Three years ago controversial X-Factor finalist Kitty Brucknell impressed then-judges Gary Barlow, Tulisa, Kelly Rowland and Louis Walsh as she took to the stage to sing an acapella version of Lady Gaga’s Edge Of Glory.
Whilst on the talent show, the former Britney Spears impersonator was often described as ‘kooky’ and compared to the gimmicky contestants like Jedward and Wagner, rather than as a serious artist with a brilliant voice.
Fast forward to today
As she saunters into the room wearing a Alanna Rose pink and blue silk kaftan that you would usually see on a beach rather than in our airfield surroundings, Kitty’s blonde hair is also dyed pink and blue to match – she may look a bit strange, however her friendly greeting of a big hug and air kiss as if you’re an old friend instantly makes you warm to her and see why she has managed to grow a strong and loyal fan-base who call themselves “Kitty’s Divas”.
A lot of them even have her phone number: “They rely on me, they’ve become more of a family.” The singer has been working extremely hard to please her fans.
“After the show finished I did the tour. Then I took a lot of time out to really, really find out who I was as an artist,’ says the star. Then I went to China to do a two-week, 13 date tour. That was amazing. From there I started writing songs and working on an album.”
New music
Her album is called ‘Glamour And Damage ‘and was funded by a successful campaign on popular crowd funding website Pledge Music – a direct artist-to-fan platform that allows musicians to raise money for projects from monetary fan ‘pledges’. ‘There’s a happier side of me and a really dark side of me,’ says the singer, in regards to the album’s title. ‘Sometimes I wake up and I’m super glamour, other times I’m super damaged.’
At this point she sings a few song from the album, whilst accompanied by a keyboard that she is playing. She’s written all of the songs by herself and in the video to her first single ‘Glitter in the Sky Kitty’ can be seen leaping out of a plane at 20,000ft, which is why her performance is taking place at an airfield. ‘Glitter In The Sky’, is a ‘happy song,’ exclaims the singer.
Continuing she states: “A lot of the songs I’d written previously were super dark and were all about death and destruction, weird things that were going on in my head at the time. ‘Glitter In The Sky’ is the start of a new era.”
Some would say at 29, Kitty maybe too old for pop stardom, but she disagrees. “I still feel like I’m 15. I like My Little Pony and all of that. Kylie’s like what? 45? I don’t think it really matters. It didn’t really occur to me. As long as I keep up with the Botox and keep injecting my face.”
Beauty and botox
There are many talented people in the public eye who would never admit to having plastic surgery or non-invasive procedures but Kitty who confesses that she is ‘vain’ has been having botox since she was 23 and has also had liposuction on her thighs is very open and talks quite frankly about what she has had done and why.
“It’s preventative. My dentist does it. I hold up a mirror to watch him do it. The most painful thing in the world is filler.” Being in the limelight has however made her more conscious about how she looks. ‘I’m such a perfectionist in my music and what I do I think it travels to how I look on stage. I’m so hard on myself. Everything I do has to be perfect, which is hard as you can never be perfect.’
Music is very important to her which is why she has joined forces with some of the biggest names in the music world – Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Tom Jones, Sting and Ronnie Wood – to back an appeal for a nationwide instrument amnesty.
Jessie J, Ricky Wilson, Damon Albarn, Tinie Tempah and James Blunt have also supported the appeal, which aims to get instruments into the hands of primary school children who need them.
With many young fans, would she ever recommend them to go on X-Factor? “I think that X Factor takes a certain kind of mind. I wouldn’t say to one of my fans, ‘Do it’. I think you’ve got to be brutal to be on that show and have a brutal sense of who you are. You have to be so hard, hard-nosed and have an, ‘I don’t give a shit’ mentality.”
Kitty is currently on a national schools tour, and is in the running for the Eurovision Song Contest. “I’m just happy I’m getting my music out there now.’ As she reflects on the past she concludes our conversation by saying: ‘For a long time I didn’t think it was going to happen. I felt I was just fighting, fighting, fighting for everything. I feel like an artist now rather than just someone off the TV.’
You can donate your unwanted instruments by pledging online at www.dontstopthemusic.co.uk before dropping them off at an Oxfam store.
Kitty Brucknell has a brand new single coming out on the 19th October called ‘Glitter in the Sky’ – the video features her leaping out of a plane at 20,000ft!
