For Whom The Tinkerbell tolls

Blessed with a soulful voice, pin-up looks and all the right dance moves, Pixie Lott has all the necessary attributes for pop icon status.

Considering the success she has enjoyed recently, has she found that her life has changed dramatically?
“It kind of has changed, just because it’s got so busy,” replies Pixie. “I think that is the way it’s going to change — the schedule is going to be so hectic. But I love being busy, so it’s good.”
Is the singer worried that the tabloids might start taking an interest in her personal life?
“It kind of comes with it,” responds Pixie. “It’s quite exciting right now. Probably in a couple of months I won’t be saying that. On Monday morning, I went to go and get a facial really early. I’d just woken up and I was a bit bleary-eyed. I got out of the car and there was paparazzi there, and I was like, ‘Oh no! Not now.’ My heart was pounding and I was really worried, but it’s fine.”
Given Pixie’s commanding voice and the electro-tinged arrangements of her songs, her sound is perhaps best described as Amy Winehouse-meets-Lady GaGa. Does she think this is a fair description?
“That’ s quite cool actually,” says Pixie. “No one’s ever said that before. I have been compared to every female singer out there, but that’s a good way of putting it. The soul element is definitely in there, because I grew up listening to that style of music. Also, I wanted to keep it fresh and contemporary sounding, so that’s obviously the Lady GaGa element. That’s quite a good combination you’ve come up with there!”
Clearly, in addition to her musical prowess, Pixie is also highly adept at flattering rock hacks. Moving on to the next topic, with the success of everyone from Duffy and Lily Allen to Adele and the aforementioned Ms. Winehouse, the climate has scarcely been better for female solo artists in the UK. Does Pixie feel she has benefited from current musical trends?
“You hope so!” she chuckles. “But you never know, do you? There are so many girls coming out at the moment. I like what everyone’s doing, cos they’re all a little bit different. Some are more electro, and then a singer like Duffy has a kind of retro feel. Everyone’s doing their own thing and that’s really cool. I also like Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, although my favourite female is definitely Adele. I love her voice and I listen to that album all the time – I know the words to all the songs. She’s wicked.”
In contrast to Lily ‘n’ Amy, Pixie - though obviously a pretty (in both sense senses of the word) shrewd girl as 18-year-olds go - comes across as a modest and sweet person without any noticeable taste for scandal and outrage. You can picture her chatting quietly to friends at the conclusion of a night out, rather than falling out of a club blind drunk with Noel Fielding et al, and winding up on the cover of the next morning’s papers under the headline, “Pixie’s Bender Ends With Faris Rotter Explosion Unpleasantness.”
Still, does she admire, say, Lily Allen for her fortright views and general lippiness?
“Yeah, she is very opinionated. It’s good that she has something to say - it’s better than being really boring.”
The daughter of a stock broker father and housewife mother, Pixie grew up in Essex and attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. During her time as a student, she appeared in the West End production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and recorded vocals for Roger Waters’ opera Ca Ira.
When Pixie was 15, the influential producer LA Reid signed her to the Island Def Jam Music Group (where he is chairman and CEO), although a change of managers resulted in a bidding war that saw Pixie sign to Mercury Records in the UK and Interscope in the US. She cites the meeting with LA Reid as a key turning point.
“It definitely was,” Pixie emphasises. “I didn’t know who LA Reid was at the time. I was at school and I got a call saying I had to meet him at his hotel. From that moment, the doors started opening and I properly got into it all.”
Whilst Turn It Up is mostly on a pop/R‘n’B tip, Pixie does like her rock music and has covered the likes of The Strokes and Kings Of Leon.
“It’s cool when artists sing in other genres, cos you can put your own spin on it. When I do covers, I like to do a song that’s in a style I wouldn’t normally do, so that it sounds a little bit different.”
What about harder rock? Do you like Marilyn Manson?
“I don’t really listen to that kind of stuff,” answers Pixie, a tad sheepishly. “I do like rock, but not too heavy.”
Interestingly, on Turn It Up, one of the songwriters with whom Pixie has collaborated is the up-and-coming Irish artist Ruth Anne Cunningham. The singer is hugely positive about Cunningham’s talents.
“Ruth Anne’s amazing,” enthuses Pixie. “She’s one of my favourite songwriters. She is so talented and she’s become a great friend. She has given me a lot of advice and taught me a lot, because obviously she’s done so much at such a young age. Ruth Anne has contributed so much to the record and I can’t wait to write with her on the second album.”
Finally, I ask perhaps the most important question of all – has Pixie done her final school exams?
“I did my GCSEs when I was 16, cos they were compulsory,” she explains, slipping into Ed Balls mode. “I didn’t want to do them, but I had to. I didn’t do my A levels. Hopefully I won’t have to use my GSCEs, but you never know!”
I’d say she probably doesn’t have too much worry about.