Tallia Storm has been dubbed 'Tiny Chancer' after leaving her demo CD with Sir Elton John's partner, David Furnish when she was just 13. Now at 16, still a very young girl with a very big voice, Tallia is not only known for her soulful singing, but also for her unique fashion choices and big hair!
Not only does Tallia speak to us about that moment that changed her life forever, we find out exactly how she gets her hair to stay up like that and what nick name she plans on calling her fans!Giving your CD to David Furnish kick started off your career!
David Furnish was sitting 2 tables away from us at breakfast on the day we where leaving. I said to my mum, what would you think if I went up and gave him my demo? She told me that if I am prepared for getting rejected, and for him saying no I should go for it! Obviously I was like 'ok, whats the worst that can happen? If he says no I will move on to the next person', so I literally just went up and said 'Hello, is there anyway you could pass this onto Elton' I was an absolute nervous wreck.
I'm sure! Elton John gave you a call back 24 hours later, what was that phone call like?
I feel like I owe everything for him, everything I do, I do it to prove him he wasn't wrong. Everything I do is to show him how dedicated I am, and how much this means to me. I have worked so hard on my EP and i'm so glad it's finally out. It's all really, really exciting.
When he rang me he was like 'Hello is that Talia' and I'm just like OMG it's Elton, and I was getting on a connecting flight from the US, and I'm freaking out and tell him that I can't chat! When I turn my phone back on after my flight I have two missed calls form him, and I start crying and think my chance is over. Then my phone ran again, and I'm like YES! Long story short, he wanted me to open his concert in Scotland!
That's crazy because then you where just 13! Didn't you find it hard balancing your school and work life?
I'm quite a loser in that sense. I worked really hard at school, then worked really hard when I sing, and I was 13 and some people where like 'omg how do you do it?!'. I don't see it being any different from some guys at school waking up at 6am to go to swimming practice. This is my thing!
And now you're 16!
Yes! I love getting that, because when something goes wrong I can say 'haha, I'm only 16!'
Do you feel as if starting younger has been an advantage?
When I first started everyone was like 'ohh you're 13' but it's been such an amazing experience. I used to be so bad at appearances and interviews, and I was so nervous before.
Your mum is your manager! How is it working so close with your mum?
A lot of people find out and are like 'ohhh your mum', but it'ts not as if I see her like that. I'ts great what she does and I don't see her as my mum. What's funny is my dad writes with me, he has written all my songs and people are like 'ohh your dad', and I'm just like 'and?!'. I see him as my writing partner, we are a team.
As your Dad writes your songs, does that make it harder to branch out and work with other song writers?
No! If someone else wanted to come and work for us, I think definitely that my dad would get us together and we cold write. My dad really gets me, he arranges, produces and does the whole shebang, so if someone else really wanted to remix a track, we would say go ahead why not! We're open to everyone!
What sound would you say inspires your music?
I was brought up around Coltrane and Jill Scott. I like to call my sound 'Amy Winehouse meets Frank Ocean'. RnB is a progression of jazz, and pop is a progression of classical music. Ask a pop artist the last time they listened to Mozart! I don't like pop. but I'm really glad I am able to put a 'Tallia twist' on my urban sound.
You have an enormous fan base! It must be amazing to have such committed fans at this stage of your career?
Every day I'm blown away by it! I'm no one, I'm nowhere yet and every account that has changed their Twitter name and dedicated it to me really does mean a lot, because I'm new and I've only just released my first EP. It's so cool there are genuine fans out there at such an early stage, it means so much.
A lot of celebrities name their fans, do you have a name for yours yet?
There is one account that made themselves 'Talliax' and another that made theirs 'Stormettes', I like them both, but I'll leave it up for them to decide.
You're very well known for your big hair, and it seems to be your style statement! How do you keep it like that?
I crimp my hair with fashion crimpers and use a lot of hair spray, then I back comb it with a brush. It's really easy, I'm a pro at it now and it only takes me like, 30 minutes.
Lastly! You've taken a big leap handing out your CD and you are now in a position a lot of young girls dream to be in, do you have any advice for those girls?
Whether your passion is singing or painting, be ready for that ONE moment. If you met your idol or your hero tomorrow, would you be ready? Would you have a card, a link to your website or a copy of your painting? If I didn't have my demo with me that day, I wouldn't be here. So always be ready, and always be prepared for rejection! People can say no, but what is the worst thing that can happen? We're still young, we can get away with it. This is the time to ask, beg and plead so just do it! And believe in yourself.Check out Tallia's new song Social Security below. You can also order the Social Security EP on iTunes here: https://itun.es/gb/ekyR6Pic credit: Tallia Storm's Management