SHE may live in a quiet Hampshire suburb but that doesn’t stop Louise Smith from dreaming big.
The 19-year-old singer songwriter is hoping for chart stardom following the launch of her debut self-titled EP earlier this month.
The former Kings’ School pupil, who lives in Harestock, Winchester, said she got into music through school work around 10 years ago.
“It started when I was at school – singing was my favourite thing to do in my spare time,” she said.
“My mum would always joke that when I was younger she would send me to sport lessons or something like that and I would quit after a couple of months, but music was always very natural and never a chore.”
After school Louise attended Guildford’s prestigious Academy of Contemporary Music and continued to follow her dream.
The EP, released last Wednesday, made it to the UK top 40 on iTunes within days and her talents have recently been recognised by pop megastar Labrinth.
He held a competition on YouTube for the best cover of his latest single Let It Be and handpicked Louise as the winner. She spent a day in a studio with the singer and says she “learnt so much”.
“It was amazing, he really is a true talent so it was very inspirational to work with him,” she said.
And their styles aren’t too dissimilar. Louise says she would describe her sound as pop contemporary with influences from soul music.
She says she is inspired by musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.
“I think vocally it’s so challenging, you are never fully grown and you can always do better and I just feel like their talent is so raw and they really connect with what they are singing.”
Louise released her EP on her own label and is self-managed.
She said: “I didn’t want to wait around for someone to find me. You learn your mistakes and get so much creative control over the music you are producing so you learn about what you want rather than someone telling you what you want.”
Now Louise is planning her UK tour and is hoping to perform in schools to inspire students to follow their passion.
For more information go to louisesmithmusic.com.
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