Facts About Judith Hill: "Heal the World" Singer at Michael Jackson's Memorial Service

Many people first became acquainted with Judith Hill during her performance of "We are the World" and "Heal the World" at the memorial of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. As she performed, leading the others on the stage and the audience in the song, many wondered the identity of this woman with the bohemian style.

Her name is Judith Hill. Here is some information you may have not known about this singer.

Judith Hill was born in Los Angeles, California and lives in Pasadena, California.

Judith Hill is biracial. She is half African American, half Asian, Japanese to be specific. In the 1970s her mother, an immigrant from Japan met her father in a funk band. She was raised in a family of musicians. In addition to singing, Hill pays the keyboard.

Hill was raised in a religious household and studied music composition at Biola University, a Christian University in Southern California. A year after graduation Judith Hill went to France to perform with French Michel Polnareff. Afterwards she returned to the States to create songs and develop her own sound.

Hill was to perform as a background singer for Michael Jackson's This is It! tour that would have taken place in London, before Jackson's untimely death June 25. She was going to perform a duet with Michael Jackson entitled "I Just Can't Stop Loving You." Instead Hill performed "Heal the World" at Jackson's funeral at the Staples Center in Los Angeles July 7. She appeared very comfortable on stage despite being in the midst of grief and under the pressures of performing before millions of viewers.

She performs as a singer with Katisse Buckingham, a saxophonist. There are a few clips on YouTube of Judith Hill singing as Buckingham plays saxophone. Two Judith Hill clips available at YouTube are titled "Basket People" and "Judith Hill" as she performs "One Love Forever."

As of the writing of this article it appears Judith Hill is an unsigned artist according to her MySpace profile. She describes her music as innovative. Judith Hill's voice has a smoky rich quality. You can hear the soul and depth in her singing. She also has range in her singing.

You can check out more about Judith Hill at her Web site www.judithhillmusic.com. You'll notice she has her own sense of style and it's reflected on her site. There you'll find a photo gallery, blog, video, contact and news.