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“I’m so sorry that you’ve had to wait so long” apologises Harriet “The last shot took way longer than expected” she laughed. As she gets ready for the interview Harriet continues to apologise and explain about her hectic day which she has had on the last day on the set of her second music video. It’s clear that everything is very new and exciting to her which is to be expected as she is only 18 years old.
Harriet still lives at home in a small village in the North East with her Mam, Dad and younger brother. Since a young age she has had a passion for music ‘I liked music from a very young age’ she told me ‘and I just really enjoy it’. Although her immediate family are not musical she was inspired by her grandparents to start playing musical instruments. It was at school were Harriet’s musical ability became clear to see ‘I got into the soul band as a singer’ she laughs ‘and then I built up my courage from their’. Even though Harriet says that singing and piano playing come naturally to her she hasn’t always been so confident in her ability ‘it took me a long time to build up my confidence’. It took Harriet a long time to build up the courage to perform her own songs. She started off doing covers of pop songs and as she was not confidence enough with her own material. It shows that although it took her a while to gain enough confidence eventually she achieved what she wanted.
Many people are not aware of the fact that a career in music can very challenging and is not all about playing sold out gigs and making lots of money. “I think people think that being a musician is easy but it’s really not! I’ve been working really hard on my music since the age of 13, doing gigs in WMC trying to get people to listen to my music, it hasn’t been easy. However I wouldn’t change a single moment of it for the world”. I asked Harriet if she had ever considered entering a reality TV show such as the x-factor. “Never” she exclaims “It takes away your individuality, people may think that it’s the easy road to success but I don’t think it is. It’s all part of the fun gigging etc. So I wouldn’t want to be shot straight to stardom”.
“I still can’t believe that my single is at number 1” Harriet sequels when I mention the success of her debut single ‘Guilty’. “Never in a million years did I think I would make into the charts never mind to number 1 and to stay there for five weeks!” “I could not stop screaming when I found out, I think after a while I was getting on everyone’s nerves. Harriet hopes to follow up her recent success with the release of her second single.
What is the story behind you new single ‘Meant to be’ I ask. “It is about falling in love” she laughs “ I know it sounds really clique and the same as everyone else but I think that people will really be able to relate to it. I’ve had a lot of feedback from people saying how much they like it so I thought that it would be perfect for my second single”. Harriet worked with legendary producer Mark Ronson on her new song. ‘Meant to be’ has a much slower and mellow feel to it than any of his previous work, and it shocked the Musik team that this was his work. “Working with Mark Ronson was one of the best experiences of my life, he had so many great ideas, I was a bit overwhelmed by it all”. It is clear in the song that the two worked very well together and have created a song which I think will stay around for years.
As much as Harriet has high hopes for the future is keeping her feet firmly on the ground and is being realistic about the future. “I know that I’m not guaranteed a successful career, when I see bands and artists who have a one hit wonder then fade away. I panic that the same is going to happen to me”. She told me how that whatever happens with her career music will always be a huge part of her life and that she will always be passionate about it.
I believe that Harriet will have a great career within the music industry as her down to earth personality and combined with her musical talent make a recipe for success. Harriet’s new single ‘meant to be’ is available to download from the 2nd April and is in the shops on the 9th April.