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Eliza Doolittle’s rise to stardom has been nothing short of meteoric since the launch of her self-titled debut LP in 2010. The record’s blend of sunny pop sensibilities and catchy hooks helped propel it to number three in the UK album chart, selling more than 500,000 copies in the process.
The Camden singer has stormed the singles charts with hits Skinny Genes and Pack Up selling more than 700,000 copies during an impressive six-month run in the top 10.
The last three years have been relatively low key for Eliza, but she came back with bang this Summer, delivering another slice of joyously-optimistic pop in the shape of her latest single Big When I Was Little.
Eliza’s latest top 20 hit is the lead single from her second studio album, the upcoming In Your Hands, which promises to be a more mature and personal offering than its predecessor.
“I like to think that I’ve grown a little bit since the first record. I was really young when I wrote it and I didn’t know much of anything, really,” said Eliza. “That’s not to say I know it all now, but I’ve definitely learnt some things and been through things I hadn’t been through before. I’ve written all about it and spilt my guts out on this album.
“I think the last album was very light. I hadn’t experienced real love or real pain or anything. I feel that it was a fun record. It was what it was, but this one kind of moved in another direction.”
Scoring her first manager and publishing deal at the tender age of 16, Eliza has achieved a great deal in a short space of time, but the young artist is looking at the bigger picture and believes her best years as a songwriter are ahead of her.
“There’s so much left to achieve. I feel like I’ve only shown the tip of who I am, and I want to give so much more,” she explained. “I definitely I have a lot more to give, and I’m giving on this album, but I want to be an artist that makes albums forever. I can never really imagine not doing it, so I want to be able to do that, that’s for sure.”
Collaborations with her musical heroes are also on her to-do list, and she is setting her sights high on this front, naming musical legends Stevie Wonder and Prince as her dream tickets, as well as hip-hop artist Chance the Rapper and OutKast’s Andre 3000.
“I love Chance. I think he’s a great rapper and I’d like to work with him, but there are plenty of other people too. I have a dream list,” she said. “I’d love to work with Stevie Wonder, that would be amazing, and Prince. I also love Andre 3000. I would give my left arm to work with him.”
Eliza’s sunny disposition and penchant for loud tights hasn’t just carved out opportunities for her in the music industry, but the world of fashion too – an achievement she is refreshingly modest about.
Despite scoring representation with London-based Select Models, the agency that launched the career of Sienna Miller, Eliza rejects the notion that she even has a modelling career, pointing out that she is a singer-songwriter first and foremost.
“I’ve been asked about this a few times, but I don’t see myself as a model at all. I’m a singer and a songwriter, full stop,” she insisted. “It’s one of those things, if I get asked to collaborate with a fashion label or a brand or something and if I like what they do, I am happy to work with them, but I am definitely not a model. I would be crazy to say that I am.”
In the immediate future, Eliza has In Your Hands to promote ahead of its autumn release, and she sees her gig at this year’s Liverpool International Music Festival as the perfect vehicle for this.
“With my new record out in October, I want as many people to hear my music as possible and Liverpool the perfect place to play,” she said.
“Obviously the city is famous for its music – I actually used to go there a little bit recording and stuff, and just soak up the atmosphere there. I can’t remember the name of the street, but there’s live music playing all the way down there, and it’s always good fun. It really has its own atmosphere.”
With her second studio album slated for release through Parlophone in October and a tour to follow, expect great things from Eliza in 2013 and beyond.