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W
hen OK! arrives at
The Soho Hotel to
meet Freya Ridings,
we’re barely in our
seat before the former BRIT
School student is offering to
pour us a glass of water. And her
thoughtfulness after our journey
across sunny London sums up the
star’s winning attitude. Eloquent,
funny and not afraid to stand up
for herself, it’s no surprise that the
25 year old is fast becoming one
of the hottest singer-songwriters
around. And as the daughter
of actor Richard Ridings – the
voice of Peppa Pig’s Daddy Pig –
performing is in Freya’s blood!
Her single Lost Without You
shot into the charts last summer
after it was featured on Love
Island, and last month she played
on Glastonbury’s John Peel stage.
Then there’s her self-titled debut
album, out this week.
Here, Freya tells OK! how she’s
baffled by the lack of female song
writers and why being dyslexic is
a superpower...Lost Without You was the most
Shazammed song on Love
Island 2018. Are you watching
this year?
Yes! I love Maura [Higgins].
She’s a girl’s girl. As for last
year, I was so grateful for the
reaction to Lost Without You.
Things really started to pick up
overnight. I was playing open
mic nights for years, and it’s just
crazy that one moment like that
can change things so much. I’m
pinching myself!You were the first female artist
to make the top ten with an
entirely self-written song since
Kate Bush re-charted in 2012.
How does that feel?
There’s a huge part of me
that’s so proud, but then another
part of me that’s baffled as to
why that’s true. You come under
a lot of pressure as a woman
in the music industry to write
with men double your age.
I work with so many incredible
women – Lena Headey [GameOf Thrones actress] directed my
music video. Strong women are
everything to me. I want to show
more girls it’s possible to write
your own songs.Did your parents give you any
industry advice?
I was brought up as a ‘writer’ and
not a ‘girl’. My mum steered me
away from Disney princess films.
She didn’t want the first stories I
saw to be about someone saving
themselves by the way they look,
instead of problem solving and
creativity. It’s true you can have a
castle but you can buy it yourself!Have you had any uncomfortable
work situations?
The first producer I ever
collaborated with when I was 16
was the worst experience. I said
something about the production
and he literally told me to ‘f***
off’. I didn’t know what was
normal [in this industry] but I
hadn’t been raised to accept this.
I thought, what would Beyoncé
do? I stood up and said: ‘Thank
you for your time but I will not be
working with you any more,’ and
I left. He sent this email like:
‘You’ll never do anything in themusic industry.’ You are in a
vulnerable position as a young
girl in a studio on your own with
a man, and you just need to go in
with the idea that you deserve to
be treated as an equal.There are some heartbreaking
songs on the album. Have you
ever had your heart broken?
So many times. And at school,
being a redhead and tall – I’m
5ft 10in – does isolate you. I didn’t
have friends to talk to but I love
people so it was like heartbreak
on a daily basis. Whatever kind
of heartbreak I’ve been through,
the piano is where I turn. I was
watching Love Island thinking,
Amy [Hart] needs a piano! Writing
from personal experience is the
only way I’ve ever been able to
write because I can’t read music!Does being dyslexic affect your
approach to song writing?
It did at the beginning. Even now
I don’t see myself as a writer as I
don’t hold a pen. It’s a superpower
but no one tells you. It allows you
to think slightly differently, which is
never a bad thing.
FREYA’S DEBUT ALBUM ‘FREYA RIDINGS’ IS
RELEASED ON JULY 19.OK!Above: ‘Strong women
are everything to me,’
says Freya, who played
at The Roundhouse
earlier this year (left)h OKK!i L Wih Y hSINGER FREYARIDINGS TELLSOK!’S
KATIELANGFORD-FOSTERABOUT
MUSIC‘LOVEISLAND’AND
REJECTINGDISNEYPRINCESSES
‘DYSLEXIAISA
SUPERPOWER
BUTNOONE
TELLSYOU’
GIRLPOWER