Freya Ridings

I think, definitely, I was hugely influenced by - obviously like Adele and Florence the Machine. They were my complete idols growing up. But also, there were a lot of influences from my dad, like singer-songwriters of the '70s like Carole King and James Taylor. ”

I love the acoustic sets. Growing up, me and my dad would always watch those because we loved seeing the songs stripped back. ”

Growing up, I promised myself that if I was every lucky enough to have a hit and also a hit that I had written myself, I would never get tired of performing it. I would always be grateful for that. ”

I was in a choir at school and we were part of the BBC Proms back in around 2002. ”

Going to school, sort of not realising that caring about things was going to make me stand out and make me weird, and I think also being a redhead and being tall, bigger than the other kids... Anything that makes you different at school makes you a target. ”

That's the best thing about being with an indie label, it feels like a family. If it's a major label, they put so much pressure on every single. ”

I was quite a different child, I felt isolated. In time, that level of being with yourself crystallises who you are, and you can see what other people are without being blinded by what they want from you. ”

I do get star-struck, especially if they're icons like Florence Welch. I met her briefly at a studio and I did not act cool. ”

I'm obsessed with American talk shows. ”

I followed my gut and my subconscious told me the kind of music I wanted to create. But it wasn't easy. ”