1. 08/02/1017 Zahra Smith Monteiro
We lovedamberonYouTube she wasgoodwasn’tshe?But onstage,well she’sVERYgood. Real pop
sat downwithherto get all herrise to fame secrets,whatit’sreallylike tocollabwithxfactorwinner
LouisaJohnsonandmuch much more. The 20 year oldhas alreadyhitone million views on her first
ever music video ‘love sick’, which followed her debut album release Fantasy.
How did you get started?
whenI was13 in secondaryschool that’swhenIstartedto findmypassionformusic,youknow once
I’d started studying music I knew this is what I wanted to do, I just generally enjoyed it and I loved
singingIwoulddoit as muchas possible,inthe mirror,inthe shower,inthe car just everywhere . So
whenI gotabit olderImade my ownYouTube channel andjuststartedto post videosof me covering
songsit got to a pointwhere Iwas postinglike 3videosaweek,Iwasjust obsessed. By the age of 17
I had a lotof subscribersand followersonmyYouTube account,it wasso greatto see the comments
people wouldleave aboutmy videos. They made me feel so good. When I turned 18 I continued to
postmy videosandbefore IrealiseditIwasbeingcontactedby‘school boyrecords’theywantedme
to come and singfor themand before I knew it I was being signed to the record label, it was such a
shock but so amazing you know music is my dream
Wow so it’s really been non-stop since then?
Yeah,it’sbeencrazy.I was still studyinginuni whenthe labelcontactedme andI wastrying to make
everything work I had to put so much effort in to really handle it all. But yeah since I finished
studyingI’ve justbeen traveling making music, meeting all these amazing people I never would of
imagined I’d be hanging out with I couldn’t believe my luck it’s just incredible.
So what was it like to work with Louisa Johnson?
Louisaisgreat workingwithherwasso funwe had such a good time.We’re quite close in age so we
justclickedandthat made workingtogether soeasyandenjoyable. I loved making the music video
withherfor our newsong‘fearless’. The song is quite different for me something I would never of
2. 08/02/1017 Zahra Smith Monteiro
done if I was still makingYouTube videos butIguessthat’sjustall part of developingasan artist,and
I’ve loved that I got to do it with Louisa
Who else do you hope to work with in the future?
I’dlove to workwithShawnMendeshahaI love hismusicand he is just incredible I’m such a big fan
haha, Id alsolove to workwithTaylorSwiftshe’ssucha huge inspirationtome andI’ve alwaysloved
her music it inspires me.
What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?
It’s definitely got to be when I performed at the staples centre that was just incredible, the crowd
was amazing and the way the lights lit up the stage it made me feel so alive like I knew in that
moment I was born to do this. I couldn’t off asked for a better audience they make everything I do
seemworthit,everyone Imetafterthe show was so nice and that just made everything even more
amazing I’ll never forget that day I absolutely love it.
Has fame changed you?
I definitelyfeellikeadifferentperson youknow withthe new lifestyle and work but I’d like to think
I’m still the same girl inside, I also think everyone changes as you grow and you learn new things
aboutyourself and by meeting different people and forming new relationships you discover more
parts of who youare as a personand I thinkI’ve become more aware of who I am and who I want to
be. So you know I’m happy with who I am at the moment and I’m so grateful for everyone who
made me the person I am today.
