Ebony Day

Ebony Day

Ebony Day defied the odds last week when she swiped the MTV Brand New 2013 prize out from under the nose of highly tipped stars last Friday.

That these include an artist in the shape of Tom Odell who already has a BRIT Award in his pocket, the group that topped the BBC’s Sound Of 2013 chart in the form of Haim and Gabrielle Aplin, who already has a number one single to her name makes the achievement even bigger.

We spoke to the unsigned Guildford girl who’s shot to fame on YouTube with nearly eighteen million views on her channel about the win, strawberry jelly and Justin Bieber.

 

So, you’ve probably been asked 18, 748 times, but what’s it like to have won the MTV Brand New 2013 prize?

It feels amazing. I always hoped it might happen, but I never actually thought it would come true. It’s cool that it’s a fan award and how supportive they’ve been. It really feels like their award, they’re the ones who won it.

You and Gabrielle Aplin were swapping places all the way until the finale, what was it like seeing you fighting with a singer who’s already got a number one?

We’ve spoken a couple times and we’re friends so either way we were happy with who won. It was just nice that we’re both near the top and we’re both proud of what each of us have accomplished.

So, how did you find out that you’d won?

I found out in the middle of a lecture, then my manager came and told me to leave the class. So, we went outside and had a talk about it and then she told me I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone, so I just ended up going back in and sitting there very quietly (laughs).

We heard you celebrated in the most rock and roll way ever. With strawberry jelly.

That’s true. It’s my favourite thing, I love strawberry jelly and I don’t drink. It makes me go really hyper and when everyone else was celebrating drinking champagne, I was just sat there with my bowl of jelly (laughs).

Conor Maynard won the prize last year off the back of YouTube. Do you think this shows how powerful an online fanbase is now?

Yeah, I think it just goes to show how things are changing and how it is the fans and the audience that chooses the artist now rather than how the labels used to pick who was in the charts. Now it’s more like the fans choose a singer, see how they grow and they feel this connection to them. It just shows how things are changing I think.

So what makes you choose what songs you cover?

I look at the charts and what’s coming out and look for songs I really like. I cover songs from artists whose music I really listen too, because I don’t want to cover songs I don’t like because they won’t be as good. So, I tend to stick to the songs I really like.

What artists do you look up to and aspire to be up there with?

I look up to Justin Bieber loads. I always say this in interviews and people laugh at me, but I look up to him because I saw his videos when he first started coming out. From there, I’ve just followed his journey and how he’s gone from just living in this little town to being known worldwide is amazing to me. I think that’s something I’d want to replicate with my career.

You also write your own songs. What gives you inspiration?

The easiest way for me to write songs is to watch a movie. If I like it, then I’ll just copy the storyline because I know people can relate to it because, well, there’s a film about it (laughs). I mainly though look at what’s happened in the film, think how I’d feel in that situation and write that way.

Is it true that you only started writing because you were confined to your room because of allergies?

That is kind of true, but I wasn’t confined to my room! I keep seeing this in papers and it’s making me laugh because it makes me sound like I was in jail. Basically, I was just in school and one day I caught it. Wait you can’t catch allergies! Anyway I just got really sick from the food there.

So, when that happened, we had no idea what was wrong with me, so I just kept on getting sick, so I had a lot of time off school. I was also really tired, I wasn’t getting enough nutrients and that. So, I wasn’t really locked in my room, I was just at home with not a lot of energy.

You’re still unsigned, how many have been beating your doors down trying to get hold of you now?

There have been a couple of labels, but nothing’s finalised yet. We’re just in meetings and trying to find the right thing to do. I don’t want to rush into anything because it’s been three years of hard work, so I don’t want to jump in and make the wrong decision.

Are you looking to getting in a studio anytime soon though?

Yeah, I’ve definitely been doing some recording and some writing sessions. That’s what February for me is, it’s booked up with just writing and recording and trying to find the right songs for a single or an EP so I can release that and show off what my original music is instead of just my covers.

Apart from that, what’s the plan for 2013?

2013 is going to be quite busy! I’m trying to do the EP, maybe a single launch and then hopefully a little UK tour and try and meet as many fans as I can. I’ll do some festivals over summer and just try and get out there as much as I can.

 

You can find Ebony Day’s music at YouTube on her channel EbonyDay1, or follow her on Twitter at @ebonyday1.

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