Grace Carter has told Music Week that she feels part of an exciting wave of new female talent.
Carter stars on the cover of our latest issue, out now, which lists the emerging acts set to light up 2019 in a special feature.
“I’m excited for every new artist I know, especially female artists, there are so many amazing girls around,” said Carter, who stressed the importance of new artists supporting one another.
“Sometimes you can be put up against each other,” said the singer. “There’s always a conversation of competition but everyone is doing their own thing and being encouraged to. It’s for us as female artists to support and celebrate each other and that’s exactly what we’re doing. That’s how it should be.”
Carter has teased the release of new music this week and told Music Week that her debut album is almost ready. She is signed to Polydor for records and Sony/ATV for publishing.
I’m excited for every new artist I know, especially female artists
Grace Carter
“I was nervous about signing a major label deal, but the team are so encouraging of my ideas and want to elevate everything I want to do,” said Carter, reflecting on life at Polydor.
“When you’re a kid it’s like, ‘Maybe one day I’ll sign a record deal.’ Then I started thinking, ‘Maybe one day I won’t sign.’”
Carter released her debut single, Silence, independently and said that doing a deal with Polydor “wasn’t about signing to a major, it was about the people. They’re so passionate.”
The major’s co-president Tom March told Music Week: “Grace is a timeless artist whose exceptional songwriting tells powerful stories about her life that can’t fail to move you emotionally. She is one of those truly unique talents who people identify with and whose voice resonates with a wide audience.”
As she looked ahead to a busy 2019, Carter said she “enjoys aspects of the music industry”.
“I’m sometimes put in a box that I don’t necessarily agree with due to maybe the colour of my skin, which frustrates me,” she said. “But I can talk about it and say, ‘I’m not going in that box, that’s not who I am.’ I make pop music; I don’t make R&B music.”
Carter takes pride in the emotional honesty of her music, and told Music Week: “I'm not pretending to be an artist that I’m not, and I’m making music that is music I’d be making even if I wasn’t releasing it.”
Check out the interview in full in the new issue of Music Week, out now. Subscribers can read it online here.
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