Unfiltered and Unstoppable: Natalie Shay on Her Journey from North London to the Global Stage

In the vibrant world of contemporary music, few artists capture the rawness and authenticity of personal experience quite like Natalie. With a career that began at the tender age of five, Natalie’s journey from a shy young guitarist to a confident performer has been marked by determination, resilience, and a deep connection to her craft.

From performing at major festivals to gaining millions of streams on Spotify, Natalie’s honest and relatable lyrics resonate with fans around the globe. In this interview, she shares insights into her creative process, the impact of her London roots, and the experiences that have shaped her as an artist.

Photo credit: Holly McCandless Desmond

Nicolle: You’ve performed at major festivals like SXSW, The Great Escape, and Latitude. How have these experiences shaped your growth as an artist?

Natalie: I think the thing that’s often stopped me from moving forward is self-confidence. I think things escalate in clumps because I have experiences that give me masses of new self-belief. I guess I struggle with imposter syndrome at times. When you start doing something like this from so young, and you chase a dream for years and years, it’s almost harder to believe it’s happening than when it comes fast and easy. The more I believe in myself, the more expressive and refined my artistic project becomes. And it’s all amazing. I feel so blessed.  

Nicolle: Your music is known for being both honest and relatable. Can you share how your personal experiences influence your songwriting process?

Natalie: Everything I write about is about me or someone close to me. I struggle to write if I have nothing to say. I also struggle to perform things I have no connection to. I hope that people can get to know me through my lyrics and to understand me better. The songs are the story of me. 

Nicolle: Picking up the guitar at age five and attending the BRIT School are significant milestones. How did these early experiences prepare you for a music career?

Natalie. Starting young was a good idea.  I was so shy before music, music brought me out of my shell and gave me a reason to be bold and confident. I think playing an instrument from a young age is always a really useful thing no matter what. Going to Brit school was great because they taught you so much about the industry it helped fill in the gaps for me, I knew what I wanted to do but didn’t know how to get there. Brit helped me figure it out so I could go hardcore into a music career after leaving school. It was also an amazing place to collaborate with and meet like-minded young people, at such an important age. 

Nicolle: You openly address topics like mental health and anxiety in your music. Why is it important for you to include these themes in your work?

Natalie: I think I would be lying to everyone if I censored parts out of my life. If I’m being honest about stories in my lyrics I think I should always be honest about how I deal with them. Plus these are things that everyone experiences at some point in their lives, music is supposed to help you feel seen and understood, and I hope people can feel that from my lyrics if I’m honest about vulnerable things. 

Nicolle: With over 9 million streams on Spotify and features on New Music Friday, how has the digital landscape impacted your career?

Natalie: It’s been amazing, it’s a great way for people to find you, when I first started out it was all about gigging and building a fan base that way but that limited my fan base to places I’d played in, social media has changed everything allowing people from all over the place to find me whether they’ve been able to see me live or not.

Nicolle: You’ve been praised by publications like Billboard, Wonderland, and Clash. How does receiving critical acclaim from such well-known outlets affect your confidence as an artist?

Natalie: It’s great to hear approval and praise from critical outlets and platforms, it’s lovely to hear from friends, family and fans but hearing industry opinion is always really special. Because they must review A LOT of music.  

Nicolle: Your music spans from heartbreak anthems to upbeat tracks about love and friendships. How do you decide which themes to explore in your songs?

Natalie: I just write about what’s going on for me at the time of writing. I wrote a lot of ex-best friend songs when I fell out with  2 of my closest friends within 6 months, and my life had a big shake-up, I was thinking a lot about these things so I tried to document my healing process through song. 

Nicolle: What’s the most memorable moment from your live performances, and how does performing live influence your music?

Natalie: A special live moment was this year I supported Shania Twain at BST Hyde Park, it was a special show because it was a girl power country-influenced pop day. I loved all the artists playing and I felt like it was where I belonged. I love playing live more than any other part of the project, I started gigging my original songs at 13 years old, so it’s always been the place I’ve felt most comfortable. Seeing and feeling real-life human response to your music is something that cannot be matched.

Nicolle: As a North Londoner, how has your hometown influenced your sound and the stories you tell through your music?

Natalie: London is an incredible place to be an artist. There’s so much going on always and so many different people and cultures and experiences. This has been great for my musical development, my lyrical development, my personal growth and also just my general attitude to working hard and focusing on what I want to achieve with my music. It’s special to be around other people chasing a dream. 

Nicolle: Looking forward, what can fans expect from you in terms of new music or upcoming projects?

Natalie: I am always working on something, so no matter when you join the journey, there will be something on its way! Stay tuned :)

Natalie’s latest EP contains singles ‘The Edge’ and ‘Doing Well’ as heard on BBC Radio 1’s Future Pop show. It also features the first recording of live favourite, ‘Like You Boy’. Natalie writes relatable lyrics touching on love, self-discovery and the everyday experiences of a twenty-something, and the EP chronicles real episodes and feelings from her own life; a traumatic falling out with her best friend, dreaming of future successes and nostalgic looks back on first loves, including her teenage pinups. 

Find her on Spotify, Instagram, TikTok, or on her website

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Nicolle Knapova is a little bit of everything. She is a freelance translator, content creator and social media executive for The C Word Mag. She loves indie music and is always browsing through Spotify to find the next amazing artist to obsess over. Her love for storytelling means she’s always writing something and she’s not afraid of any genre. Her biggest dream is to be a published author. If she’s not writing her fan fiction, she’s writing her poetry and sharing it on her Instagram @elisecaverly.