Tabi - From Lexington to Lincoln, the young singer who wants to collaborate with Billie Eilish

Tabi is a 16 year old girl from America who moved to Lincolnshire a few years ago. She has been successful in her music career and starred on The Voice Kids. Recently, she spent some time in Nashville to record some new music and create contacts in the industry. We spoke to her about her success and what she has in store for us in the future.

Tabi 2019

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am Tabi a 16-year-old Musician from the Lincolnshire area but I am originally from Lexington, Kentucky. I go to Bourne Academy 6th form where I am studying Music, Performing Arts and Media

What made you go into music?

I have enjoyed singing for as long as I can remember really, from a young age I always found myself getting involved in school showcases and choirs. The first time I performed by myself I was about 11 and I sang at my teachers wedding from this point on I always knew I wanted to be in the music industry in some way.

How long have you been singing/writing songs for?

I only really started writing my own music about 3 years ago, I always wanted to be able to write music but I always found it quite hard, when I learned how to play the guitar I found it a lot easier because I could make a melody to write over.

Have you played any gigs in Lincolnshire or anywhere else?

I’ve been playing gigs around Lincolnshire since moving here almost 4 years ago. I have performed in local festivals, open mic nights and some private events too. As well as my gigs in Lincolnshire I have also done gigs back in my hometown of Lexington Kentucky including Woodsongs which gets broadcast to about 90 million listeners across America.

Your songs have quite different styles, how would you describe your sound?

I would describe my style of music as Alternative Pop as I have quite different sounding songs.

What was it like writing songs in Nashville?

I was thankful enough to have the opportunity to write in Nashville with some industry professionals which was quite surreal and a very eye opening experience, it gave me an insight into how todays music is written and recorded.

What did the process involve?

We start with a track and we listen to it a couple of times, most of the time we will decide on a storyline or title before we start writing any melodies or lyrics so that we have something to build off of, then collectively the 4 for us chip in different ideas until we get the perfect song that we are happy with. Writing the song usually takes a day and then the next day we record the song.

When will you be releasing your new music?

I am hoping to releasing my music in the next couple of months hopefully starting by releasing a single then moving forward to an EP.

Are you creating any sort of hype about your music?

Building up to releasing music I am hoping to do more independent gigs to showcase my new music and get my name out there more.

If you could collaborate with anyone in the music industry, who would it be?

If I could collaborate with anyone in the music industry it would either be Billie Eilish because we are the same age and I feel that our voices would blend well together or I would want to collaborate with Oliver Tree because I love his style of music, he has really created his own original image and style and so has Billie Eilish.

Who do you look up to?

I look up to Billie Eilish and Millie Turner because they are two young artists that are so involved in their music and so dedicated at such a young age it makes me believe that even though I am young if I work hard I can achieve my goals in the music industry.

What is the meaning behind your song Exhale? Where did you find your inspiration?

One of my songs is called exhale, when I am writing a song I sometimes write it about personal experiences or I sometimes write as if I’m looking through the eyes of someone else. Exhale is about when you see someone that is just perfect and it doesn’t seem like they’re real so you need to stop for a minute and Exhale.

Who were you collaborating with during your time in Nashville?

While in Nashville I was collaborating with Keith Follese, Adrienne Follese, and Shane Bauman (Sheux Bear).

Here is a video to hear some of Tabi's music: