Erica Cody

Erica-Cody Kennedy-Smith is an Irish R&B singer-songwriter of Irish & African-American descent. Her style has been described as close to that of TLC and Aaliyah. She released Addicted in 2017 and her Ep Leoness in April 2019. She was one of the artists featured in Hot Press's Lockdown Sessions in April 2020, and was named one of Irish Country Magazine's Women to Watch in 2020. She made a cameo in an episode of the 2021 Netflix series Fate: The Winx Saga, and in 2022 appeared on the fifth series of the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars, reaching the final and finishing as runner-ups with her professional partner, Denys Samson. Her experiences of racism in Ireland led to her launching a campaign called Don't Touch My Hair (DTMH). In 2020, Cody took part in the Black Lives Matter protests in Dublin and spoke publicly about racism she and others have experienced in Ireland. She also spoke about how her father's family in America have been affected by racism and prejudice. In 2020, Cody was part of an Irish collective of female singers and musicians called Irish Women in Harmony, that recorded a version of the Cranberries song "Dreams" in aid of the charity SafeIreland, which deals with domestic abuse which had reportedly risen significantly during the COVID-19 lockdown.