Singer-songwriter BETSY is a success story for aspiring musicians who are achieving through hard-work and not by 'who you know', and she's not taking her position for granted.
After pouring her heart and soul into her self-titled stellar debut, she's now readying for her biggest headline UK tour to date.
A few years back her passion for music outweighed what some might consider a dream job - designing for Balenciaga - but despite having no contacts in the music industry she was determined to become an artist, so she left Paris and headed back home to Wales.
BETSY says: "For me music has always been my number one love. Ever since I can remember I have been obsessed with it.
"Being from where I’m from in Wales - a goose farm in the middle of nowhere - getting into the music industry seemed almost impossible but I thought if I went to London to study this would help.
"Though I always loved fashion, it was my fall back plan. It was when I had a job in Balenciaga in Paris I decided enough was enough and I didn't want to regret not trying to do music. So that’s what made me resign and come back."
She returned to Wales to make music in a caravan in her brother's back garden, far from the glamorous lifestyle you'd expect for a popstar.
The debut took three years to create, with BETSY finding inspiration from an unlikely musical background combination of campfire sing-alongs, covering Rage Against the Machine and her parents' vintage record collection.
She says: "My parents had a very varied record collection which I loved, and my earliest memories are of my father and uncle playing guitars and singing round a campfire."
On the album process she adds: "For me it's quite natural. I don’t come up with titles or ideas beforehand. It all happens in the room next to the piano and laptop.
"Normally I don't even know what I’m going to write about but I sit down and a melody or lyric will come out and then I'll realise I have something to get off my chest and then it writes itself.
"And then other parts paint the final picture."
After releasing tracks including 'Fair', she signed with major label Warner Bros. but she's still referencing her humble origins, with the caravan becoming a recurring theme on the front covers of her singles and album.
After finally releasing her debut in September, she says: "It's surreal! It’s just so bizarre that it's complete. I'm really proud of it. But it's so odd not to be working on it. It's been my baby."
The record features BETSY's powerhouse vocals and glossy pop hooks, with ambitious radio ready hits 'Little White Lies' and 'Lost & Found', easily bettering any pop number one of 2017.
The confident pop album received positive reviews from critics, but for the singer it was the listeners responses that resonated with her.
She says: "Of course I'm thrilled to have some amazing professional reactions to it.
"But I think the best bit is all the amazing responses from fans. It's so amazing that my songs and stories are now out there having a life of their own and becoming part of other people’s lives."
Her accompanying UK tour kicks off in Swansea tonight (November 23) before heading across the country and finishing up at London's Scala on November 30.
It will mark her biggest headline tour to date with a triumphant final show in London, and she tells us her fans can expect plenty of 'fun' on the tour.
She adds: "I have an amazing all-girl band with live strings. My gigs always seem to turn into a bit of a party. My fans just seem to be people who are up for a good dance."
However she's got plenty more musical achievements in her sights once this tour is finished up.
BETSY tells us: " I want it all! I'm hoping to perform as much as possible and get out there in the world."
But there's one venue in particular she's looking to headline soon, adding: "And obviously the Royal Albert Hall would be nice."
Tickets for BETSY's UK tour including London Scala date on Thursday November 30 are available from seetickets.com.
The London date is priced at £13.75.
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