INTERVIEW: A Talk With the Amazing Singer-Songwriter Maisie Peters

Maisie Peters did not hit the music industry until she signed with Atlantic Records UK in 2018, but she had been pursuing this career option since her early teens. This British singer-songwriter’s first job was busking on the streets of Brighton, and slowly transitioned to Youtube videos throughout the mid-2010s. Once her debut single “Place We Were Made” was released, she amassed millions of views and gained tons of fans, shining the spotlight on an upcoming artist with so much potential. Peters’ single “Worst of You” became her most streamed song on Spotify with over 100 million listens. This step solidified her belonging in the constantly expanding music industry. However, Peters still manages to keep close to her fans by releasing music about whatever thought or experience passes her by. Her genuine and realistic approach to songwriting gives listeners that headspace to take in her songs and apply them to their own lives. Peters has created a world of her own that is unique and magical in its own right. As she prepares to embark on her North American tour, she is ready to perform her tracks from her latest album You Signed Up For This live before new audiences and venues. She has a bright future to come, and we cannot wait to see what other experiences she brings to life. 

GLITTER: Hi, I’m Sena with Glitter Magazine. Thank you for taking your time out to chat with us. 

MAISIE: Thanks for having me. 

GLITTER: So we wanted to start off with how would you describe your sound? 

MAISIE: Oh yes, I would describe it as major, major chords—major, bright, bold, and sentimental. 

GLITTER: Great. So what advice would you have for girls going through “Outdoor Pool”? 

MAISIE: Experience the experience. I mean, it’s a niche experience. I’m not sure there are that many girls in the world that have gone through that before. I’m going to be honest, I personally never went through “Outdoor Pool.” I’ve never kissed my crush in an outdoor pool when I was 15, not for lack of trying, but I would say that if you too have been heartbroken by your teenage crush, then it’s really important to remember that it is not, in fact, the worst day of your life, as I say in the song. And that, you know, I think these things feel huge in the moment, but if you’ll look back it’ll feel like the tiniest thing in the world, so just keep thinking about that day when you’ll look back and think it’s so funny. 

GLITTER: You can see how girls can relate to it and how they really dwell on those types of moments. And so once we get into your album, I just want to say, I’m aware that It’s Your Bed, Babe, It’s Your Funeral came out roughly two years ago, but what song from You Signed Up For This would you marry together? 

MAISIE: Oh, that’s a good question. So many interesting parallels. Somebody said that “April Showers” is like “Villain,” sort of like a younger sibling, a sweeter version of “Villain,” which I actually totally agree with. Both sort of got these really crazy main character moments of like, you’re sort of sabotaging your own love life in the name of this person who you love, who doesn’t love you back anymore. But then there are also lots of… Oh well, “Personal Best” and “Brooklyn” are both about my sister, which is cool because “Personal Best” is about when she was going to Uni, so we were apart for the first time, and then “Brooklyn” is about us going to New York, being together again for the first time, which is sweet. 

GLITTER: Yeah. And we just wanted to ask, we know that it’s both about your twin sister. And so what are some ways that you deal with her not being there next to you all the time? 

MAISIE: I mean, we’re good at keeping in touch. We’re both really busy and sort of lead really busy lives. So it’s, you know, it’s easy to distract yourself. And I do miss her a lot, but we’re good at sort of sending each other Tiktoks. So it’s like, I think, just constant Tiktoks. 

GLITTER: Yeah, and as a twin myself, I can really understand, being there and growing up for your entire life, and then suddenly, bam, being an adult hits you and you realize that you have to take two different paths. But you’re always just always connected and you share those moments together. 

MAISIE: That’s so sweet. Yeah, I’d like to think so. 

GLITTER: So along those same lines, do you try to connect the songs in each EP or album to one another? 

MAISIE: No. Definitely, definitely not. It’s never intentional, but it’s always really cool. And I think it does just happen out of sort of the fact that they are often centered around things in my life or, you know, sort of moments. Moments in your life intertwine so much and the people you’re constantly writing about are the same person you wrote about a year ago, but the circumstances change and the way you view them is different. But the songs, you know, I always think to myself, like if people only knew the way that some songs are about the same things, the same people, and they are so very different. 

GLITTER: Yes. And so your songs are clearly based around your experiences, but do you really try to stick to a concept throughout your music? 

MAISIE: Oh, no, I would say I sort of let the song lead itself, so whatever feels right in that song is what I sort of commit to. But I know I kind of like to let it lead me. 

GLITTER: And so what’s your favorite part about songwriting?

MAISIE: I like the sort of communal aspect of it. I like sort of creating a world that didn’t exist half an hour before, and then suddenly you’ve created it. I love that moment when it all ties together and you’re like “wow, that’s such a cool way of saying something,” like it’s never been said like that before, hopefully. 

GLITTER: What else do you take inspiration from? 

MAISIE: Oh, so many things, like other people’s music. I’m always really inspired by what else I hear, especially what is being currently released. Also books, and films, and things people say, and my friends, and my friends’ lives, and what my friends like. I’m like a magpie, constantly taking things. 

GLITTER: And so how do you approach songwriting, lyrics, and the overall message of your songs differently as a young girl than you do now? 

MAISIE: I think the kind of approach is the same, I think I definitely wrote a lot more from outside my perspective when I was younger—just because you’re going through less, you have less to talk about, which is cool. And I actually am really glad I did it. I think it was actually a super great backbone and sort of foundation for me, too, right now because of all those years of writing aside dreams. Did you get good at being creative and imaginative and thinking of other ways to say things? So, yeah. 

GLITTER: So if you were to look back on yourself as a 14, 15-year-old busking, what would you tell your younger self? 

MAISIE: Oh my goodness. To be… oh my goodness, I don’t even know so many things. I guess so, it sounds cheesy like believing in herself and what she’s doing and trust, I guess. Don’t be afraid to trust the right people. But we work, but be wary of getting too much sort of validation from others. I look inwards a little bit more, maybe, but I mean, I don’t know. There are a million things I would say to my younger self. 

GLITTER: And what specific experiences do you feel have shaped your music? 

MAISIE: Interesting. Probably my life as a musician. I think the travel that I’ve been lucky enough to do, and living in London I think has really shaped that. Living in my girls’ house, I live with all the girls, I think that really actually shaped the music that I make. 

GLITTER: And we know that you have been working with Ed after signing to his Gingerbread Records. But what other artists would you consider to be your “dream” collaboration? 

MAISIE: I mean, I love Kacey Musgraves. She’s one of my favorite artists, one of my biggest inspirations. So I’d love to get to write with her. I just think she’s just incredible. 

GLITTER: And what are you most excited about for your North American tour? 

MAISIE: Everything. I’m so excited for every single thing. Honestly, I am counting down the days. I cannot wait, especially maybe, to maybe to play some of the album tracks. Because “Villain,” “Tough Act,” “Boy,” like all these songs that have never got to play live that I love so much, and I like thinking about playing them live, I mean, so many of them. But yeah.  

GLITTER: And we’ve heard that you really wanted to sing “Brooklyn” while you’re on tour in Brooklyn. 

MAISIE: I did. And unfortunately, we’ve now changed the venue, so we’re no longer in Brooklyn, which is like, cool. It’s cool. We’re playing Webster Hall, which is amazing. I’m so excited as well, but it’s kind of like a tiny tear because we could have sung “Brooklyn” in Brooklyn, but we’re still playing “Brooklyn” in New York, which is no less cool. 

GLITTER: Glitter has a self-love campaign that we started in 2015, so what does self-love mean to you? 

MAISIE: I think it means self-confidence and self-belief, and I guess like a quiet steeliness to yourself knowing that you’re capable of whatever you want to do. 

GLITTER: And we were really wondering, does your music taste fluctuate often? What songs are you really into right now? 

MAISIE: It does. I mean, I listen to a lot of stuff right now. I’m really into the Noah Gunderson record Pillar Of Salt, I think it’s called. The Kacey Musgraves album, obviously. I super love and I’m really into Gwen Stefani right now, so I listen to “Hollaback Girl” a lot. 

GLITTER: As you really start to embark on your North American tour, what’s one place that you really want to just travel, relax, and have fun? 

MAISIE: I mean, in North America, I love wherever. Where am I not going? Oh, I’ve never been to Vancouver and I’ve got friends from there. And I’m really excited to go because I’ve never been. 

GLITTER: Yes, actually dad is from Vancouver, so we go there every year. If you like really cold weather, then it’s such a nice place to go. 

MAISIE: I’m excited. 

GLITTER: What’s one beauty product that you can’t live without? 

MAISIE: What a question, really, blusher sounds strange to say. My sister always says I wear way too much of it, but I think that I have a naturally very pale complexion and I’m not really one for bronzer. So, I guess blush is my way of brightening up my face to make me not look like a ghost. 

GLITTER: Are you very interested in fashion or makeup? 

MAISIE: In some ways, I really enjoy it. I’ve been to some fashion shows and I’ve gotten to sort of do a little bit of modeling. And I’ve actually always really enjoyed it and found it really interesting, and it’s actually really complicated a lot of the time. And makeup I love, like sort of I got my signature eyeliner, which I actually did have on today, but I normally do. But I also sort of live my life in a very light way, like, what’s the minimum amount of time I can take to get ready so I can sleep the longest? 

GLITTER: So in your daily life, we’re really wondering, we know you love to read, and one of your songs is called John Hughes Movie. So what are your favorite books and movies to just sit down and enjoy? 

MAISIE: Well, my favorite film, my favorite John Hughes movie is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which is just a bit nostalgic to me and really poignant, kind of sad, and beautiful. And then my favorite book. I love The Great Gatsby, and I love Secret History by Donna Tartt, so I’m going to say those two. 

GLITTER: Have you ever thought about maybe writing a song about those books or about the experiences within those novels? 

MAISIE: I actually kind of have like, weirdly, I’ve kind of done that. I have a little verse that I wrote about some books that I think I was listening to. I think it kind of had some merit to it. But yeah, I definitely would. 

GLITTER: And we know that you’re always constantly trying to take experiences from your life to write songs about. But how do you stay healthy and active and kind of go about your daily life? 

MAISIE: I mean, I’m not great at it. I’m trying to be better, I do. I mean, I live in London and we kind of walk to a lot of places, so I try to walk everywhere as much as possible and sort of go to the park and just get some air and some space when I can. 

GLITTER: How do you feel like collaborating with others has changed how you write songs and how you approach music? And if you can really take the ideas of others and kind of change your perspective on things. 

MAISIE: I think it just really widens your own perspective and your own creative ability because you’re sort of suddenly taking in a whole other person’s. So I like to think it’s, and it’s also made me sort of probably more communicative with what I want to do. And in a way, probably, it’s made me stronger in my own writing, in my own identity, in that way, because you have to know what you want very clearly if you’re working with others. 

GLITTER: I want to say thank you so much Maisie for your time. I’m looking forward to chatting with you again. 

MAISIE: You too. Thank you so much. So nice to meet you and thank you for the questions.