Celeste first made listeners collectively pause for breath when she released “Strange” back in 2019. A hauntingly sparse meditation on love and loss, it hinted at the LA-born, Brighton-raised singer’s ultimate power: to create devastatingly honest soul and R&B that’s as nostalgic as it is of-the-moment. Her Influences playlist is testament to how she got there. Here, soul’s pioneers—Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and Martha Reeves—stand side by side with disco icons (Sister Sledge, Donna Summer) and some of today’s biggest hitmakers, from Kanye West to Kano and Ariana Grande. “This is a pick of some of the songs that filled me with nostalgia from a toddler to my teens,” Celeste tells Apple Music. “I’m happy to share them with you.” Hit play to discover the artists and songs that helped shape one of British music’s most exciting emerging voices.