I've been hugely inspired by the songwriting of Lauryn Hill and Tracy Chapman - on their albums, they really tell it like it is.

I like Sam Bailey - she's got a huge voice.

It wasn't until my late teens that I really got into soul music and then I was like 'Ooh, this is good!' You'd always here it at old family parties, like, Gladys Knight and I'd always love it but I didn't really get to know it and respect it until I was a bit older.

My first album is a lot of my personal experiences. I wanted people to relate to what I've been through.

I like listening to old soul music. I like Sam Cooke. When I was growing up, the first things I was listening to was Whitney Houston and Cher. They were really big inspirations for me.

Constantly having to think about money is not nice. People used to say, 'Being rich doesn't make you happy'. And I'd think, 'I've got no electricity, nothing - tell that to my empty fridge'.