More about: Abby Roberts

Abby Roberts tried something bold this year. Not content to be the UKs biggest beauty influencer, with an insane following of 16.9 million on TikTok, she wanted something more. When she pivoted to music early this year, people were quick to doubt - an atmosphere not the most indicative of confidence. But when we met back in May, she was working on it.

6 months on from our initial chat, she’s ticked a lot of boxes. Previously telling us about her challenges with imposter syndrome, stage fright and fears as she prepared for a summer full up with a Halsey US tour and a full circuit of festivals, we sat down again to see where she’s at now…

Read part one, from May 2022 here

GW: How are you?! You’ve seemed incredibly busy…

AR: I've been to like six countries in the last two weeks. It's been a lot. It’s been Fashion Month as well so it’s like New York then Milan, then we had a gig in Madrid and then one in Germany. I finally have a week at home then i’m going to LA to do some Halloween stuff for TikTok! It’s a busy month again, you quickly learn to sleep where you can get it on trains or planes or wherever.

The last time we spoke back in May, you’d done five shows. How many are you up to now?

I think we’re on about 16 or 17, something like that. I’ve not been keeping track very well. It all really blurs together on tour but i know with Halsey we did 12 or 13 shows, then it was festival season when we got back so Reading and Leeds, Reeperbahn in Germany and then Madrid.

Talking about the Halsey tour -  how was it?

Oh my God, it was amazing. When I first started, the first three or so shows, I was absolutely shitting myself and like, throwing up with anxiety the night before. But when I got on the stage I was like, you know what, this really isn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. I expected it to feel really different performing to a lot more people than I was used to, but I can only really see just past the pit anyways, I'm too blind. So it was good! I really enjoyed it and by the end of the tour, I felt so much more confident, I felt like I could take on anything!

I imagine when the audience sizes go up, it's almost easier, it must feel a bit more anonymous as it's not like you’re in a small venue where you can see every single face?

It does, yeah. I think it's definitely a different experience learning how to work that kind of crowd as well, because it's a lot of people. It definitely varied city to city with different energy from different crowds. It was interesting to see how people in different places kind of reacted to us.

@abbyroberts

should i do a part 2 of this bc i could go on forever😭

♬ original sound - Abby Roberts

I know you were nervous about your confidence as a new performer and stepping onto those big stages. Now having done it, do you feel like you’ve managed to silence that imposter syndrome?

Definitely. I think I've grown so much as a performer even compared to the shows I did on my UK tour. People who had been to both have been like, "wow, the difference is crazy." And I feel that as well. We did a lot of rehearsals beforehand but I think the only way to learn is diving into it and just doing it.

Was there any particular moment where you felt that shift? Where you suddenly felt so much better up there?

I think it was after we got the Hollywood Bowl out of the way. We're all building it up so much in our heads because it was, you know, such an iconic venue. It was only the third show of the tour as well, but when we did it and it went really well, I was like okay, now we can kind of settle into it a bit. Red Rocks was kinda like that as well. I think the other cities helped when we were playing places I’d never heard of so it was like I had nothing to lose and nobody knew me. I noticed the more I could relax, the more I enjoyed it. I think Chicago and Dallas ended up being my favourite shows because of that, they were really fun ones.

After America, I bet coming home to play Leeds Festival was amazing. Like a homecoming show…

It was really special because I've obviously grown up going to Leeds fest every single year, and then going and being on the the stage - it’s a full circle moment. A lot of my hometown friends and people that I know came to that as well so it was really lovely. I was so scared no one was going to show up but the tent was packed! People brought signs and stuff, that was the first time that happened.

It really seems like you’ve really established yourself over the summer! 

I’ve run into people on the street lately, and they're like,” oh, Abby, I like your music” rather than “are you that makeup girl from TikTok?” It feels amazing to see people recognise my music separately. I feel more confident calling myself an artist. I think before when I was first getting into it, I didn’t know if I deserved to call myself an artist or a musician in any way. But now, I feel like I've earned a bit more. I’ve done all these shows and proved to people I can do it - it’s a really good feeling.

@abbyroberts

seeing this many people show their love for my song about my best friend was sooo special i will never ever forget it thank u turkey❤️‍🔥

♬ bandaid - Abby Roberts

What was the proudest moment?

I think it was the show Halsey invited us back to do in Istanbul. I had zero expectations , I didn't even know if I had fans in Istanbul and didn't really promote the show much either because it was so last minute. But it was just insane, like the craziest show of the whole year. It was their first show since pre-COVID so everyone was so ready for it. I was the only support as well so the full crowd was there and watching me, the energy was mad.

Everyone was chanting “Abby, Abby, Abby” when I left the stage and I never had that before. It came out of nowhere. We had a lot of technical difficulties and I had to sing acapella and talk to the crowd while the instruments weren’t working, and I know a couple of months ago I would have absolutely freaked out if that happened. But I pulled it off and I'll remember that show for a long time!

Overall, what was your biggest takeaway? What do you wish you could do back and tell Abby back in May?

Just be crazy and don't care about what people think. Because when you're doing a show to 20,000 people, nobody's going to remember if you move your arm in a certain way! 

I was so embarrassed at the fact that people were looking at me, and like, if I move in this way, are they gonna judge me for it? I think the biggest takeaway of the summer was just figuring out my presence onstage and the only way you can succeed at something like that is to genuinely believe that you are good. Or at least convince yourself that you're good and act like it. 

Abby Roberts' EP Ashes is out now

Issue Four of the Gigwise Print magazine is on pre-order now! Order here.

More about: Abby Roberts