Katy For Kings has a dual appeal that’s rarely seen in emerging British artists. The 20-year-old is building a following on TikTok and her reimagining’s of songs by Billie Eilish and Madison Beer have picked up thousands of views. Her own songs are big on hooks, melody and emotion – and that talent spoke to her producer and regular collaborator John Fields, whose credits have included huge airplay hits for Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and P!nk. Today, she shares the official video for her new single ‘Impersonator’ – watch HERE. Listen HERE.
While the song is themed around heartache, the song’s official video puts a fun slant on a serious topic. Katy features as a young woman who desperately tries to reinvent herself to look like her ex’s new girlfriends. While she pulls off some new looks – sporty blonde, rock chick – she ultimately realises that she can only thrive by being her true self. The video was directed by Pittstop Films, who have previously created content for Kelsea Ballerini, Ellie Goulding and Lawson.
‘Impersonator’ finds Katy continuing to evolve her sound by adding bolder pop elements to the modern melodic folk sound that ‘City’ represented. It’s also a song which will speak to so many people amongst her generation. If you can’t be yourself in a relationship, how can it have any future? As with ‘City’ , Katy For Kings wrote the song on acoustic guitar alongside Chris Bourne (5 Seconds of Summer). It was then produced by John Fields.
Katy’s take on modern folk-pop echoes Taylor Swift, Kacey Muscgraves or the more reflective moments of Alessia Cara, albeit viewed through the distinctly British personality of the rising Chelmsford-based artist. It’s therefore unsurprising that Taylor proved to be an early inspiration, when a 14-year-old Katy heard ‘Hey Stephen’ and decided to teach herself guitar.
That was the impetus for Katy to become addicted to writing songs, with other key influences such as John Mayer, Lizzy McAlpine and Harry Styles feeding into her confessional style. That was the starting point for a journey which evolved very naturally, taking her from gigs in local pubs that she was too young to drink in, to the release of her debut EP ‘Novelty’ and now two increasingly confident singles.