ABZ WINTER - JUST WANNA BE ME
Updated: Mar 5, 2022
King City Online ©
Abz Winter wants to be heard. In the post-pandemic future of music, with female influencers driving empowerment and digital streaming leading to a fast-changing landscape, she hopes that people are ready to listen… just like the judges on new music showcase ‘Walk The Line’.
19 year-old Abz was chosen from thousands of hopefuls to become the youngest contestant on the show and compliments from the panel came thick and fast. Gary Barlow said “You have a beautiful voice”, while Alesha Dixon praised her “very contemporary, very modern” vocals. Craig David remarked upon her “really incredible voice” and Dawn French summed it all up by saying “I think you belong on that stage”.
Now Abz has followed up her TV success with a new EP, Just Wanna Be Me, produced by Matt Waddell at 14 Records and mixed and mastered by El Sam at Elixir Productions. The five tracks - ‘Bad Thoughts’, ‘Conversations’, ‘Fuck Boy’, ‘Bye Bitch’ and ‘Just Wanna Be Me’ - are built on electro-dance vibes and waves of synthesiser, with strong basslines holding it all together. There’s a melodic edge and a voice that can move effortlessly from a Lily Allen-style rap to a rich powerful belt, note-perfect and evocative, expressing her stories with soul and emotion.
There’s real-life content in the lyrics, written during lockdown when Abz had time to examine life, friendship and love with refreshing and often brutal honesty. Not always in the friendliest terms, Abz uses her words to express her feelings with an innocent vulnerability, whilst remaining determinedly in charge of her own destiny.
She says “I wrote the EP based on different personalities I have come across over the last few years, about how a relationship only works if both sides are equal. More often than not they are so one-sided - whether it be with a partner, friend or colleague. I have learnt so much in a very short time, and I no longer invest time and energy in one-sided relationships. Life is too short. The titles alone define the meaning within the songs”.
Ultimately, the EP embraces the freedom to be yourself, to not conform to the norms set out by society. As her logo states ‘I Am Me, You Be You’ - a powerful message that, like Abz Winter, deserves to be heard.