Freya Ridings

I'm obsessed with Beyonce. She's just effervescent, I love her.

You know the way you tell your life story to a friend? I just told mine to a piano.

All my songs are based on personal experience, and 'Lost Without You' came out fully born.

I heard that your subconscious is on the right side. I always shut my right eye when I play, or both eyes. I feel like you go to a deeper place in your subconscious, and you tell the stories that are more deeply within you.

The thing with 'Lost Without You' is that for a long time I didn't feel like I could share it with people. When it came to releasing it, it was a cliff-diving moment.

Selfies are one of those things I generally take but never post. It's more to remember the moment or what I'm doing.

At the age of 11 I did my first open mic show, and it was one of those lightning-bolt moments where I suddenly found what I wanted to do.

I remember in 2016 when I got signed to my record label Good Soldier, which is a very small indie label. They took a big risk on me because ballads were the furthest thing from cool at the time.

Being signed to a major label was never an option because I knew having the time to find out who you are without pressure from other people is so important.

Every time I do something new, it makes me a bit stronger. Playing huge shows, being invited to play with Nile Rodgers after the Brits - all are mindblowing and I have a great team around me who are empowering. It makes all the difference.