LIVE24SEVEN // Interview


It seems the singer is enjoying a comparatively settled phase of her life living with French boyfriend Leyman Lahcine, and it’s apparent that starting a family has directly influenced her music. “I do feel my approach to music has changed since I’ve become a parent - which does have an impact. With difficult things that are happening in the world, you feel protective and want to make things comfortable for your family. “I think things are changing in our history and maybe not for the better, which is something I’m concerned about. I feel there’s a sense of duty to talk about events.”


Much like any other artist in the limelight, her rise has come with the perhaps inevitable burden of being followed around by the ever-hungry paparazzi.


Everyone from Hello magazine through to the national red-top national papers has been waiting to secure pictures of her new youngster, whom she is keen to shield from un-necessary public attention. “I value my privacy more so than ever now, as it’s a real responsibility being a parent and I want my child to know itself first rather than everyone else feeling that they know all about them.”


Such determination to do things on her own terms has proved a consistent theme throughout her career and something that has helped her standout from the crowd. As she recalls of her childhood, the half-Spanish artist says that she always had something of a creative streak. However, it was far from obvious that she was destined to become a singer, with her initial studies being at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.


“Growing up in Hackney, I was surrounded by lots of different types of music - from my mum, I remember listening to plenty of revolutionary music from the 60’s such as Bob Dylan, while my dad was really into jazz, which is where my interest in all that comes from.


“Later, when I was studying, I got into R and B dancehall as well, and originally I wanted to be dancer. Then I did my musical theatre and I think that music just chose me,” she explains of her formative years.


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