Mabel has told Music Week that the success of her gold-selling single Finders Keepers was “one of the most magical moments” of her life.
Starring on the cover of our new music special issue alongside Pale Waves singer Heather Baron-Gracie and Catherine McGrath, the Polydor-signed singer has spoken to Music Week about her career so far and her hopes for 2018.
“I’ve had my first big record that has really reached the mainstream [Finders Keepers, 564,518 sales, OCC]. It’s my first Top 10 and it’s very exciting,” Mabel said. “But the most exciting thing, the thing that makes me the happiest, is what it means for the future. I feel like now people are getting introduced to me, even though I think I’ve been around for [a long] time."
Expanding on her journey to Polydor, where she signed around three years ago, the singer continued: “I’ve been one to watch for a while! [Laughs] I wasn't expecting for things to take off the way they have. I put a song on SoundCloud [Know Me Better] and Annie Mac made it Hottest Record, and then I signed a deal with Universal. I was quite young, I had to spend a lot of time experimenting and figuring out what I wanted to make.
“I had moments, difficult ones, where I was making music I wasn’t sure about. And then you have moments like Finders Keepers, which is probably one of the most magical moments of my life.”
The singer namechecked Kojo Funds alongside Jorja Smith and Not3s as evidence of the strength of new British music. “It’s a really positive time. Everyone’s looking over here again, we’re really making some noise,” she said.
Mabel, who appears on Not3s’ latest track My Lover (145,478 sales, OCC), is managed by Radha Medar of Metallic Inc, and described their meeting as “a really big turning point”.
“She really saw the artist I wanted to be,” Mabel said. “And my team is like family. I’m always very honest and open about my goals; I want to tour the world, I want to sell loads of records, I want to be successful on my own terms. The massive lesson I’ve learned is handing over that trust and that if you don't work hard, then your talent means fuck all. I know what I want, and so far people have responded to just me being me.”
Read the full interview in the latest issue of Music Week, or subscribers can find it in full online here.
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