Multi-award winning British soul queen Beverley Knight has been nominated for Best Actress in a Musical at this year’s Olivier Awards for her leading performance as the aspiring Felicia Farr in Memphis, at the Shaftesbury Theatre.

It’s set in the underground nightclubs of segregated Tennessee and focuses on Huey Calhoun, a white DJ played by Killian Donnelly who introduces the ‘devil’s music’ rhythm and blues to the white folks in the early 50s and 60s.

The production, which opened in October last year, has garnered an incredible nine nominations, including Best New Musical. It won a Tony Award four years ago and won the 2015 WhatsOnStage Best New Musical Award.

Beverley made her West End debut playing Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard in September 2013, with a WhatsOnStage Award nomination. In 2007 Beverley was awarded an MBE by the Queen for her services to British music and charity work. She was made an honorary Doctor of Music two years earlier from the University of Wolverhampton.

In his four star review, The Guardian’s Michael Billington wrote “Beverley Knight… is one of the best soul singers around and she duly combines charisma and power.”