Get To Know Vanessa White, The Breeziest Voice In British R&B

"No one else will benefit from me not being true to myself."

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Image via Stephanie Sian-Smith

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Vanessa White possesses a special kind of sex appeal—an understated prowess which appeals, explicitly, to the freak in all of us. Retiring her squeaky-clean pop crown, earned by performing as one-fifth of UK girl band The Saturdays, Vanessa, who was born and raised in the Somerset countryside, chose to retreat from the limelight into her own shell on a path of self-rediscovery. Emerging three years later, the 27-year-old singer-songwriter of English and Filipino descent returns to the main stage to showcase herself once more, a strong and empowered woman.

Speaking about sex, lust, trust, and pressure, redefining herself as a solo artist in control of her own aesthetic, a darker kind of intrigue surrounds Vanessa White. Stripping back the false lashes and the sexy, florescent outfits—now more comfy in tees and natural make-up, she purrs, swears and seduces her rapidly growing audience. Tired of presenting the kind of commercial image that she became so disconnected with—the signature sound to her R&B rhythms are soothing, and deeply original.

Still in the early stages of playing out the new sound to fresh crowds, she speaks rapidly with energy and enthusiasm, clearly excited about breathing new life into her career and creating a sound that speaks powerfully to women—advocating a strong sexuality as being so bad it's always good. With a new EP, Chapter Two, out and doing the round, Complex sat with Vanessa White to discuss her time in the music industry thus far.

How did you find the confidence to break free from The Saturdays and present yourself as a solo artist?

It actually took a lot of time to just be in my own environment and do what I loved. When I'm writing my own material, I'm usually at home. I write a lot stuff in my journal or if I come up with anything as I'm drifting off to sleep, I just make a note of it. A lot of the material is autobiographical but, at times, the lyrics also explore a lot of different situations, simultaneously. Generally, most of the lyrics are about me and situations that my friends tell me about. 

In the past, you've spoken about feeling introverted and wanting to feel liberated enough to explore that darker side of yourself.

I definitely think there is that darker side to me. Obviously, people would have never seen that in The Saturdays, so it's just nice to be quite real about those feelings, to just be open. I've found that being more real about those darker feelings, expressed through the music, is particularly healing. 

Was swearing on that album a conscious decision or is it something that just happened? 

No. I mean, anyone that knows me knows that I have the foulest mouth [laughs]. 

Collaboration-wise, is there hitlist of artists that you would like to get in the studio with next?

I have so many! My obsession with Anderson. Paak continues; I just love him! And Ty Dolla Sign.

What themes underpin the aesthetic that you like to work to?

At the moment, everything needs to be dark. Everything I've done in the past is so bright that now I just want the complete opposite! I think that fits more with everything that I'm doing now anyway. Just dark! 

No one else will benefit from me not being true to myself. 

It's obvious that you've focused on what is real for you with your solo work; you've taken your time to create something original. 

I'm so glad that you said that. I haven't really thought about anything else, to be honest. I've just put my head down and made sure that I've done what I wanted to do and if it doesn't work, then at least I can say, "Well, this is just me." I cannot stress that any more.

How did you get yourself to that place?

It took a lot, actually. I went through some crazy situations where I thought I was doing my own thing but, really, I was trying to please other people. In 2017, I'm just going to go for what I want to do. My manager actually got me a book called 'How to stop giving a f**** about other people' and that really helped. 

What was the main lesson you learnt from that?

That I know what my own goals are and that no one else will benefit from me not being true to myself. You have to do what you want to do, otherwise you're just making other people happy for the sake of it. 

When you did decide that you were going step away from the band? What was the first thing that you did after making that decision?

I went on holiday. Time has gone quite quickly since; it's been three years since I left The Saturdays now. Back then, I thought: "I'm just gonna do my own thing." I feel like, as a band, we were together for such a long time and we kind of needed that split, that time apart. And it's actually been really nice.

What albums were you listening to the most when you went back into the studio, solo?

Everything that I listened to growing up and everything that I listened to in my spare time, anyway. That's probably why I've gone back to that '90s R&B feel with the new music, because that's the stuff I listen to the most. 

What is your most-played album on your iTunes?

At the moment, I'm listening to Syd's Fin LP—I am actually obsessed with it! Before that, it was Anderson. Paak; his collaboration album called Yes Lord... Ty Dolla Sign, all of that. 

When you stood on stage for the first time as a solo artist to play out the new tracks, what ran through your mind?

To be honest, I hated it—it was awful. You just need that first show out of the way. I was panicking over of all these little things, so I couldn't really enjoy it. There was a lot going on. I told my manager afterwards that I was so excited to do more shows because, after that first one, I felt like I knew who I was more than I did before and so I just wanted to enjoy it all the more. When I look back at it, I didn't need to stress that much. I can't wait to do more.

When you were at Silvia Young imagining where you would be at this point in your life, is this what you would have hoped for yourself? 

Yes! Oh God, a billion percent! All I thought of when I was there was that I wanted to music and that's what I'm doing now. 

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