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NEXT BIG THING
Maisie Peters on her new album You Signed Up For This plus famous fans Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran
MAISIE PETERS is madly in love with her debut album.
“It’s a running joke with my friends that I love my album more than anyone else,” she laughs. “I think it’s sick. I haven’t had to deal with the concept of other people not liking it.
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“I’ve not adjusted to the idea some people might not think it’s the best album, like I do. I’ll have to come around to that.”
Peters describes You Signed Up For This — a record of fun, observational pop, out today — as a coming-of-age album. She has a knack for storytelling in her songs and has, unsurprisingly, been touted as the next big thing.
She says: “An album is like a snapshot of an important period of your life. It will live forever and is a solid reminder of that period. Everything about it is steeped in memory about a time that means so much.
“I can’t believe it’s coming out today — finally. I’m not really used to the attention I’m getting about it. It’s all been crazy.”
We chat via video call a few days after Peters played Boardmasters Festival in Cornwall.
‘There were nerves’
She says: “It was the first festival I’ve done since coming back, but everyone can’t get enough and wants to play shows all the time. After the surreal time we’ve all just had with the pandemic, we really appreciate shows more.”
The 21-year-old singer — from the sleepy village of Steyning, West Sussex — can count Taylor Swift, Lewis Capaldi and Ed Sheeran as famous fans. The latter loved her music so much he signed her to his label, Gingerbread Man Records, in June and co-wrote three of the tracks on You Signed Up For This.
With pride, Peters says: “It’s so amazing and useful to have somebody like Ed as a mentor figure — and as a friend. He’s really experienced.
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“He knows everybody and everything there is to know about this job. It’s been amazing to have someone like that to rely on.
“Of course, I was a bit starstruck when I first met him, as I’m a big fan. Everyone’s a fan. There were nerves.
“The first ten minutes in the studio together were, ‘What do I say?’ But Ed is so down to earth, you quickly realise he is just your friend.
“I grew up on (his songs) Lego House and The A Team and those songs are a part of practising for any singer-songwriter who grew up around that time. We all cut our teeth on those songs.
“The experience has been invaluable because he’s an extraordinarily good writer. To learn from him is so wonderful.”
Peters says Sheeran “reached out” to her about writing together and they share a number of mutual friends.
“When he got in touch about writing, it was crazy,” she says. “I was shocked, but I went over to Suffolk, where he lives, and spent a few days writing with him. And we got on super-well.
“We are similar people and we like similar artists. He’s the nicest, most generous man and super-talented. We worked really quickly and wrote a couple of songs for the album, Boy and Hollow, and talked about working together more.”
The pair co-wrote her single Psycho — a fan favourite — about confronting an ex who slagged off Peters publicly.
But she laughs off the idea of getting revenge through music, saying: “I don’t think I’ve ever warned anyone that a song has been written about them.
“If the song is bad, we’re probably not on speaking terms anyway. But Ed gave me good advice and said, ‘Always be true to yourself and to what you want and true to the people around you who are important’.
“I will always be grateful for his help. I can even do some babysitting if I’m called.”
And she was over the moon when Taylor Swift got in touch.
Peters says of the US superstar: “She tweeted me a couple times last year after I did a cover of her song Exile with Griff (winner of the Rising Star award at this year’s Brits), who’s a friend of mine. She tweeted saying she was a fan of our cover and what we’d done with it.
‘Super-fearless’
“I’m the biggest ‘Swiftie’ in the world, so it was pretty much the best day of my life.”
Peters hopes she can emulate her idol and develop her own sound with each album.
She says: “Musically, Taylor has continued to evolve and grow with every project.
“For me, every album tops the last, which is why she has a career that spans 15 years. She’s a role model for other young women in music.
“She shows how to take your career into your own hands. She’s super-fearless. She knows what she believes in and what’s right. I think she’s at a place in her life and career where she’s unabashedly herself and that’s really inspiring.
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“I’d love to meet her, as we’ve never met. Just to say, ‘Thank you for everything’ — though I’d probably faint, to be honest.”
Peters is also close pals with Norwegian singer Sigrid.
She says: “I love her — and we are very similar. She is the Norwegian version of me. We have similar lives and we talk about that a lot. Whenever she’s in London, we try to hang out and get coffee and write songs.”
Peters started writing at the age of 12 after borrowing a friend’s guitar to sing in a school Christmas show.
She says: “I sang my own song and I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it. Then I was writing songs all the time.”
With her twin sister Ellen, she tried to make music a family affair before ultimately taking the solo route.
Peters says: “I tried to get Ellen to do it with me, but she didn’t want to. We could have been a family band. We aren’t identical.
“In fact, we look different and we live different lives as she went to university, and I moved to London. But she comes to my shows and comes backstage and hangs out with my band and crew. I’d love her to come on tour with me.”
Brooklyn, a standout track on the album, is about Ellen.
Peters says: “We went to New York together in 2019, without our parents for the first time.
“That song chronicles the trip and everything you get up to when you’re 19 and away with your sister. It’s really special to me because it’s not about love or relationships. It’s a breakaway moment of escapism and I’m pleased it made the album.”
The album’s name is “a statement of intent”, Peters says, “a strong start to something”.
She cites Abba and Lily Allen as influences, adding: “They’re artists who put storytelling at the heart of what they did and I’ve always done that. I like to think my songs have developed as I’ve grown up.
“On this album, I became so efficient at making something I wanted to make and knowing the pathway I had to take to get there. It definitely felt like a final form of what I’ve been doing for a long time.”
‘Wild West time’
Her gift for storytelling is evident on John Hughes Movie, Outdoor Pool and Elvis Song, tracks about partying, new love and the end of summer.
She says: “Outdoor Pool was written in Suffolk about my school crush and kissing him in a pool. That didn’t really happen — really sorry. Maybe I should pretend I did to keep to the fairytale!
“Elvis Song is about the end of those blissful holiday periods. It’s steeped in nostalgia and wishful thinking about being young and stupid and making a decision and wondering if it’s the right decision for the rest of your life. That’s definitely my stadium song . . . although I’m not playing stadiums yet.”
Like Sheeran, Peters developed her live playing by busking and at open-mic nights.
New single Volcano is one of Peters’ favourites. She says: “It’s a really important song as it speaks about female resentment and the anger we sometimes have to push down. It’s about how some things can feel so huge to you and so insignificant to somebody else. It has a Dolly Parton feel to it. I love it.”
Like Sheeran, Peters developed her live playing by busking and at open-mic nights.
She says: “I’ve had loads of luck, but I’ve also worked really hard. I spent years busking, I had a YouTube channel and was playing open-mic nights, doing auditions and going to LA to write. So, I’ve put a lot of hard work into it.”
Incredibly, Volcano is her 22nd single — and shows what a grafter she is. “There’s definitely emphasis on output,” she says with a smile. “Everything moves so fast. It’s important to keep up and the more you can give people, the better. I write a lot, I enjoy it and have benefited from it. It’s a Wild West of a time making music.”
Peters is proud of her close connection to her fans. In lockdown, she started a book club for fans that continues though restrictions have eased.
She says: “I love reading and I’m really grateful I have my fans, so any chance to connect with them is great — whether that’s with the book club or through social media.
“Being a good role model is important to me. I want to show anything is attainable. It’s easy to look at other people’s lives and think, ‘That can never be me’. I’m like, ‘No, it can be you’. I want young women to know they can achieve anything.”
And five years from now?
“I’d love to be touring and making albums and playing them around the world. There’s a million people I want to work with. Sara Bareilles is amazing.
“I’ve had so many dreams come true and amazing things happen, if I think about it too much it can be overwhelming.
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“So I’m just taking everything in my stride with my feet on the ground.”
- You Signed Up For This is out now.
MAISIE PETERS
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You Signed Up For This
★★★★☆
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