IN CONVERSATION WITH FREYA SKYE
interview by JANA LATONJA
Freya Skye’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. The Buckinghamshire-born singer-songwriter has become a breakout global phenomenon, amassing over 1.5 billion streams and a devoted worldwide fanbase drawn to her raw honesty and emotionally charged storytelling. Following the explosive success of her Top 40 hit ‘silent treatment’, Freya released her highly anticipated debut EP ‘stardust’ on 4th February—a five-track collection of messy, vulnerable, and deeply personal moments that mark her first true step into music—arriving just days before her completely sold-out headlining ‘Stars Align’ tour kicks off.
‘stardust’ is your debut EP. What does it feel like to finally release something that
represents such a personal first chapter?
To release a body of work like this feels like the perfect first step. For me, we kind of shaped it around ‘silent treatment’, and it feels like a step in a direction I’m super excited about. Getting to sing the songs live so soon after they’ve come out has been a dream.
You’ve said each song is a fragment of who you were at the time you wrote it. How did
you decide which pieces belonged on this EP?
It was really hard to decide because I had written so many songs for the EP. I think I wrote close to 20, so to pick just five was challenging. I started playing around with the tracklist order, and as soon as I heard the official tracklist together, I knew it encapsulated the message of ‘stardust’ the best.
‘silent treatment’ has taken on a life of its own. At what point did you realize the song was truly connecting on a global scale?
I think I realized when I performed it at the LA Jingle Ball. The song had come out maybe four or five days prior, and seeing the way fans already knew the words and were singing them back to me was definitely a huge “pinch me” moment. From the first clip I teased, and seeing their reaction, something just felt different.
The EP feels emotionally raw and unfiltered. Was it ever scary to be this honest so early in your career?
I definitely had a lot of fears before it came out. When I’m in the writing room, I feel super unfiltered and don’t really have worries or anxieties about being honest in my music. As release day gets closer, that’s when I start to get the jitters, like “Oh, are people going to take this differently? Have I been too vulnerable? Is this too exposed?”
I do feel like that’s a very normal fear, and one I’ve had throughout my whole career. But the biggest payoffs come when you allow yourself to be vulnerable in songs.
How has your songwriting evolved from your earlier singles to the songs on ‘stardust’?
I think I’ve become a lot more honest in writing rooms. I feel much more confident in my ideas, my storytelling, and the message. I also have a lot more clarity about the story I’m trying to tell.
I worked with the most incredible writers on ‘stardust’, who I learned so much from, and I feel like that really shows in the songs.
You’re debuting songs from ‘stardust’ live on the sold-out ‘Stars Align’ tour. Which track were you most excited, and most nervous, to perform?
Honestly, everything from ‘stardust’, because I’ve never gotten a live reaction to those songs before, but I have been so excited to sing them live.
With such rapid success, how do you stay grounded while everything around you is
moving so fast?
My family and my friends. Being home is such a grounding place. I spend a lot of time traveling to different cities around the world, which I love, but when I get a week or two at home in a small village in England, it’s incredibly grounding. It brings me back to peace and tranquility.
From Junior Eurovision to Hollywood Records, your journey has been unconventional.
do those early experiences influence you now?
I feel like I learned a lot when I did Junior Eurovision, definitely a lot of resilience. As a person, Eurovision really shaped me and gave me great techniques for dealing with nerves and public perception.
That’s something I’ve carried with me for a long time, but above all, I would say it’s the resilience and confidence it gave me.
You’ve balanced acting, touring, and songwriting. What does creativity look like for you when you’re offstage?
When I’m offstage, I’m usually just writing. If I’m not performing songs live, I’m creating new ones or coming up with concepts for videos and things like that. It’s always something creative related to my music, usually with my guitar or in writing rooms.
The good thing about being on tour is that it gives me time to gather experiences and stories to write about. I feel like they rebalance each other.
Social media has played a huge role in your rise. How do you protect your authenticity while sharing so much of yourself online?
I feel like a natural balance forms. I don’t like oversharing too much on social media, but my music is what reveals the most about my life. It’s about not relying too much on social media, because you don’t want to get immersed in opinions or public validation.
I love what I’m doing, and I’m so proud. Seeing the fans every night is the only reassurance I need.
As this chapter begins, what are you most excited to explore next, musically or creatively?
An album. I’m so excited for an album. When I finish the tour, I’ll have a couple of months to really focus and hone in on it, and to work with some really cool people. I’ve always dreamed of doing that, and stardust feels like a big step in that direction.
Having my debut album come out will feel like a really huge moment. I’m excited to have time to work on that, and continuing to tour is going to be so much fun. I have many more tour dates coming up this year, which I’m very excited about.
TEAM CREDITS
talent FREYA SKYE
photography ASHLEY OLSON
editor TIMOTEJ LETONJA
interview JANA LETONJA
