ꜱᴜɴꜱʜɪɴᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴋᴇᴇᴩɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ᴜᴩ ꜰᴏʀ ᴅᴀyꜱ

Whatever "it," was, it was clear that the young Evaline Luton did not have "it." Born the third child of four in a family that was already living beyond its means, the young Evy (as she was known to her brothers and sisters) didn't make enough of an impression to stand out from the crowd. Without particular skills in sports or academics, and without being the most charming or most attractive of her siblings, Evy didn't have much to help distinguish her from the pack. She was perfectly average at almost everything, which trained her to be perfectly content with everyone's mediocre expectations for her.

It wasn't until Evy turned eleven years old that her ordinary life was shaken with the news of her parents' divorce, an event that was immediately followed by the death of a beloved grandfather who had been her close companion during her childhood. Once her parents, who had both been professors at the University of Cambridge, officially divorced, her father, an American, moved to New York, where he took up a teaching position at New York University. Evy stayed in London with her mother and siblings, although she often visited her father in the States. Finding herself torn between two worlds and unable to or uninterested in expressing her emotions about the splitting apart of her family, Evy began to really listen to music for the first time. In Etta James, Joni Mitchell, and Grace Slick, Evy found companions in her silent troubles. When her grandmother died several months later, a hearbroken Evy volunteered to sing at her funeral and amazed everyone: to their surprise, their little girl had a big voice. Evy had found what made her stand out, and stand out in a big way.

Encouraged by her mother to pursue this budding talents, Evy applied and was accepted to the Brit School, where she received more vocal training and found her talent nurtured by her instructors and classmates. There she also began to write her own music, including the material that would become her first album, Lungs.

After graduating from school in 2006, she joined a band called Ashok and contributed to their album Plans. After what she called "creative differences" (and what was actually an awkward alcohol-fueled sexual escapade) between her and another member of the band, Evy left Ashok, canceling her contract with them. For a few months, Evy played in pubs around London, working at a Tesco to support herself as she tried to make her musical dream happen. Finally, after a drunken encounter with manager Mairead Nash that involved Evy singing Etta James' "Something's Got Hold On Me" in the toilet of a bar, Nash signed Evy and began the journey that would lead her to her to her future band.

After reconnecting with a friend from The Brit School and meeting several other musicians who were similarly bumming around London, a band was formed. Nicknamed "The Theory Of" after a private joke about the fact that Evy's proposed stage name sounded like "evolution," the band quickly recorded their debut album, Lungs. The album was officially released in the UK on July 6, 2009, Evy's 21st birthday. The album eventually peaked at number one in the UK and number two in Ireland, selling over 100,000 copies in the UK two months after its release.

The success of Lungs led to an immediate change in Evy's life: suddenly the little girl who nobody had noticed was known and recognized, sometimes even on the street. She treated this change with suspicion and some contempt: perpetually dry and slightly cynical, Evy refused to allow herself to become changed by the demands and opportunities of her newfound popularity. She continued to be a slave to her work, pouring herself into each performance and shunning those that she perceived, rightly or wrongly, to be trying to trying to ride her coat tails. This made touring both an exhilarating and isolating experience: surrounded by people who would come to hear her sing, Evy often found herself lonely and somewhat depressed.

After and during extensive touring, which occurred over three and a half years, the band returned to London in 2010, where they began to record what would become their second album, Ceremonials, at Abbey Road Studios. The album was ultimately released on October 31, 2011 and immediately reached number one in the UK charts and number six in the US. The album was even more successful than Lungs and was nominated for both Brit and Grammy Awards.

Tired from touring and considering writing a musical, Evy took a break from performing with the band and allowed herself to relax. Considering herself to be in so-called "semi-retirement," Evy continued to perform sporadically both individually and with The Theory Of but enjoyed the freedom afforded by her time off. It wasn't until 2014 that The Theory Of officially announced that they were reuniting and working on the third studio album, due to be released in 2015.