Catrina Burns (born 6 June 2000), known professionally as Cat Burns, is a British-Liberian 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. Described by Sony Music as a blend of gospel and pop influences with guitar-led indie music,^[1] Burns has garnered attention for her 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.^[2] She is set to release her debut album, Early Twenties, in 2024.

Burns was born in Streatham, London, United Kingdom.^[3] Both her parents migrated from Liberia during the First Liberian Civil War. At some point her life, her father left her family, and she grew up with her mother and sister.^[4] She attended the BRIT School in Croydon.^[5]

Burns' mother is a singer, and she grew up listening to gospel music and was deeply influenced by it.^[4] She cites Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Marvin Sapp, and others, as her favourites growing up.^[4]

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.^[6]

Subsequently, Burns released her second EP Naïve on 15 May 2019.^[7]

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.^[8] Originally released in 2020, "Go" later reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, second to Harry Styles' "As It Was".^[9][10] 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.^[11][12] Burns performed "Go" and "People Pleaser" on Jools' Annual Hootenanny 2022, following her earlier debut on Later... with Jools Holland in May.^[13][14]

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.^{[15][16][17][18]} The song reached number 35 on the UK singles chart on 17 March 2023.^[19] Burns subsequently released the follow-up single "Live More & Love More" on 31 March 2023.^[20]

In a 2019 interview with Gal-dem, Burns cited Kirk Franklin, Anne-Marie, Destiny's Child and Marvin Sapp as musical influences.^[21] She has also mentioned Kim Burrell, Donnie McClurkin, Tracy Chapman, India Arie, Tori Kelly, Lily Allen, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder as notable influences from her childhood.^[22] Discussing her sound, Burns stated "I would say it's just pop with a cooler edge to it because obviously I'm influenced by so many different things. At first, I wanted it to be...because I loved Ed Sheeran so much, I wanted it to be singer-songwriter-y and guitar-y and then as I found my own sound and what I wanted to make it was mainly just pop but I sing in my accent so it has that Britishness to it but I am just talking about relatable things and things that have happened to me or other people".^[23]

Burns is queer. In an interview with Gay Times, she explained that she initially struggled to reconcile her sexuality with her ethnicity, stating "If you're a Black woman, I want you to feel heard and seen. We are vulnerable people who are capable of having lots of emotions. And, being a Black queer woman adds a layer to that."^[24] Burns chronicled her experience with coming out to her family in her song "Free".^[25]

Burns has ADHD and noted in an interview that she had often found this helpful in her creative process, explaining "Both the chords and words come at the same time, but the concept comes first and I've found that that system has always worked for me! Helps the process of writing the song become a lot quicker which is great for my ADHD brain!".^[26]

In April 2023, Burns was diagnosed as autistic, which she announced on social media.^[27][28]