PRIDE MONTH ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: CAT BURNS!
Unfiltered, adorable and simply herself, Cat Burns puts into words what most people her age feel. With soft guitar notes and a charming London accent, she tackles one complicated emotion at a time.
A shy girl from South London is conquering the UK pop scene and has everyone rooting for her – rightfully so, because Cat Burns is a true gem. Unfiltered, adorable and simply herself, she puts into words what most people her age feel. With soft guitar notes and a charming London accent, Cat tackles one complicated emotion at a time.
Like many other aspiring musicians, Cat Burns started her career by busking on the streets of London. According to her, she would often attract an audience by playing covers of Ed Sheeran’s songs. Which makes it all the more remarkable that she secured a spot as his opening act during the European leg of his stadium tour two years ago. At only 22 years old, Cat got the chance to enchant the audience with her own songs this time around, captivating the crowd with her authenticity and instantly forming a connection with them. During these shows, Cat would often talk about her ambition to prove that there is space for Black girls in pop music – a mission she has been accomplishing superbly in the past few years. She’s even going a step further by seamlessly integrating gospel music into her pop songs and creating her own sound.
Listening to Cat’s music feels like talking to a friend, not least because she has a beautifully soothing voice. Her music is comforting and relatable; there is probably not an emotion on the entire human spectrum that Cat has not explored and explained in her songs yet. She doesn’t shy away from discussing topics that are otherwise not widely talked about, like accidentally ghosting your friends when you feel down and need time for yourself, or growing apart from your closest friend.
Cat is here to let you know that you’re not the only one who’s struggling with these things – she literally has a song called ‘know that you’re not alone’ which is all about realising that the things you might feel ashamed of affect a lot of other people too and are not as alienating as they may seem. Cat, who has been diagnosed with ADHD and ASD, has also penned down songs about anxiety, the struggle of being a people pleaser and the fear of ending up alone. Whatever you’re feeling right now, Cat probably has a song about it. So, it’s only fitting that her debut album, which will be released on July 12th, is called ‘early twenties’.
The album contains her viral hit ‘go’ as well as her coming-out anthem ‘Free’. Its simple but powerful title summarises the track perfectly; while the first verse and the pre-chorus are about the anxiety that often accompanies the process of coming out, the chorus celebrates the experience. In the second verse, Cat describes what not being able to be herself felt like: “I was the deepest blue; my strings wandered out of tune”. This multiplies the emotional impact of the chorus as it hits the second time and Cat declares again that she’s finally free.
Cat Burns proves that there is not only space for Black girls in pop music but also for queer Black girls who are not afraid to talk about their struggles and to celebrate their victories.
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