EXCLUSIVE | Viral singer Charlotte Awbery drops official 'Shallow' single, says song 'felt right' to start with
The English singer Charlotte Awbery had a literal 'A Star Is Born' moment back in February this year. It all started when a clip of her singing 'Shallow', the 2019 Oscar-winning song made famous by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, went viral on social media. While walking to catch the train on the London Tube, the 31-year-old Awbery was invited by the comedian Kevin Freshwater to take a part in an unplanned "Finish The Lyrics" segment. Freshwater had been asking random commuters to join him in completing the lyrics of famous songs and as luck would have it, he happened to chance upon Charlotte and sang the first few bars of 'Shallow' to her.
The talented singer from Essex had actually been performing at weddings, pubs and local restaurants as a way to earn part-time money for the last 15 years, so this proved to be a magical moment. As soon as she started singing, Freshwater was struck by her incredible voice and urged her to keep going. She then launched into a flawless rendition of 'Shallow', complete with soaring high notes, which immediately went viral once it made its way online. Awbery's effortless performance eventually earned her one billion views across all social media platforms and it catapulted her to instant stardom.
As interest grew for the relatively unknown London singer, her Instagram account shot from 4k to 600k+ followers (Ariana Grande was one of them) in less than two weeks, with celebs like Demi Lovato also giving her a shout out. She was even invited by Ellen DeGeneres to perform the song on 'The Ellen Show', where she was presented with a year-long pass to the London Tube and £10,000 ($13,278.50). As the singer revealed, “My passion for singing can be traced back to my childhood. Whether singing for family and friends, professional gigs, or writing and recording my own material for release, I’ve been on this path for years. The reason, quite simply, is I love it. I love the songwriting, I love the singing, I love the live performance."
Although the Covid-19 pandemic halted her immediate plans, Awbery used this time to focus on recording and releasing her own material. She's now released her debut studio recording as of August 28 and fittingly enough, it's a cover of the song that made her famous, namely Lady Gaga's 'Shallow'. Her first official single had previously premiered on BBC Radio London’s 'The Scene' show and it also received early support from Michael Ball on his BBC Radio 2 show. Charlotte will be marking the release of 'Shallow' with a Facebook Live session, along with comedian Kevin Freshwater on August 28. She also plans to drop an official music video to coincide with the release. This represents the start of a new journey for Awbery, with more official single releases and original tracks earmarked for later this year and beyond. You can check out her song below:
Speaking to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) about her overnight success story, Awbery talked about how much her life had changed: "Back in March when the video went viral, I was completely blown away with the reaction and responses from people all around the World. Initially, I couldn't believe how quickly it spread across the Internet. Once it started to sink in half of me was terrified by all the attention, and the other half of me was so excited at what was to come."
She continued, "Life switched up pretty quickly if I'm honest, after appearing on Ellen as well as some other TV and radio, I performed at GAY in front of three thousand people, which I absolutely loved (to feel the love and support of the crowd was incredible). However Covid and lockdown came literally the week after my show, and like so many others in the live/entertainment industry, I was floored by the news, and the time since then has been challenging for everyone. With such an up and down ride, I've tried to draw some positives out of lockdown, and stay inspired and creative writing my own music. I'm sure other artists and performers felt the same."
She then admitted, "I literally can't wait for the track to drop this Friday! It would have been released much sooner but because of everything that happened with Covid, my plans had to change slightly. Many things were put on hold for obvious reasons."
Talking about her musical path, the singer revealed, "I wanted to start with a cover, and naturally, it felt right that I begin with this track, but my future plans consist of more original material - there'll be some more singles and original tracks from me this year for sure! And of course, in the long term, I can't wait to get back out there and performing. Also, keep your eye out for a music video for 'Shallow' which is coming soon!"
You can listen to Charlotte's Awbery's first official single by clicking here, and also follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.