Essex based, Katy for Kings is an emerging British singer/songwriter. She has started to build her following on TikTok, where many of her covers of Billie Eilish and Madison Beer has picked up a considerable amount of views. 

Katy began her music journey at 14 years old when she first picked up a guitar and began to write and record her own songs. She first made an appearance on Youtuber Emily Canham’s channel, in the song writing challenge back in 2019.

We got to interview Katy for Kings about her music journey and her new single ‘Impersonator’.  

Hi Katy, thanks for talking to me today, how are you? 

Hi! Thanks so much for having me, I feel really great today. The sun is shining and I have the entire day to play the Hannah Montana movie soundtrack on repeat so life is good. 

Describe yourself and sound in 3 words? 

Loud but subtle? For instance the way I dress is quite loud sometimes, but I feel like I can be quite shy and hide behind it. Same with my music really, the honesty and the authenticity is all there but I like to disguise it sometimes with metaphors and imagery. 

Is singing something you always wanted to pursue and who were your influences growing up? 

Always, but I definitely had my moments of insecurity, still to this day I can still hear so much room for improvement with my technique etc but I don't think I could stop myself singing if I tried. I'm just lucky that I have a group of people who want to listen right now and come on this journey with me. 

Your new single ‘Impersonator’ released after your single ‘City’, what are the differences between this single and ‘City’? 

Thats a good question! I'm not entirely sure, I guess impersonator is more about self discovery when you really break it down and City is for the most part just a projection of emotions. The writing processes were pretty similar but City was drawn directly from an experience so it was easier to construct with imagery as I was describing a setting that I had already lived in. The imagery from impersonator such as the messages and pictures line was just a creative choice to help the story come together a little more. 

Do you find it easier to write songs from a personal point of view, or do you find it harder to go back to that time and write about it?  

It depends because the way I write has changed quite a lot over the past year, I've started writing about things just to get them out of my system. I think it is harder to go back and revisit things sometimes because you're bringing old emotions that you've probably been repressing but I think Taylor Swift sums it up really well when she says "If you never bleed you're never gonna grow."

'Impersonator’ was written from the perspective of someone slowly realising that they aren’t welcome in their own relationship anymore, and that all along the other party was trying to change them anyway.”, what message do you want listeners to perceive from this new single? 

I honestly just want people to take what they need from it. I know that the song was written coming from a good place and I hope others can see that too. It's quite selfish, I'll hold my hands up there. A lot of my songs are about me and the way I feel in a situation.

What was the recording/writing process like and what was your favourite out of the two? 

The process is always different but I love both equally, the writing process can be more challenging for sure because thats when i'm most in control and thats when the perfectionist in my really comes out to play. I'm better at letting other people take the reigns when it comes to recording but writing is my baby. 

How do you think the music industry has changed since you first began to write music? 

I started when I was 14 so its been a while. Social media really took off whilst I was starting out, now I think about it I probably should've jumped on it quicker. Music videos are making a comeback and playlisting is so influential. I'm slowly learning how to ride the waves as they come now and its proving to be a lot of fun!

What is next for you? 

I wish I knew! Lots of new releases for sure, hopefully a handful more music videos and gigs in the pipeline. I miss gigging so much. I haven't been able to gig any of the music since I released it and I'm really looking forward to finally being able to gauge a human reaction to it.