We caught up with the lovely, Janet, Devlin, to talk about her new EP ‘Little Lights’, her influences, and her success since the X-Factor…
1.) Hi Janet! How are things?
Everything’s great thank you! I’m currently on tour so life’s pretty hectic aha!
2.) How has life been since The X-Factor?
Life’s been very kind to me actually! I’ve managed to keep busy, make a lot of music and tour! It’s been a pretty manic life but in the best way possible because I get to do what I love everyday!
3.) Who/what inspired you to sing?
My mother and my grandmother actually. My grandmother was the one who made me go and get singing lessons when I was 13. My mother made a lot of sacrifices so that I could study music and she’s just always been my hero.
4.) How would you say ‘Little Lights’ differs from your previous work?
Well for the first time ever I’ve used real strings. I managed to get the amazing Sally Herbert to arrange the songs for me so I got a string quartet in to play. I like to think that I’m always evolving as an artist so I wanted to try and push myself by writing to seasonal brief. But I also didn’t want it to be a stereotypical festive record so I tried to get as many moods in the EP as possible.
5.) What would you say is your biggest achievement so far?
My biggest achievement isn’t what you’d expect really. My biggest achievement for me has been to continue writing and recording my own music. Being an independent artist is hard, so the fact that I’ve been able to keep a roof over my head and do this everyday has been the most amazing feeling ever.
6.) Your ‘My Opium’ tour has just kicked off! What are you most looking forward to about touring?
I’m looking forward to meeting people! It’s such a great feeling to finally meet the people behind the usernames online. I get to thank them for all of their support through the years and get to know them better! Also I’m looking forward to playing some new material for everyone!
7.) What do you think makes someone ‘successful’ in the music industry?
I think it’s personal to every artist. For me it’s not about money or fame. For me it’s about making the music you want to make and releasing the music you want to release!
8.) Do you have any plans for when your tour has ended?
When the tour ends I’ll be back home for the holidays! So I’ll be catching up on some well earned sleep! Also I want to write as much as I possibly can over the holidays to prepare for the album next year.
The new EP is available everywhere now, including through Pledge Music when it can include a whole range of festive goodies, exclusive offers and experiences, see here.
