"Without a shadow of a doubt, the most outstanding voice of ITC 2006 has to be Karima Francis. There's little more that needs to be said, that can't be heard. If Karima isn't filling venues ten times this size within the next twelve months, Xfm will eat its collective hat. Or we'll just get the work experience to eat it for us." XFM Manchester
Since relocating to Manchester from Blackpool in late 2005 19 year old Karima Francis has risen to become one of the most talked about new artists around. Most distinctive of Karima is her voice, the kind that cuts through a room to hush a chattering crowd in seconds and is responsible for recently gaining her a support slot with James Morrison winning over a full house of virgin ears.
Attempts at comparisons of Karimas’ sound and style have sparked a number of heated debates, with names such as Van Morrison, Jeff Buckley, Tracey Chapman and Joan Armatrading all being thrown into the mix, suffice to say that in an industry obsessed with ‘convenience pigeon-holing’ Karima Francis’s refreshing sound never for a moment sounds derivative.
