Catrina Burns-Temison is a British singer-songwriter who gained prominence with her 2020 single “Go”. The song’s popularity increased in 2022 through TikTok, eventually reaching number two on the UK singles chart. It was described by Sony Music as a blend of gospel and pop influences with guitar-led indie music. Notably, she has been nominated three times for the Brit Awards. Starting with her debut single “Fallen Out of Love” in 2017, Burns has continued to release music and attract a following in the music community. She released her debut album, Early Twenties, in July 2024.
Burns was born in Streatham, London. Her mother is of Jamaican descent and her father is Nigerian. Her parents divorced when she was a child, and she grew up with her mother and sister. She attended the BRIT School in Croydon. Burns’ mother is a singer, and Burns grew up listening to gospel music and was deeply influenced by it. She cites Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Marvin Sapp, and others, as her favourites growing up.
Burns recorded her debut EP Adolescent at the age of sixteen while studying at BRIT School. She collaborated with a fellow student who had access to a recording studio in their garden shed. The songs they created formed the basis of the EP, which Burns self-released on 1 October 2016. Despite her efforts to secure a record deal afterward, she faced challenges as the music industry seemed uncertain about how to handle her unique style as an artist. Subsequently, Burns released her second EP Naïve on 15 May 2019.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom, Burns garnered widespread attention by sharing covers and original songs on TikTok. Her song “Go” went viral, leading to a record deal with Since 93, a subsidiary of RCA Records. Originally released in 2020, “Go” later reached number two on the UK singles chart, second to Harry Styles’ “As It Was”. In 2022, she supported Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander on the UK leg of his Night Call Tour and also accompanied Ed Sheeran on selected dates of his Mathematics Tour. Burns performed “Go” and “People Pleaser” on Jools’ Annual Hootenanny 2022, following her earlier debut on Later… with Jools Holland in May.
On 9 March 2023, Burns released “Home for My Heart”, a single featuring rapper ArrDee, with the renowned actor and writer Kwame Kwei-Armah credited as a lyricist on the track. The song reached number 35 on the UK singles chart on 17 March 2023. Burns subsequently released the follow-up single “Live More & Love More” on 31 March 2023. In September 2025, Burns was announced as a contestant on the first series of BBC’s The Celebrity Traitors, joining a cast of 19 celebrities to compete for £100,000 for charity. She was chosen as one of the three original “traitors” on the series.
