Gifty Louise – best known for featuring on the 2016 series of ‘The X Factor,’ whereby she was mentored by Simon Cowell – is set to make her triumphant return to the music scene, with the release of her debut EP, ‘Have It All,’ set for release later this month.
The EP is set to capture Gifty Louise’s journey thus far, which she has described as an ’emotional rollercoaster,’ with ‘highs and lows.’ This EP will feature four original tracks written by the talented singer and song-writer.
‘Have It All’ will no doubt give Gifty Louise the opportunity to showcase her phenomenal vocals, also highlighting her music abilities and creativity as a music artist. With her music, Gifty Louise is set to take listeners on a nostalgic journey, with personal tracks about her experiences, particularly over the past two years.
CelebMix had the opportunity to exclusively speak with Gifty Louise about her new music, her time on ‘The X Factor’ and more. Keep reading to check out our exclusive interview!
You have your own original music coming out later this month. Are you looking forward to getting it released?
“I am absolutely looking forward to it! I feel like it’s been such a long time coming. I am so, so, so excited for people to hear and enjoy what I’ve been working on.”
Ahhh so my first ever EP ??? Gifty Louise – HAVE IT ALL (EP) available on ITunes, Spotify, Shazam, amazon and basically every music platform ?? pic.twitter.com/alYcRAlJZL
— GL (@loulou199611) November 1, 2018
What can we expect from your new music? Will there be a specific sound?
“I try to go for the commercial pop genre, but then I add in a little bit of an Afro twist to it and bring a bit of my background into it and make it more me.”
Is there ever a message that you want to be conveyed through the music that you will be releasing?
“I want people to just get to know me a little bit. I’m such a happy person, care-free, living life. I want people to get a proper vibe from listening to the EP. I want people to listen to it and feel the same emotions that I was feeling when I was making it.”
When writing your music, do you draw on past experiences and use them in your song-writing? Do you feel that it helps to give your song-writing an added bonus?
“Oh, absolutely! There’s a song on there called ‘Jmee’ and before writing it, I was thinking ‘oh okay, what do I want to write about?’ Then I remembered Adele! Adele has made music about people, including ex-boyfriends, who have hurt her and she has made millions from it! I thought ‘do you know what? I’m going to take a leaf out of her book and I’m just going to write about all the blokes who have hurt me in my life.”
When did you realise that music was something you wanted to pursue?
“I believe it all kind of started in Church really. I was always in the Choir in Church, singing in Church. I thought ‘this could actually be such a good thing if I was to pursue this’ and then I went on ‘The X Factor.”’
With regard to your musical influences, who would they be?
“I’m a big fan of Lauryn Hill. I love a bit of Beyoncé – I wouldn’t say I love all her album, but I love certain parts of what she’s done in her career. I’m a big fan of Amy Winehouse as well. I love different.”
Do you feel that those musical influences have had a bearing on the music you are set to release?
“I would say it’s kind of had a little bit of an influence in what I am bringing out. I kind of listened to their past albums and thought ‘okay, this is nice, I like this – how can I implement this into what I’m doing? How can I bring a little bit of that vibe into this?’ That’s exactly what I did – a little bit of this, a little bit of that.”
Going back to your time on ‘The X Factor,’ what was your stand-out memory from your time on the show?
“The Girls’ Category got taken to watch ‘Motown’ in theatres. We got all dressed and glammed up and then we went to the theatres to watch ‘Motown’ and I honestly loved every single minute of that. I loved, loved, loved ‘Motown.'”
During your time on the show, you were mentored by Simon Cowell. What was he like as a Mentor?
“I feel like what people see on TV of him being this mean person….he’s such a sweetheart! He is one of the loveliest people I have ever met. I feel like it had a lot to do with his son as well. I feel like his son calmed him down a little bit. He is just an all-round nice person now – well, he was lovely to me!”
Are you still in contact with any of the contestants from your series?
“I’m very close with Jordan, who was in 5 After Midnight, Emily, Relley C and Freddie.”
Aside from the upcoming release of your new music, do you have any plans music-wise for 2019?
“Wow! I’ve never actually thought of this. This is the first time I’m actually thinking about this question. I don’t know, I’m kind of just going with the flow. I guess more performances. I might end up doing my first headline show next year. I’ve just thought ‘let’s release some music and see what happens and then go from there’ – I haven’t really thought about it.”
Finally, do you have a message for your supporters?
“Thank you so much for the support from me being on the show in 2016 until now. The people who have supported me have been very patient in waiting on me to release music – I know it’s been two years! For me, this journey hasn’t been easy at all – it has been like an emotional rollercoaster, there have been highs and lows, happy and sad moments – and even up until today, I still get people messaging me saying ‘don’t worry, we’re still waiting for your music, just hurry up! When is it coming out?’ I got so tired of saying ‘it’s coming’ and now I can finally say ‘YES, IT’S OUT! Thank you so much for the consistency of the support I have received – it’s been amazing. I feel like it’s been one of the key parts of me wanting to do this more, the fact that I have people out there who want to see me win.”
Gifty Louise’s debut EP ‘Have It All’ will be released on 24 November 2018.
The EP can be pre-ordered from iTunes by clicking here and upon its release, will be available to purchase and stream through other responsible music purchasing outlets.
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