Future Stars: Sarah Close (Parlophone)

Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.

I first heard of Sarah Close when scouting talent for Universal a few years ago, when she was a teenager and already had a small following on YouTube. She came to London from her home in the Isle of Wight to audition, and although she wasn’t suited to that project, I knew she was one to watch. She’s a cute, charming girl with a very genuine talent and an English rose vibe. High praise alert: I even thought she could be the British Taylor Swift. I expected that when she finally emerged with her own music (and inevitable major label deal) it would be the sweet singer-songwriter style of Taylor’s teens, but in fact her music is more in line with today’s cool-pop Taylor. She hasn’t yet shown Taylor’s prodigal songwriting prowess, and none of her songs released so far have massive hit potential, but new single Only You is her strongest to date. In the playlist age, there’s a benefit to fitting in, but I think she’ll need to find a more distinctive sound to stand out. I’ll be following her progress optimistically.

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