallace is now signed to Decca Records (Shirley Bassey, Gregory Porter, Imelda May) and currently doing tonnes of promo for her single ‘Before I Go’ and sophomore album Tomorrow.

The solo career is a fairly recent venture for Wallace. She was first introduced to UK audiences as a West End performer. She relocated to London back in 2016 to star in the West End production of Dreamgirls. Playing the iconic role of Effie White (originated by Jennifer Holliday on Broadway and further popularised by Jennifer Hudson in the 2006 film), Wallace was initially a stand-by performer – filling in when Glee star Amber Riley was unable to perform.

West End shows which market their starry casts often face backlash when the star performer is unavailable. I remember rocking up at the Savoy Theatre to see Dreamgirls and spotting a sign informing audience members of Amber Riley’s incapacitation (she was suffering from pneumonia). I remember overhearing furious audience members complaining about spending £100+ on a ticket and having to settle for the alternate. I also remember the audible disappointment when Wallace walked onto the stage, confirming to the audience that Riley would indeed not be performing.

But all that disappointment seemed to vanish with Wallace began to sing. Come the end of the first act – where Wallace delivers the mammoth ‘And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going’ – and audience members were on their feet for one of the most rapturous ovations I’ve ever witnessed in the theatre, never mind in the middle of the show.

Wallace has ridden off that momentum. She went on to replace Riley (who was also terrific and deserving of her Olivier win) as the main Effie White and led Dreamgirls to its close in January 2019. She then booked a gig starring in Sara Bareilles’ country-pop musical Waitress at the neighbouring Adelphi Theatre. She has supported Todrick Hall and Katherine Jenkins in concert, and recently performed ‘White Cliffs of Dover’ for the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall.

‘I’m having the best year of my life,’ Wallace says almost guiltily when I ask how she’s fared in the current pandemic. ‘Having the time to be in my house and record… has propelled me to new heights.’ Wallace explains that, despite her love for the theatre, she has always aspired to be a soloist. ‘When you are doing a show, the show is written and there’s only so much you can do. I add my Marisha sparkle on everything that I do but you’re facilitating someone else’s dream. Waitress is Sara Bareilles’ dream,’ she explains. She unsuccessfully auditioned for American Idol when she was just 19 (‘Nobody told me you gotta be there at 5am!’) and navigated her way into theatre as a means of sustaining herself through the arts.

Though vocally versatile, Wallace is grounded in the Black Church. In fact, she recently recorded the roof-raising ‘Miles and Miles’ (co-written by John Legend) for the Netflix Christmas film Jingle Jangle, putting her gospel influence on full display. I ask whether having a big, soulful voice may have held her back as a soloist. ‘Absolutely. My voice was like a deterrent. I grew up with Whitney, and Celine, Aretha, Mariah, Patti LaBelle etc. Every fierce voice all on the charts at the same time!’ Wallace says, noting the shift away from the powerful, melismatic voices that dominated the 1990s. But Wallace is hopeful that big, expressive voices will return to the fore. She hypothesises that the pandemic and the loneliness, uncertainty, and insecurity it has engendered will foster an appetite for more meaningful and organic musical experiences. That is to say: less autotune, and more singing.

I ask Wallace which contemporary voices are captivating her. ‘I love Emily King, her voice is stunning: Jazz but a little bit of R&B, great songwriting, great production, simple but beautiful. I love Sara Bareilles; her voice is like a radio. To stand next to her and hear her sing… “How is that coming out of your mouth!” I love Faouzia; they’re letting her really sing. I love Ledisi; she is smashing it with her new album.’

Wallace attracted the attention of the A&R team at Decca after her home-recorded rendition of ‘Tomorrow’ from the musical Annie went viral. In the midst of the pandemic, the song’s message of optimism and hope seemed to strike a chord. She put together the album with producer Steve Anderson, known mainly for his work with Kylie Minogue. ‘I really found a love for studio work which almost used to frighten me because my voice is so big,’ she says. ‘Steve made the production so gorgeous and left space for my big voice.’

Her first single from the album ‘Before I Go’ is a radio-ready pop jam. Backed by a wall of Wallace’s own background vocals, she sings of fighting against an oppressive partner: ‘You thought you had me / You thought I was done but / I’m stronger up against the ropes… You’ll know my name before I go.’ Despite being a few weeks old, ‘Before I Go’ was covered live on the finale of ITV’s The Voice by winning contestant Blessing Chitapa. ‘I haven’t even it sung it on television yet and this girl just smashed it and won a competition, chile!’

Our conversation turns to Wallace’s upcoming album Tomorrow. Specifically, I ask Wallace how she put together the tracklist. Tomorrow spans a handful of original tracks as well as pop covers (Sia’s ‘Alive’, Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’, Queen’s ‘The Show Must Go On’) and showtunes (‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’ from The Sound of Music, ‘Reflection’ from Disney’s Mulan, ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story).

‘I’m a storyteller. I picked a lot of the songs based on what I was going through. [Sia’s ‘Alive’] I wanted to repurpose for everything that we’ve been talking about to do with death and things ending.’ She points to the lyric ‘you took it all, but I’m still breathing’ which resonated with her in light of the tragic murder of George Floyd. ‘You can’t stamp out my spirit. No matter what you do, No matter how you try to degrade us or make us feel a certain way… I’m still going to be excellent. I’m still going to keep on breathing.’

I note the conspicuous absence of ‘And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going’. Of course, there are a plethora of videos of Wallace delivering the song (both concert performances and some bootlegs from Dreamgirls), but surely a studio recording made sense? Wallace politely disagrees. ‘I’ve wanted to move on from there. I will probably record it at some point but I wanted to show people that I’ve grown.’

She smiles and quips: ‘I’m not Effie, I’m Marisha.’

Tomorrow is now available on all streaming platforms!

Image Copyright: Decca Records