The Kingdom Choir

Global audience of 2 billion watched The Kingdom Choir perform Stand By Me at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Following their show-stopping performance of Stand By Me at the Royal Wedding on 19 May 2018, The Kingdom Choir have signed a major record deal with Sony Music UK. Managed by Professor Jonathan Shalit OBE, the record label beat off stiff competition to sign the highly sought-after collective. The choir were joined by the Sony Music UK team this morning at Kensington Palace to celebrate the monumental signing.

The Kingdom Choir will go into the studio later this month to begin recording their debut album which is set for a global release on Friday 2 November 2018. The album will include the choir's much-loved rendition of Stand By Me which showcased the pure joy and spiritual essence that runs through all of their performances. Since May, their arrangement of Stand By Me has become a viral internet sensation, receiving over 10 million views on YouTube.

The choir was founded in 1994 London by award-winning conductor Karen Gibson. The group of singers from in and around London draw from various Christian traditions and are dedicated to creating a sound that demonstrates the community they share through their warm energy and enthusiastic performance. Prior to performing in front of nearly 2 billion people at the Royal Wedding, the largest audience The Kingdom Choir had performed to was just 200 people.

Nicola Tuer, COO of Sony Music UK, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to have signed The Kingdom Choir to Sony. Along with the rest of the world, we were stunned by their incredible performance at The Royal Wedding, so we jumped at the chance to sign them. The choir believe in love, music and power and we are excited to capture this on record for their fans across the globe."

Karen Gibson, conductor of The Kingdom Choir, said: "The Kingdom Choir are absolutely delighted with the journey of the past few months! It's been a roller coaster, but we wouldn't have it any other way – first, the honour of being able to sing at Royal Wedding, and then the thrill of being signed to Sony! It's like an un-dreamt dream – one that you wouldn't even consider, because you never thought it could happen to you. We're very grateful and very excited about what's to come in the next few months too…"

The Kingdom Choir's debut album will be released via Sony Music on Friday 2 November 2018.

Karen Gibson is an award-winning gospel choir conductor directing some of the most prestigious, large-scale choirs across the UK. The high standard of her work has taken her across Europe and further – Japan, Rwanda, Nigeria, Guyana, and the USA. Karen's choirs are regular finalists or winners of choir competitions, including BBC Songs of Praise Gospel Choir of The Year. After 11 years in IT, the positive impact of gospel singing led to her establishing the community gospel choir, 'The Kingdom Choir' in the heart of Clapham Junction.