Ahead of the release of her debut EP Please, we spoke to Samantha Harvey about her exciting journey of going from being a full-time cleaner to signing with Virgin EMI. July 2017 saw Samantha releasing debut single Forgive Forget, with it’s follow up Please released in February.
Hi Samantha, we’ve heard some rumours about your debut EP being in the works. Can you tell us any more about this?
Yes, you heard right! My debut EP is coming this Friday, I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited & nervous at the same time in my life. This is what my followers have been asking for so long and the day is finally approaching. As exciting as it is, it is daunting too but I’m pretty confident that everyone will love the songs. There is a great mixture of upbeat and ballads, so there will be something new for people to listen to as well as what they’re used to from watching my YouTube and Facebook covers.
What can fans expect from your EP? Will it follow the upbeat yet lyrically powerful sound of Forgive Forget?
Yes, I would say there are a few tracks on the EP which I believe are similar to Forgive Forget. I’ve aimed for all of my songs to have emotional lyrics that people can connect to and belt out!
We love seeing your covers on YouTube but which artist would you love to duet with and do a cover of one of their songs?
I’d love to do a duet with Ed Sheeran, and the song I’d love to duet with him would be Tenerife Sea. I think that is such a beautiful song.
Personally, for you which is your favourite cover you’ve done to date and why?
I think Can’t Help Falling In Love is my ultimate favourite, I never get bored of singing it and it is such a beautiful lovely song, people went crazy when I covered that one. I remember hearing a creepy version of it in a horror film and my boyfriend at the time saying you should cover that, so I did and good job I did as it went super viral and went on to be sung/played at so many peoples weddings!
Your career story so far is a really special one going from a full-time cleaner to throwing that in and focussing solely on music. What encouraged you to take this leap?
I was with my management for around 4 months, and when I first signed to them they told me that the aim would be for me to give up my cleaning around Christmas 2016, which I couldn’t believe. Thankfully with hard work that was possible and I was able to do covers full time. Now I can’t even imagine how I had the time to do covers, work full time, and do meetings in London, I think I must have been superwoman a year or so ago haha!!!
Forgive Forget was released independently, a decision which saw you reach 48 in the UK Singles Chart. How did it feel to achieve this without label backing?
This was more than I ever imagined! When I saw I was at number 3 in the Singles chart on iTunes I was overwhelmed, the support from everyone was absolutely incredible. It was so nerve-wracking releasing independently and being unsure of what the outcome may be, but for my first release it was something that I will never forget and it lead to me getting the best possible deal with an amazing record label!!
How has your life changed since signing to Virgin EMI?
My life has changed dramatically with being in London a lot for filming, meetings, song-writing and visits to my label, Capitol Records, in LA. Also recording a lot of my songs from my EP over there too which is majorly exciting, working with a few of the best songwriters out there!! I feel very, very lucky.
You’ve been writing with legendary Diane Warren; can you tell us more about this experience?
I didn’t know what to expect when I met Diane. She’s such a hugely successful writer who has written with some of the biggest artists that we know worldwide, so for her to want to work with me was something I could not get my head around. When we walked into her building, which is HUGE, it was a moment for me where I thought WOW my life really is changing! The record studios that she owns are ones that you would see in major music videos and films, and once I heard some of the material that she wanted to get me singing and writing on, it’s just another level… wait until you hear it haha!! I got on really well with Diane, she asked me to go back to her studios whenever I had a day off to see if we could get more songs done! She made me feel very at home in LA, which is lovely because it can feel lonely sometimes when you’re in a place that you don’t know many people.
During your life journey so far which piece of advice that you’ve picked up has had the most impact/you’d like other aspiring stars to know?
Keep visualising what you want to happen in your future, try and listen to YouTube Videos about the Law of Attraction, and how changing your mind-set can change your whole life, as it has mine. I continue to visualise every single night, sometimes it has happened where I visualise something before I go to sleep, I wake up the next day and that opportunity has come to me, I am such a preacher about it and think everyone should try and get into it – positive thinking is the way forward.
What does 2018 hold for you?
I’m hoping after a successful EP release, there will be live shows, so I can meet and thank the people in person that are helping me on my way up, me supporting some big artists, releasing more material, and maybe a few collaborations with big DJs/producers. I’m hoping that in Jan 2019 I can sit down, look back at 2018 and say WOW that was the best year of my life so far, as I said that this January about 2017! :)
You can pre-order Samantha Harvey’s Please EP from here ahead of its release on Friday 9th March.