Putting the ‘Pieces’ Back Together with bshp

Courtesy of Joshua Dadson

12th January 2024

By Jennifer Raymont

Rising UK pop and R&B star bshp has been WOW’ing us with her talent since bursting on to the scene. She has been on a nationwide tour with Sigala, been the face of Jaguar Cars Entertainment Division, and written and featured on triple platinum selling single, Disciples’ sultry ‘Solid Gold’. 2023 kicked off with a bang for bshp, as her feature single ‘Oh Baby’ with Nathan Dawe, Bru C & Issey Cross reached Top 40 success, landing at No. 35 in the UK.
Her own music speaks volumes as she finds the blend between power ballads and uptempo bangers. Having recently signed a record deal with Universal Germany, new single ‘SWEET’ set the summer of 2023 alight.

We caught up with bshp to discuss her past, present and future projects, as well as her unreleased song ‘Pieces’, where we were given the creative freedom to help bring the visuals to life.

Courtesy of Joshua Dadson

Jennifer Raymont: How would you describe your music to someone who's never listened to it before?

bshp: I would say most of it is like “Heartbreak Bangers.” So sad sounding, sad topics, romance, breakups; but I try to keep some uptempo vibes in there as well. So, there's a good mix. 

Something that you can “Cry in the Club” to! That's how I would describe it.

JR: We cannot get enough of your unreleased song “Pieces,” and we are excited that we got the exclusive first! What was the inspiration behind writing it?

b: Thank you so much! I wrote pieces after a difficult and messy breakup. I was feeling motivated at this point to move forward and move on. It’s about someone taking a lot from you; leaving you in pieces but you have the strength to put yourself back together.

JR: Do you have a favourite breakup anthem, that’s not yours?

b: Oh, my God, I’m on the spot. I don’t want to say this song again, because I say it all the time. People will think ‘she only listens to one song!’ I'm just trying to think about what else is on my list, but I can’t. So I'll say it again, I don’t care! The Winner Takes It All by ABBA. It’s a classic example of a heartbreak bange, because you can dance to it, but you could also cry to it.

Courtesy of Joshua Dadson

What about your creative process? Do you write lyrics first or do you do the music? 
b: It really depends, sometimes I go in with a concept. That's usually if I'm going through something at that time, and I want to kind of strike while the iron is hot. I'll have a concept or like, even just a word or phrase, or I'm like that's cool. It really depends. It depends who I'm working with, what I'm working on. Usually, I would like to start with the melodies and then obviously, kind of fit the concepts and the lyrics into that after.

What are your biggest influences? Do you have any rough, guilty pleasures?

b: So many to be honest. I don't know if I'm influenced by the stuff that I grew up listening to and the stuff that I do actually listen to, for fun. If that makes sense? I listen to a lot of US R&B. Like Lucky Daye, Kehlani and artists like that. They probably influence me more than anything else. I think Ariana Grande is a huge influence. But in terms of what I listened to, it's so broad. Like, I listened to old school 80’s. I listen to a lot of old music like Motown. I listen to Coldplay. It is actually always about the mood. 

I really like the music video for SBGNR (Sad Bitches Get No Respect) and how it kind of explores the emotional trauma of when you’re going through a break. 

b: Yes! That was the goal! I’m so glad you like it. 

What was your favourite part of the shoot?

b: Obviously, it was lovely because we went out to Berlin to shoot it and I've never shot a video abroad. Out of all the scenes, the boyfriend scenes I found very awkward, because I'm very sort of reserved, selective and shy anyway. So, then having to be on camera with someone and pretend that you're in love with them. It's very hard and awkward for me. That was challenging. But you know, I think it's good to be challenged. I think the best thing for me was the bath scene. It was the end of the day. I had the most confidence at the end of the day. Everyone was cheering and I'd never, again, never shot anything like that before. So, I thought it just tied it all together. It made the whole video vulnerable, which is what I wanted. Yeah, that was fun.

Courtesy of George Metu

I didn’t like that I could relate!

b: Yeah, definitely, haha. We’ve all cried in the bath at one point.

How was it working with Nathan Dawe and Issey Cross?

b: Oh, my God is actually crazy. Nathan Dawe is such a lovely guy. So, it was a pleasure to be honest to work with him. The song that we did together, Oh Baby, was initially just me, him and the producers in one of the co-producers in the room. So that was really lovely. I've got a lot of time for him because he's genuinely a decent person and he's lovely to work with. He's talented so that was a real pleasure. Issey and I actually met later when the song came out, she jumped on it after. We've sort of sung on the same lineups and stuff. I really respected her before that song anyway. And, you know, I think she's a great musician, a great artist, and she also is a lovely person as well. So, it's really nice to work with good, humble and talented people.

Do you have a dream collaboration at all? 

b: Have you heard of the artist 6LACK? He's one of my top people on my collaborations list. Yeah, Coldplay, I just love them so much. They're probably like my main two, to be honest. But again, it would be so difficult to choose. I'd love to collab with Stevie Wonder as well.

You’ve written a lot of music for other artists. Do you write with specific artists in mind, or is it kind of decided as you're writing a song?

b: Sometimes. So, I mean, it's hard when you've got your own project to sort of get in the rooms with other artists. Because you're very much starting from something from the ground up when you're doing it. So, usually I like to sort of, especially in the last year, focus on my own stuff, and write for myself. And then if I know I'm not going to use it, I will obviously think of artists that I know would do that some justice, or I could pitch it to them. So, I do like to do that. But every so often, I mean, songwriters will relate, we might have an idea of who we want to write for, for that day. But it's more unusual to do that.

I suppose you get kind of protective over your work as well.

b: Well, yeah, you do as well. And again, when you're an artist, you have to choose what kind of headspace you want to be in. I think for the last year because I've started releasing, even if it's not always for me, just trying to have me in mind.

Courtesy of Joshua Dadson

Do you have an ‘I made it’ moment?

b: I think probably when I got my first chart in, collab with ‘Oh Baby’. It definitely was a first to me. And I feel like, you know, I'm very grateful for that experience. It was a really lovely feeling. Because you know, it was a new feeling. Hopefully, I'll get some more!

You've spoken before about the kind of pressures of the music industry and trying not to get too caught up in the numbers. What do you kind of do to keep focused on the music in the craft?

b: I think it's hard because I think it is a mindset. I feel like you can't always change a lot of how you've thought for a long time. I think for me because I got into music, not later in life; but I always worked full time. I worked really hard and when I got signed and I started doing music full time, the novelty of that is still there for me. It hasn’t worn off. So, I never really got caught up in the numbers game because I was just so happy just to be grateful to be doing it. Like, don't get me wrong, you can't help especially when things are going well, you can't help but look at the numbers and celebrate them. 

But at the same time, it's not realistic. I just think it's really important to remember how you feel and how  important the music is to you, that the numbers are not a reflection of that, and how well it does. Like, the numbers aren't a reflection of how good the song is, as well.

And it is really hard to think like that, but I just think, you know, the industry is very oversaturated. And if we put too much pressure on ourselves in that sense, then like, we may never actually be fulfilled and happy. It's a really tough competition and it's very oversaturated so I think just always make sure that you're putting out what you love, and you can't go wrong. 

Talking about music, any other new music store for 2024?

b: So much more music, so many more singles. I've actually [had] a song out in December, which was a last-minute collaboration and that's all I'll say for now. It's not a Christmas song but it's tied in with Christmas. I'm really happy that it's coming out and it's been a nice surprise as well. I only wrote it about a month ago, so it's been a really quick turnover. 

Next year is the year for obviously more bshp singles, hopefully an EP. I definitely want to go on some sort of tour and do more performances. You know, now that I've really started releasing music, I should be in a situation where I could do that. So that will be the main goal for 2024.

Are you planning on playing any festivals? 

b: No, not yet.

What would be your dream festival?

b: I mean, at this stage, it would be amazing to do some smaller stages at the bigger festivals, like the iconic ones. But I also feel like it's quite hard sometimes to find that middle ground with pop acts. 

So, I think they're all conversations to be had. But I guess ultimately, playing somewhere like Glastonbury is always going to be the goal. Yeah, you know, whether that's on a small stage or big stage really, as long as you're at Glastonbury, as long as I'm there. 

‘Pieces’ - bshp teaser video out soon!

DIR. (STILLS) JASS MENSAH 
DIR. (VID) BRUNO MAURICE-JONES 
PRODUCERS BETHAN DADSON JASS MENSAH
DOP JOSHUA DADSON
GAFFER JORDAN WHITE 
TRAINEE SPARK CHARLIE MUSGRAVE
EDITOR BRUNO MAURICE-JONES
PHOTOGRAPHER JOSHUA DADSON
STYLIST BETHAN DADSON 
STYLIST ASST. TILLY SANDI
CREATIVE ASST. TEMILAYO BENSON 
CREATIVE ASST. MILLY OLIVER
HAIR STYLISTS GAIA BEZBRADICA & ADESEWA AWOBADEJO
MUA BELLA KALDJOB
NAILS NAILS BY D DESIREE
BTS SAM SINGER
BTS GEORGE METU
BTS RONITA AWOONOR-GORDON
INTERVIEWER JENNIFER RAYMONT
INT. ASST. SHAZNAY SEKA