Judith Hill is an American singer born in Los Angeles, California.\r Hill's mother is a pianist from Tokyo who met Hill's father in a funk band in the 1970s. Judith is of both Japanese and African American descent.\r After getting a degree in music composition from Biola University in southern California, Hill went to France in 2007 to perform with the French singer Michel Polnareff. She began a career as a singer-songwriter when she returned to the United States. In 2009, she was selected as one of Michael Jackson's back-up singers for his planned comeback This Is It concerts.\r Michael Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, caused the tour to be cancelled. Along with the rest of the This Is It cast members, she performed at Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles on July 7, 2009. She attracted global attention when she sang the lead on the song "Heal the World", which was one of the climactic moments of the service.