Astrid S talks about developing as an artist, and her debut EP release

Still just nineteen, Astrid S has developed through a slow-burning release of singles over the past couple of years. From the dark R&B of "2am" and "Hyde" through to the gloriously addictive pop of "Paper Thin" and most recent single "Hurt So Good", the young singer is destined to have a massive career.

We spoke to Astrid just before her self-titled EP release, to find out more about her development as an artist.

Hi Astrid, you’ve recently been on tour with Troye Sivan; how did that go?

“It’s been really good…I did not expect it to be this good! Everywhere we played the audiences were into my music and they followed me on social media afterwards, texting me, saying they really liked my music.”

That must be a confidence boost…

“It was really, really cool that they were into the support act. They went there to see Troye, and so it’s all very overwhelming. I could see as the tour went on that word spread that I was the support act, so more and more people knew my music or knew about my name – and it ended up they’re now excited to see me!”

Does that lead to more pressure, to live up to expectations from the audience?

“Yeah, I think so. In the beginning no-one expected anything of this girl who was supporting…but now people know my music and my name…and that makes me more nervous.”

You and Troye have a very similar background; both of you have had a lot of views on YouTube...

“Yeah he’s a YouTuber, but he’s also an actor I think so he had another career before. But I was on this television show, and my career started from there.”

You were on the Norwegian version of Pop Idol, and you finished fifth…was that more beneficial than winning?

“I dunno…I don’t think I would have done worse! There would have been more pressure of course: you must release an album within half a year, so I might have gone another direction. So to have the time afterwards to just write and figure out my sound has a lot to do with where I am today. People always think it’s a bad thing to win. In Norway, this country singer [girl] won and country music isn’t big in Norway at all. I think it’s one thing to make something work on television and another to make someone buy your album. The girl who won, she headlined a big country festival and made an album with the big country names…but the people who voted for her to win, they expected her to be the next big pop star in Norway. I think this sort of thing happens in Idols everywhere.”

You’ve taken a lot of time…

“Yeah I’m used to just having one song a year so it’s weird to have five all at once…but I’m very excited.”

There seems to have been a clear development in your sound, it's grown brighter from your early singles I think

“Absolutely. I don’t know if people notice it but for me, I spend so much time writing and it takes so long to go from one song to another – there’s such a large gap between and it’s there where I’ve really grown as a song writer. From ‘2am’ to ‘Hyde’ there was a year of writing songs and I could hear my writing improve as time went on. I’ve got more into pop and melodies and into the production; for me it’s a natural progression for me to move towards commercial pop. I think the songs on the EP are also a little happier; songs like ‘Hyde’ are darker and mellower.”

You've worked with a few song writers on the EP, some of whom have written for the likes of Nick Jonas, Ellie Goulding, Five Seconds of Summer...

“I love writing with other people and being in a studio, having that conversation about how to make the song, conversations about the lyrics. I think that makes the song better, to have conversations about it. But I don’t think there’s a huge difference between writing with someone who’s worked with Ellie Goulding and writing with someone who’s unknown. Sometimes it clicks, sometimes it doesn’t – it’s very simple chemistry. I could be in a session with a known writer and it’s been really bad, then I go into one with someone who’s never been in a session before and it’s amazing.”

Can you tell us a bit about "Hurt So Good" - the song and the video?

“I think it’s that torn feeling of wanting to be with someone but you can’t…but you still do it and it becomes this back and forth. It’s something a lot of people can relate to. What we wanted to do in the video was have this power of magnets, or magnetism. So there’s an attraction but if you turn the magnets the other direction, they push each other away. We played around with that thought, being attracted to someone but never being able to be close…you’re reaching out but it’s not gonna work.”

What does the rest of the year have in store for Astrid S?

“I’m going on a tour in Norway, doing a lot of shows and festivals in the summer. Then in the fall I’m going to release EP number two. I’m very excited, but everything is happening so fast – I’m not over this EP yet!”

The Astrid S EP is out now via Universal and is available to stream on Spotify.