Selah Sue

Sanne Greet A. Putseys, known professionally as Selah Sue, is a Belgian musician and songwriter born on 3 May 1989. She is best known for her hit singles Raggamuffin, Crazy Vibes, and This World, as well as her commercially successful self-titled debut album. Over her career, she has earned recognition across Europe and internationally through chart-topping releases and major festival performances.

Putseys was born in Leefdaal, near Leuven, in the province of Flemish Brabant. At age fifteen, she learned acoustic guitar and began writing songs. At seventeen, after singing demos for a Belgian producer, she turned down a contract offer from Universal to focus on singing her own material. After performing at an open-song contest at Het Depot, singer Milow asked her to join his supporting programme. She also performed warm-up shows with artists such as Jamie Lidell and Novastar while studying psychology at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

In January 2009, Selah Sue released her first EP, Black Part Love, after receiving guidance from the Belgian musical theater Ancienne Belgique. She soon performed at major music festivals, including the North Sea Jazz Festival, Lowlands, Dour Festival, and Pukkelpop, and appeared on television shows like De Wereld Draait Door. Her second EP, Raggamuffin, was released in October 2010. Shortly after supporting Prince at a concert in November 2010, she embarked on a headlining tour across Belgium, France, and the Netherlands.

Her debut album, Selah Sue, was released on 4 March 2011, peaking at number one in Belgium and charting in France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The album contained a duet with Cee Lo Green titled Please and sold over 720,000 copies in Europe. Released in the United States in August 2012, it logged over 400,000 downloads in one week. In October 2014, her single Alone reached number one in Wallonia. Her subsequent album project featuring Childish Gambino and Hudson Mohawke topped the charts in Flanders, Wallonia, and the Netherlands.

Selah Sue has contributed to various notable projects, including co-writing Belgium's Eurovision Song Contest 2016 entry What's the Pressure and recording vocals for the DJ Fresh and Diplo track Bang Bang. Her accolades include winning a European Border Breakers Award and its Public Choice Award in 2012, three prizes at the 2011 Music Industry Awards, and her fifth award for Best solo female artist at the 2015 Music Industry Awards.

In May 2014, Selah Sue publicly discussed her struggles with depression, later supporting youth mental health awareness campaigns in Flanders. She has two sons, Seth and Mingus, born in 2017 and 2019 respectively. Following a five-year hiatus, she hosted the Lullaby Sessions livestream concerts from her bedroom during the COVID-19 pandemic and released her EP Bedroom in May 2020.