Photo: Press

Showing 'the real you' on your debut can be a tough, uphill battle for most artists. The old saying goes that 'you've got your entire life to write your first album'. But when Birdy came to the world's attention, she was only 15-year-old. Her first single, a cover of Bon Iver’s ‘Skinny Love’, was used in advert for Aussie soap Neighbours. It charted across the world and went platinmum six times in Australia. An eponymous album filled with similarly radio -friendly covers followed, featuring renditions of tracks by the likes of The National and The xx.

Now though, Birdy (real name Jasmine van den Boegarde), is ready to strike out on her own and let people get to see the 'real 'her. Her new album Fire Within consists of her own original material - a brave move when you’ve already found the formula to success. We caught up with the teen folk-pop sensation to discuss what lies on the horizon. 

“I loved the covers because it was all about experimenting and covers were a very new thing for me," says Birdy. "I feel more attached to these new songs because they tell my own stories and as I was writing them, I had an idea of how they might sound.”

Watch the video for Wings by Birdy below

Fire Within was released this week, and features contributions from Ryan Tedder and Dan Wilson, who worked on Adele’s 21, and a collaboration with singer-songwriter Kid Harpoon on a track called ‘Light Me Up’ - which was apparently written to the soundtrack of David Bowie’s legendary, downright weird film Labyrinth. Naturally, Birdy says that the track takes the album in an 'unexpected 80s direction'.

Not only was 'No Angel' co-written by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons (who she duetted with on the track 'Learn Me Right') , but the album was also produced by Rich Costey - who's worked with Muse, Franz Ferdinand and Rage Against The Machine. How did it feel to collaborate with such huge names?

"They are all so talented and I felt very lucky," she replies. " I got to work with Rich on the first album so it was wonderful to be there again with my own songs. I hadn't really done much co-writing and working with Ryan was really interesting just to hear his take on some of my ideas."

Finding fame so fast and at such a young age usually means a recipe for disaster. Asking young singers about the perils of ending up like Miley Cyrus is starting to become a bit of a cliche but the Hampshire teenager, who, strangely, is the great niece of acting legend Dirk Bogarde, is happy to explain how she has her feet firmly on the ground.

“Everything has happened gradually so I've had time to grow and balance everything," she says. "It's important to have family and friends around you to keep you grounded.”

Could she have perhaps handled the pressure a little better a few years down the line?

"Maybe, because I wouldn't have been at school but everything happened very slowly and I was able to balance both so the pressure hasn't been too much."

The only pressure now is to keep happy and work as an artist on her own terms. The future looks bright for Birdy, but she’s determined to concentrate on the present. “My goal for a long to time has been to make an album of all originals so for me that's what I'm focusing on and I'm very excited about it. I just hope I can keep writing and releasing music!”

Birdy's new album, Fire Within, is out now

She'll also be touring the UK in October. For more information visit Gigwise gig tickets:
28 - Edinburgh, Queens Hall
30 - Manchester, Academy 2
31 - London, Kentish Town Forum