Interview for magazine

A unique voice, a talent for songwriting and two number one singles already under her belt, East london’s latest musical success story is grabbing the interest of music-minded Britons and a generation of teenagers.The new artist Missy B has quickly turned from and ordinary teenager to a world class star and is planning to release her debut single on June 8, but before ‘‘love hurts’’ throws her so fast into Stardom , we pinned her down for a ‘behind the scenes’ chat.

Q:What’s up Missy B, how are you?
Fantastic, I'm really excited. Slightly tired from doing a late night rehearsal last night but things are finally starting to look brighter.

Q: So how long have you been singing and performing?
I've been singing and performing ever since I was in diapers, basically. I mean, from laying a towel on the floor in the bathroom and using the shampoo bottle as a microphone, to local block parties and talent shows and things like that

Q:To anyone who hasn’t heard of you yet, how would you describe your sound?
Soulful R&B with elements of Jazz but still kept very contemporary and fresh - a good combination. I like to think I bring something different to the table (laughs)

Q:Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind your foxy new record…
I take influences from all different great musicians. I like artists with powerful voices and that really feel what they are singing. Such as Mariah Carey and Celion Dion.

Q:If you were going to give us just one song of yours to listen to so that you would become our new favourite singer, what would it be?
It would be "don’t lie to me" as I love to sing it live, I can really get into the character of it. This is definetlyit one of the best songs I have wrote and from what I have heard it has touched a lot of people. I believe this is because there is a lot of truth behind the words.

Q:If you could cover another musician’s song, what would it be?
It would absolutely have to Whitney Houston ‘ the greatest love of all’. It is such a powerful song and she is such an inspiration to me I really look up to her. She really knows her stuff.

Q: What was it like filming the video for "love hurts?"
Oh it was so fun, it was amazing. For me it was like being on a Dizzee rascal set. I've been so low budget for so long, and to have this incredibly amazing video was really very humbling. It was really fun, but you'll see if you ever come to a video shoot of mine one day – I'm very private about those things, I don't really talk to everybody. I'm not like the party girl running around. I might even seem to be a bit of a diva. I'm sort of with myself, in my work head space worrying about costumes, and if extras look right, and placement. don't just show up for things, you know. That video was a vision of mine. It was robert the director who wanted to do something, to have a performance art aspect that was so pop but it was still commercial, but that felt like lifestyle. It was all those things, I love it.

Q:Do you prefer to be recording or playing live?
I guess I prefer to play live, but I don’t want to have only live CDs. I like playing live because there are alot of things that can happen. I can interact with the audience and say some things to get me in trouble. On the other hand, the studio is nice because you can really take your time and make something that you know is the best thing that you can ever do. But nothing beats being up on stage in front of all that energy.


Q:What makes you stand out from the crowd?
The fact that I'm passionate about music and listening to different styles is what makes me different. I feel like I can take different styles of music and my knowledge to make my own songs, so the audience gets a mixture of music. I also think that coming from next to nothing I have made it so far and I can relate to may people.

Q: Did you know instantly that ‘‘don’t lie to me’’ would be your first single?
I think it’s a great introduction track but when I recorded it, it wasn’t like that’s definitely going to be the first single. I don’t think it was an instant thing, but I really had fun making the song so it was a really good first single for me because every time I listen to the song it brings back good memories.

Q: You’re only 18, where do you get your inspiration from?
I take my inspiration for the song writing from little experiences, not even if I’ve experienced them myself but say if something has made me sad, I will use that emotion. I just use everyday life and write about it.

Q: What can we expect from you album?
It’s very soulful pop but it’s got elements of RnB and retro sounds but it’s still very contemporary and very fresh. A lot of the songs are really fun, happy and wild, but otherwise they’re more emotional, more about heartbreak so it’s a good little combination.. The album will have a lot of the same characteristics, though. There will be lots of storytelling, because lyrics are important to me. There are a few songs that will make you cry, but there are others to make you dance and sing. Every song is on the album for a specific reason.

Q: Finally, why it is called Turn It Up?
It’s called Turn It Up because I want people to turn it up, turn the vibe up, turn everything up, and obviously there’s a song on there called turn it up.