Who’s Maisie Peters, you say? She’s a 23-year-old musician who is arguably one of the most talked about artists in the Gen-Z world.
Photo credit: Lewis Vorn
If you are constantly on TikTok or just have an addiction to scrolling on your phone, you would have seen a glimpse of the young popstar’s music trending or caught her unserious quirky personality, creating sketches with her band on her TikTok account.
Her career has seen her sign with Ed Sheeran’s record label Gingerbreads Man Records and sell out Wembley Arena in 2023 all within the space of two years and a global pandemic. Her lyrics and vocals have been noticed by the Queen of Pop herself, Taylor Swift who commented 'enchanting' on Peters cover of Enchanted on her lockdown bed cover series. Safe to say, Taylor Swift endorsed the artist in 2020 by declaring that she is a fan of Maisie Peters' music and that she is excited to hear what the songwriter has in store for her, if that doesn’t show pop princess potential I don’t know what really does?
photo credit: @taylorswift13
Maisie Peters began her journey in music in her small town Steyning, West Sussex in England which saw her posting her original songs on Youtube at 15 years old and instantly gained success due to her ability to be vulnerable with a playful personality which has arguably been her strong trait that has stood out for her fans. Her short time of posting original songs on Youtube, saw her gain the attention of popular talent management company Gleam Futures who created their own music management company with Marcus Butler called Stripped Bear Entertainment in 2016 and saw Maisie Peters gain management at just 16 years old.
In 2017, Maisie Peters began her journey into pop music by releasing her first single Place We Were Made independently which explored the themes of nostalgia and attachments to her tiny hometown and the friendships she had made throughout her youth. It showed Peters lyrical abilities already at just 16 years old and how she had shown the potential to be a success then.
Throughout the three years before the pandemic began, she constantly made sure to stay relatable to her fans who have grown up with her by sharing the ups and downs of her life connecting with her struggle of getting her driving license to her daydreaming and writing songs about boys she has never spoken too (and yes she really did admit doing that).
The pandemic took everything musicians knew away from them, the stages, the fans, and the actual music for Maisie Peters who had announced that she was supporting Niall Horan on his upcoming tour in 2020, everything changed and she had to figure out how to continue to make music and have a public image to her fans. In the pandemic, Maisie Peters released singles Sad Girl Summer, The List and created her own book club which helped connect her to her fans with weekly live streams and interviews with authors.
Photo Credit: @mpbookclub
Peters released her debut album You Signed Up For This in 2021 which went to number two on the Global Charts, after signing with Ed Sheeran’s record label Gingerbread Man Records a few months previous. The album was her journey into young adulthood, according to the review from Popmatters being similar to the style of Taylor Swift's Speak Now and Alessia’s Cara The Pain’s Of Growing, with the popstar hugely being compared to Taylor Swift with her use of storytelling in her songs with, the blonde fringe, the shaggy bob and her girl next door personality that makes the young popstar stand out to her peers.
In 2022 Peters supported Ed Sheeran on his global mathematics tour across the UK and Ireland, which saw the singer be given the spotlight that she truly deserves. Nobody can deny the talent of Peters' use of social media with her recording tour videos for her YouTube channel, sharing snippets of her up-and-coming singles on TikTok and constantly beating herself up with her British humour made her more human to her fans, and instantly become the internets best friend (and maybe, forcing her fans to go Blonde).
Although Pop is ever-changing and Peters' style of music is constantly evolving, the songwriter has always stayed true to herself with her music staying in her pop lane but still, experimenting with different genres from rock to folklore but always, falling back into her comfort of pop. Her second album The Good Witch shot straight to number one in 2023 and was described as an album, that is made for dreamers about imaginary boyfriends and is one that Peters also describes as music for overly invested romantic girls like herself according to Rolling Stone.
Photo Credit: Soap Scott
In the interview with Rolling Stone Peters made it clear, that she is a girl who got into music because of her love for storytelling and obsessing over fictional worlds, such as the Twilight and Harry Potter book series and, once she discovered early noughties pop stars Lily Allen, Sara Bareilles and her love of Taylor Swift at 12 years old is where her love of songwriting began. In the short span of her career, Peters has managed to continue to hold a strong fanbase that is positive, uplifting, and strong with her interacting with her many fans on social media, in her own concerts, and including them in the making of her own music as well.
Although, as discussed before, Peters' career in music has automatically shown that she has the potential to become the new pop princess. I think although, her new album The Good Witch has had huge success for the star I do believe that there is only more potential for Peters' music and that title isn’t something that just comes quickly overnight but is one that we are watching happen in front of our very eyes.
With the musician, already being declared as the next Taylor Swift could we be witnessing the new Pop Princess? I think so.
Written by Chloe Gudgin
Target Publication: NME
Word Count: 1000 words
