Music spotlight: Lily Denning
Have you heard of singer/songwriter Lily Denning yet? If not, prepare to play her on repeat for the next four hours.
I first came across Lily through The Dolly Effect, and have since been listening to her on the reg, as well as becoming mildly obsessed with her brilliant Instagram/TikTok dances. In 2019, Lily released two solo singles, ‘Me, Myself & I’ and ‘Armageddon’ which, between them, have had over 45k listens on Spotify. She also featured on the Number One Billboard Dance Airplay Chart hit ‘So Cold’ with Mahalo and DLMT.
With her new single ‘Spit It Out’ being released on 26th June (today!), I managed to have a quick chat with Lily to find out a little more about her as an artist, and what the future holds for this bad-ass nineteen-year-old.
What made you want to pursue a music career?
I’ve never really had that realisation moment where I decided to pursue a career in music, it’s just always been where I’ve seen myself in the future. But I suppose when I properly started writing songs at about 11, I knew I didn’t want to do anything else.
If you hadn’t got into music, what other career do you think you’d have gone into?
Well, like I said, I sort of closed off other options in my head from a young age but maybe something artistic or in fashion - maybe Meryl Streep’s job in ‘Devil Wears Prada’?
What other musicians inspire you?
The list is endless, but whenever I lack inspiration or a creative block I watch certain live performances like Stormzy’s 2019 Glastonbury performance, Banks’ live shows, and always Rihanna’s anything.
What’s your favourite song?
At the moment I’ve literally had ‘Too Nice’ by Mahalia and ‘Woman Like Me’ by Miraa May on repeat through lockdown.
How does it feel to be a woman in the music industry?
I think a lot of progress has been made in the music industry regarding equality between men and women but also I think there’s a long way to go. I’ve always noticed how few female producers there are and that’s something I’d love to change by getting involved in production and engineering etc, so they're not just seen as male roles. There are also still attitudes that need to change in regards to what is expected from a female artist and what people presume they want to sing about, which I’ve noticed is not the same for male artists. Having said that, I also feel blessed to be surrounded by so many inspiring and supportive men within the industry who also push for equality so I do feel encouraged that it is changing!
What’s your party trick?
Been thinking about the answer to this for about half an hour and the only thing that I seem to do at parties is occasionally show people what my forehead looks like under the fringe. That’s about as exciting as it gets.
If you could collaborate with anyone in music right now, who would it be?
Last week I actually dreamt about collaborating with Dave, having been obsessed with his album ‘Psychodrama’ and playing it on repeat, so maybe it’s meant to be.
Random one here, if you could be any animal in the world, what would you be and why? I’d be my own dog because I have never seen an animal receive so much love and attention.
What should our readers know about you?
My song ‘Spit it Out’ is coming out on the 26th of June so keep your eyes and ears peeled!
What’s next? What does the future hold for you?
After this single, there will be more music very soon, and hopefully not too long before I can start playing live again, and hopefully, the future is filled with both of those things!
LILY’S NEW SINGLE, SPIT IT OUT, IS OUT TODAY!
