We don’t throw around the term Belwood favourite lightly, and rising star Natalie Shay more than deserves the title. This indie pop singer/songwriter released two brilliant singles last year, and her 2019 is already off to a flying start with her brand new single ‘Yesterday’. Proving a real on-to-watch, we though it was high time we have a chat with her for our first interview of the year.

Thanks for your time! You’ve just released your new single ‘Yesterday’, are you happy with how it turned out and with the reception it’s had?
I am more than happy. I never expected any reaction like the one it received. I was so happy with the new music Friday placements and it’s about to hit 60k streams!

It’s a song about a relationship falling apart, but despite that it’s such a fun and upbeat track. How did you go about turning something negative into something so positive?
I suppose I wrote it at the point where I was like ‘ I can do better than this and i deserve to feel good about myself’ so I suppose that is what inspired the mood of the track. Writing this song worked as complete closure for me on that relationship.

Loving the music video, getting definite Pride and Prejudice vibes from the house and the gardens. Where was it shot and what was it like filming it?
Yay thanks! So glad you like it. It was shot at Waterperry gardens in Oxfordshire. Filming it was quite stress as we shot it in only the daylight hours of one single day. So we had to be very ‘on it’ in order to fit all the shots in and get the best takes in the times we had. I loved it though the videos never turn out how I expect them to look but I’m always pleasantly surprised. You paint an idea in your head of how it will look based on what we are filming but it never looks that way haha.

You have an indie anthem in ‘This Feeling’ and a pop hit in ‘Perfume’. Would you say you’re the kind of songwriter that likes to keep changing up your style?
Yes and no. I think stripped back all my songs are very similar, the style variation comes in the production. I enjoy playing around with production styles so that all my songs have their own unique stamp and identity.

You’ve got your first headline show coming up soon, that must be pretty exciting! Do you have any more lined up?
This is the only one lined up at the moment and I’m hoping it will lead to new things. I’m super excited to see how the day turns out.

Last year was a big year for you. Not only did your release some great songs, you were also on the UK jury for Eurovision. How did that opportunity come about and what was the experience like?
It was honestly so random. I just got the call one day asking if I wanted to be involved and of course I said yes. It was such a fun experience I enjoyed every second of it. It was quite incredible watching the Eurovision Song Contest on tv but for the first time in my life knowing I’d actually made a huge impact on that final result.

What big goal are you working towards in 2019?
Just to grow my team and my music library. I want to write and record more music and work with new people to see what we can create.

And finally I have to ask… where did your love of yellow come from, and why have you made it your signature colour?
Well I used yellow and the theme colour for my single ‘This Feeling’ so it fitted with the artwork and the rebranding for the single. However I really liked it and it stands out so I’ve stuck with it and I love it!

Huge thanks to Natalie. Her new single ‘Yesterday’ is out now.