I'm turning into a one-woman industry': Why there's no stopping Pixie Lott
By Stuart Husband
Last updated at 1:33 AM on 30th October 2011
Fresh from unveiling her fourth fashion collection, pop sensation Pixie Lott has also been making a film, modelling – and persuading Stevie Wonder to play on her new album. Here the 20-year-old multitasker explains her work ethic to Stuart Husband
'I'm glad I didn't take the X Factor route. I wanted to have my own voice and do things my way,' says Pixie
Bit of a late night last night,’ admits Pixie Lott, arriving at the South London house where our photo shoot is about to commence. However, apart from a slight huskiness of voice (which adds to her winningly dirty laugh), Pixie looks as fresh faced and energised as the Bromley-born, Essex-raised teenager who burst on to the scene a couple of years ago with her triple-platinum debut album Turn It Up.
Victoria Lott’s elfin charms (her mother Bev, housewife and sometime chaperone to her daughter, apparently nicknamed her Pixie because she was such a tiny baby; her father Steve is a stockbroker) and her bright, polished pop songs have gone on to win her two MTV awards, three Brit nominations, a million Facebook friends, and half a million YouTube followers. She’s done a bit of acting (in a children’s film called Fred: The Movie, a spin-off of the Nickelodeon series, where she plays the lead character’s love interest), she designs a fashion range for Lipsy and she’s signed a contract with Select – the same modelling agency that represents her boyfriend Oliver Cheshire. Now she’s returning to her day job with her second album Young Foolish Happy. Pixie gets a plate of fruit and a cup of tea and lowers herself on to a divan to discuss style, success, significant others and sleep patterns.
I called the new album Young Foolish Happy because it’s a kind of farewell to my youth.
I know that sounds a bit ridiculous as I’m only 20, but I’m definitely not the same person I was when
I made my first album, and I think the music reflects that. It’s deeper, more soulful – the kind of music I grew up listening to (Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston are my heroes) and the kind of music I like singing. It stretches my voice more than the pop tracks do, and I get to plumb some emotional depths. Sometimes in pop your voice can get lost. I wanted to clear some space and let my voice show what it could do. I’ve grown up a bit, I’ve had some experiences, I’ve matured – and I think my voice has matured with me.
All-rounder Pixie makes time to be with her boyfriend Oliver Cheshire, centre, and mum Bev
I’ve got some grade-A guest stars on this album. Stevie Wonder plays harmonica on one track and John Legend plays piano and sings on another. It was just luck that it all happened; we were recording in Los Angeles, and one of the guys said he had a friend coming over – he wouldn’t say who it was. I was really overwhelmed when Stevie Wonder, my all-time favourite musician, walked through the door. The only other time I felt like that was when I briefly shook Mariah Carey’s hand. Stevie’s just lovely; we went out for dinner and I met his family, and he agreed to play on the track. I met John Legend through a songwriter friend who thought we should work together and sent him one of my ballads. I went to meet him at his house in LA and we got on really well. Our schedules were crazy, but we found this one day when we were both in New York at the same time, so I got straight off a plane and went to a studio and we got the song done there and then. I’ve also just sung with Lionel Richie for an upcoming duets album of his. That only leaves Mariah on my dream collaborators list. She’s always been the one for me.
I knew I wanted to be a singer from the age of five. I’ve been lucky to be so single-minded – some of my friends still don’t know what they want to do, and they’re finding it hard. There are home videos of me singing and taking centre stage at family parties when I’m about three.
I’d listen to my mum’s record collection – she had all the big singers, including Celine and Whitney – and get inspired, listening to them over and over and copying them. I had a passion for it. I’d also watch TV programmes on Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, celebrity biography-type shows on their rise to fame, and see how they started so young. I’d think, if they can do it, why can’t I? I’d been going to the Italia Conti Academy stage school since I was five, but I knew I didn’t want to do musical theatre; I just wanted to sing. So I’d search the internet and the papers for auditions. I answered a ‘looking for the next pop diva’ ad in The Stage newspaper, but I had to lie about my age – I was 14 and they wanted girls from 16 to 21. I got a record deal a year later, but I’m still working on the diva bit; it doesn’t come naturally to me at all. I’d much rather get on with everyone.
I don’t think I’d be able to do any of this without my mum. She’s the one who took me to auditions and ballet classes, and my dad took me to studios at weekends to record the songs I’d been writing. We all like music in my family, but I’m the only one who’s made it my life. My sister’s an insurance broker, and my brother does something in the City – I’m not quite sure what! I’m the youngest, but there’s only three years between us and we’re all ambitious in our own ways.
I’m glad I didn’t take the X Factor route to fame. I wanted to work my own way up. Sure, The X Factor is a great platform – you’ve instantly got attention from viewers and the media – but I wanted to have my own voice and do things my way. I think that’s why my music appeals to all kinds of audiences, from teens to Radio 2 listeners and even musos. My love for all kinds of music – from retro-soul to my dad’s Duran Duran and Squeeze albums to the divas such as Mariah – comes through in my own recordings.
I’m not afraid of hard work. I like it! It’s the other bit – the not working – I find more problematic. If I’m not busy, I just get antsy. I’ve been this way since I was a child. Sitting still is like torture for me.
I still have a tight set of friends who I’ve known since I was at school. We like going out to the cinema, to restaurants and dancing. There was no kind of bump we had to get over when I became famous, because I haven’t actually changed. I’m still the same kind of workaholic music obsessive
I always was. The hardest thing I’ve had to adjust to is not seeing them as much as I used to. We were all inseparable, but now they’ll ask me to go to their birthday party and I won’t be able to because I’m in Glasgow or Paris or somewhere. That’s the biggest sacrifice you make.
I’ve got a regular bunch of paparazzi following me. They’re ruthless – they try to shove their cameras in my face. There are some really young ones – maybe there are pap schools, like stage schools. They’ve ruined nights out with friends, when we haven’t wanted them following us to clubs and bars but we’ve not been able to shake them off. It’s a bit boring that it’s always in the back of your mind.
I’m sensible and level-headed. I’ve been offered drugs, though probably no more so for being in this business than any other young person growing up today, but I’ve got strong views on looking after myself and I’m not easily led. You won’t see a picture of me rolling around in a gutter, but I sometimes have a photo taken when I’m leaving a club looking tired, and there’ll be headlines saying ‘she’s out of control’. You can’t prepare yourself for those things; you just have to shrug them off.
I’m turning into a one-woman industry. I’ve got a modelling contract with Select, I’m looking at doing more acting and I’m continuing to design fashion ranges for Lipsy – autumn/winter is our fourth collection. These are opportunities that have just come along. Music will always be my main focus, but I’ve always loved fashion, so I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to get directly involved in designing. It’s a nice mixture of vintage-inspired evening dresses and casual daywear – all the things I’m into myself. I like mixing high street and designer, and there are so many great vintage shops where I live in East London, so I’m always finding great one-offs. With Select, it’s a chance to get more heavily involved in the fashion side of things. I love the shows; they’re so much fun. I played for Karl Lagerfeld at a Fendi show and that was great. We’ll see where it goes.
I met my boyfriend Oliver at a London Fashion Week party. He’s interested in acting, but he also loves photography – he’s got a good creative head. He’s also a great cook, which is brilliant for me because I’m hopeless in the kitchen. My mum doesn’t really like cooking, so I had no one to learn from. It’s also nice to have someone to share your stories and experiences with.
I’ve perfected the art of the power-nap. I can fall asleep anywhere – cars, planes, trains – and wake refreshed after 20 minutes. It helps keep my energy levels high. I’ve been working to get where I am for so long, I want to make sure I miss as little of it as possible now I’ve arrived.
Pixie’s new album Young Foolish Happy will be released on 7 November by Mercury
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