This week we caught up with this years MTV Hottest New Artist Katy Lewis. Her Debut album Disconnector was number one in the UK for 6 consecutive weeks as well as her Debut single "Deny It" taking control of the charts for an outstanding 9 weeks! She talks about her single, her album, her fans, going on tour and a possible collab with Miley Cyrus! Aren't we lucky?
- Hi Katy, so nice of you to come talk to us today! How you feeling?
Hey! I feel great, I love interviews, I love to talk about myself [laughs] Is that bad?
-Not at all! [laughs]
Good! Don't want to sound too big headed!
- Lets talk about the Grammys? You recently won a Grammy award for Best New Artist. How did that feel?
That felt incredible! I was so humbled to even be nominated as I have only recently released my album. I didn't expect it at all, I think it just shows that with the right support, you can do anything.
- To be up against artists such as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Ed Sheeran and Kendrick Lamar must have been such a high achievement in your books. I'm sure you were more than flattered..
I absolutely love Ed Sheeran, his album is incredible. To think that I was even in a category with him blows my mind. I am just so grateful to everyone who voted for me as I couldn't have been happier with the result
- What is it like to be a "role model" for girls?
Role model? Really? I couldn't imagine myself being a role model for anyone. That seems quite strange and almost ridiculous for me! To think that girls think of me as a role model is wow [laughs], unbelievable.
- You have been pictured with female pop sensation Miley Cyrus a few times. Do you see a collab in the future?
Miley has helped me a lot through my music career, she actually helped me produce my first single "Deny it" which was a great honor as she has really done well in her career recently. I think working with her has really helped me realise what I could achieve in the music business.. but anyway [laughs] yeah, I could see a collaboration with Miley in the future, we have quite a similar taste in music and I think it could be something awesome
- I'm sure we'd all love to hear that!
You did a bunch of single release shows all over the UK, how were they for you?
They were beyond amazing! I felt so close to my fans, I got to see and hear what they thought of the single, which was great as I got loads of different feedback on it, it also made me finally realise that I have fans all over the UK, which is so fab! I loved touring, having my tour family was such a great experience, I had so much fun and it made me even more excited ////// for my Disconnecter tour next April
- Was the response you received from fans what you expected or was it all a bit of a shock for you?
Of course it was a shock! I'm just a small girl from Birmingham with a dream and it was such a shock to see that people actually enjoyed my music! I've been trying to make it in the music industry for almost 4 years now and to see this album and single receive such great feedback is such a weight off my chest, I love it!
- Since you've released the album, have you realised anything that you would change about the album?
I wish I had spent more time in the studio, perfecting it. I am such a perfectionist when it comes to my music, I am never happy! As I was doing my single release shows and was on tour, I didn't get to spend as much time writing and recording as I had hoped. But maybe thats just me being, well... me [giggles]
- What made you want to have a career in music?
I have always been facinated with music. Whilst I was growing up, music was kind of forced on me by my parents, I took up so many musical instruments and I loved it. I was always that musical kid, that's who I was. I will forever be grateful for my parents for giving me such an amazing life, I would honestly not change a thing.
- Giving that you've got quite a unique sound, who would you say your musical influences were?
I like to think my uniqueness means I can't be compared to anyone. I have music artists that I like, for example I am utterly in love with Bruno Mars, as much as I hate to admit it! His voice is like heaven. I'm also quite into old music, I like Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, which is quite a surprise to some people, listening to my music [laughs].
- How was it for your album to be number one for so long?
It was incredible! Like I said before, I never expected any of this. I just want to thank my fans for all the support and love they have given me, I appreciate every single one of you. I can't wait to share my journey with you!
- So, when can we see you next?
I'm starting my new mini tour around the UK in 3 weeks. So hopefully I will see you there!
- Look forward to it!
Follow Katy on twitter @KatyLMusic or on Facebook.com/KatyLewisMusicOfficial
ALBUM OUT NOW!
Thursday, 30 January 2014
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
MOCK UP
These are my mock cover, contents and double page spreads.
For the cover page, I have tried using a coloured background. I thought that this is what I would have wanted as I thought that it would make the model stand out more, but in my mock up, it has done the opposite of this. I think that looking at my mock up I have decided that I will use the original background of white. Whilst doing my photo shoot, I made sure that there was no shadows coming off my model. This is so that I do not have to photoshop any of my model to make sure that the shadow is removed. I think that in doing this, my model will be the CVI. I also have not used the right fonts for the cover page as the fonts I will be using are not yet on the computer. The fonts I will be using will be better as they will not be as bold. I also need to re-think the bottom of the cover page, naming all of the artists as I have got feedback saying that it is too full.
Reflection on preliminary work
How does your prelim represent particular social groups?
It does not represent any particular social groups. I have chosen to do my prelim so that it can be read by every sixth form student in this school. This opens up my target audience to the whole of sixth form.
Who would be the intended audience for your product?
The intended audience of my prelim is the whole of sixth form. This is why I have called my prelim "Sixth" as it has no intended audience. Each week it will include the news about the sixth form, which will not be related either females or males, it will relate to both so that both will be interested in my magazine.
How did you attract/address your audience?
I have attracted my audience by talking about, on the cover, a main issue within the school, that everyone knows about. This will help attract my audience as everyone will be able to understand it, instead of writing about a particular topic or subject that may not appeal to some people.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt how to use photoshop as I did not know how to before. I have also learnt how to embed photoshop documents onto my blogger account.
Monday, 27 January 2014
Mrs Abrahamason's improvements
Jess
• The mainstream pop magazine concept will work; you just need to fine-tune a few things
• Your inspirational covers were all very glamorous almost 1950s style women ( blonde, hourglass, feminine). Is this how you see your cover?
• Why will Bauer want to publish your magazine ‘Beat’? If it is similar to Q, what will be your USP?They need to be sure they can sell it alongside their existing best-sellers
• £3 a week is quite a lot; £5 month is average. What will you put in every week? Will you have enough potential artist headlines/gossip/new releases?
• More analysis of font design and colour needed.
Upload pitch, as it won't work
List to do:
• The mainstream pop magazine concept will work; you just need to fine-tune a few things
• Your inspirational covers were all very glamorous almost 1950s style women ( blonde, hourglass, feminine). Is this how you see your cover?
• Why will Bauer want to publish your magazine ‘Beat’? If it is similar to Q, what will be your USP?They need to be sure they can sell it alongside their existing best-sellers
• £3 a week is quite a lot; £5 month is average. What will you put in every week? Will you have enough potential artist headlines/gossip/new releases?
• More analysis of font design and colour needed.
Upload pitch, as it won't work
List to do:
- Write about why Bauer will want to publish Beat. Differences to Q.
- Research what USP means
- Rethink price of magazine.. maybe change it to £1.20
- More analysis of font design and colour needed.
- Re-do and re-post pitch
Friday, 24 January 2014
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Mr Ford's Improvements
1.Add at least one photographer and graphic designer. This will give the impression that you have researched these areas properly and not just settled on the first one you found.
2.Add images to Townie post to illustrate text.
3.Make a moodboard that just focuses on fashion and style.
4.Finish cover/contents/dps analyses-make sure they are all to the same standard as the Billboard/Bruno Mars work.
5.Add more fonts-what do you like about the ones you have selected?
6.Make your title much bigger in the relevant post. At the moment it looks apologetically small.
7.Include examples of language register from the magazines that you have referenced.
8.Add one more magazine to the font/colour palettes post.
9. Sort out a 20 track playlist-compile in SoundCloud and embed on your blog
2.Add images to Townie post to illustrate text.
3.Make a moodboard that just focuses on fashion and style.
4.Finish cover/contents/dps analyses-make sure they are all to the same standard as the Billboard/Bruno Mars work.
5.Add more fonts-what do you like about the ones you have selected?
6.Make your title much bigger in the relevant post. At the moment it looks apologetically small.
7.Include examples of language register from the magazines that you have referenced.
8.Add one more magazine to the font/colour palettes post.
9. Sort out a 20 track playlist-compile in SoundCloud and embed on your blog
Friday, 17 January 2014
Research relevant graphic designers
Peter Saville
I think that Peter Savilles style is perfect for my magazine and I can take a lot out of looking at his previous work. Looking at these CD sleeves Peter has designed, I can tell that he is a minimalist, he likes his covers very simple, with not a lot of words on them. This will work well with my magazine as I can tell that Peter is more focused on the image within his work, more than the words. In all of these sleeves, there is a main image that stands out compared to the contrasting background. This is how I would like to design my magazine, with one main image and minimal writing as I think it looks the most effective.
Stefan Sagmeister
Whilst looking at Sagmeisters work, I noticed that he had some of the same elements a Saville within his work. This means that he also would be great to use in my work. Sagmeister also likes to use one plain, bold imagine in the middle of his work and work around it, making the central image the most eye-catching part of his art. Sagmeister uses very plain and boring backgrounds to help the audience focus on the main image, which I think is very effective as it shows the contrast between them.
When Sagmeister produces 3D art, he uses quite bold colours and unique themes, I think this is why I like his style so much. Some of his art is quite controversial, which is what some of the artist I am thinking of using are, for example Miley Cyrus and Rihanna. This style mixed in with my magazine would compliment these artists perfectly.
I think that Peter Savilles style is perfect for my magazine and I can take a lot out of looking at his previous work. Looking at these CD sleeves Peter has designed, I can tell that he is a minimalist, he likes his covers very simple, with not a lot of words on them. This will work well with my magazine as I can tell that Peter is more focused on the image within his work, more than the words. In all of these sleeves, there is a main image that stands out compared to the contrasting background. This is how I would like to design my magazine, with one main image and minimal writing as I think it looks the most effective.
Stefan Sagmeister
Whilst looking at Sagmeisters work, I noticed that he had some of the same elements a Saville within his work. This means that he also would be great to use in my work. Sagmeister also likes to use one plain, bold imagine in the middle of his work and work around it, making the central image the most eye-catching part of his art. Sagmeister uses very plain and boring backgrounds to help the audience focus on the main image, which I think is very effective as it shows the contrast between them.
When Sagmeister produces 3D art, he uses quite bold colours and unique themes, I think this is why I like his style so much. Some of his art is quite controversial, which is what some of the artist I am thinking of using are, for example Miley Cyrus and Rihanna. This style mixed in with my magazine would compliment these artists perfectly.
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