It is fair to say that as a softly-spoken and self-confessed shy girl, Bolton lass Laura White is not your typical pop star.
Down to earth Laura, 26, who quite fittingly for a young woman that defies expectations, possesses a vocal range more akin to a black woman 30 years her senior who’s been playing shows around the Deep South for the last couple of decades.
Speaking following the release of her debut EP ‘What My Mother Taught Me’, Laura recalls her time on the X Factor in 2008, where she went from a 16-year-old school girl who used to enjoy watching Whoopi Goldberg in Star Trek, to as much a part of this nation as fish and chips.
Following her exit from the competition, Laura became a political talking point and found her name splashed on every red top amid the uproar at her early exit from the UK’s number one talent show.
So much was the outrage at her exit that there were public calls for the exit of judge Louis Walsh for a decision dubbed as a strategic move from the Irish man.
Reliving her shock at the time and the publicity which left her in virtual house arrest, Laura told MM: “It was tough but also amazing seeing the level of support the public gave me.
“It was also a tough lesson to learn from putting yourself out there so publicly as it was crazy to deal with.
“I went on the show to get my music and voice heard so I was happy with that.
“I was locked in my house for three weeks after the show as the press were outside my front door every day.
“I couldn’t believe it.”
Describing her time on the show as an ‘overwhelming bubble’ at times, Laura said: “It was a combination of extreme highs and lows but life can be like that anyway!”
“It was amazing how quick everything comes for you and the platform you can get from the show. I missed home and never watched the shows back.”
However, determined Laura says the exit was the platform for her to fight back and forge a career in the music industry.
“I was always going to carry on”, she purred. “I was made to be a musician and never wanted to do anything else other than sing.
“You can be or do anything in life; I wouldn’t stop because of anything other than myself.”
There is no doubting Laura’s fight back.
Totally committed to her own version, Laura rejected major record labels and has written for other artists including Gin Lee, Beyoncé and Lisa Louis.
“I still can’t believe I’ve written a number one for Gin Lee and written for so many other artists, she laughs.
“Writing was something I really worked on, whereas singing just comes naturally to me. Every day I write it’s everything to me. “
Laura also has a top 14 ITunes hit under her belt, as well as 200,000 online fans and recently thrived during the course of a sell-out at the Lowry in Manchester.
“The success I’ve had from ITunes is unbelievable and it’s amazing for me to know I’ve done it independently.
“My social media is everything my fans have always been my strength. The crowds were crazy!
“The Lowry was amazing but I did make a bit of a blunder fashion wise wearing a raspberry, I am slightly crazy at times and have to rein myself in”, she said.
Queue the motivation for Laura’s first EP – the result of her decision to follow her heart and reject the mainstream – a destiny shaped by her love for Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday as a youngster while her peers danced to the Spice Girls.
‘What My Mother Taught Me’, released on November 10, consists of a stunning four tracks consisting of ‘Come on Josephine’, ‘Jimi Hendrix’, ‘Rush Hour’ and ‘To Be Loved’.
The album, which showcases Laura’s incredible soulful voice and her Motown stirrings, was written by Laura herself.
“The album is already a success to me,” she said. “For all the fight I went through to get music out, write my material and put it out independently, I am proud of it!
“My songs are all true stories and my writing always is what I live every day and is true to me every day.
“Most of the EP was because I loved a guy and couldn’t tell him so I thought at least I’ve finally said it on here.”
Recently Laura, who started playing the piano at the tender age of seven, wooed students in a sell-out performance at Bolton University, where she used to study creative writing.
Laura said: “I loved it and really miss my old uni!,”
And the London-based singer, originally from Atherton, says she owes a lot to the university for where she is today.
“I think uni taught me about being stronger, gave me more independence and improved my confidence in my writing more
“They were so understanding of the music career I had going on at the time.
“I had some great teachers and I used to love normal things like driving my old little car to uni and chatting with friends there.”
Laura, who spent some time in Mark Ronson’s girl band Summer of Sam at the age of 15 and sang her idol Alicia Keys’ ‘Fallin’ at a school concert, has further ambitions for the future which include seeing a blue whale.
“I want to keep growing my fan base and interacting as much as possible with them!,” she said.
“I want to carry my music to as many places as possible all over the world.
“I also really want to meet Piers Morgan and win a Grammy. “
But most of all, Laura, looks forward to seeing her gran so she can have treacle toffee.
An act that really does sum up the normality of a Bolton girl who has risen to become an unlikely success story.
For further information on Laura’s new album, visit her Facebook page or contact Tasha Anderson at House of 27 on [email protected]
Image courtesy of Laura White via YouTube, with thanks
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