Aimee, your new EP Daisy Chains is out in the world, how are you feeling about it?
All good! After a lot of hard work over the last two years, it’s out, it’s done. I can actually breathe! Now this is the fun part, and I get to really, really enjoy it.
Did you always plan on being a musician?
As soon as I saw Britney Spears on the TV I was like yep, that’s me. Well, minus the abs.
Growing up, what music did you listen to?
Britney, of course, and Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston. All women with very powerful voices. Oh, and Toni Braxton. Whenever I hear Toni Braxton, all I can hear in my head is my mam shouting, “Get the hoover out!” She used to always play Toni Braxton’s music when we had to do our chores.
Who would be your biggest musical inspiration?
Christina Aguilera, probably. She’s an icon. She’s the full package. She embodies confidence and empowerment. When she brought out Beautiful, she was so pro-gay rights. That was still at an early stage when some pop artists wouldn’t be brave enough to talk about it, so that was super inspiring for me as a kid. But her voice, I studied that woman to no end. There’s not a riff or a breath in any of her songs that I didn’t study.
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What was the first gig that you went to?
I think it was Westlife, an outdoor show, but that’s all I remember. I’ve told this to Nicky Byrne before, so I have to stick with it! [laughs]
What was the best gig that you’ve ever been to?
One of the gigs I had the most fun at was Bruno Mars in the Olympia. Just seeing how the band, the sax player, the bass player, all of them, performed on the stage with their instruments was so cool to me. That one definitely stands out.
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What’s your favourite gig that you’ve performed?
I think performing Main Stage at Electric Picnic last year with Irish Women in Harmony was such a bucket list moment. I also performed for a sold out 3Arena when I only had one song out, and I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. It was for the 2FM Christmas Ball. When I got off stage I nearly passed out, because the realisation hit me that I had performed in the 3Arena! It was so special because my dad and my nieces and nephews were there, and they had all made signs.
What’s one song that you could never get sick of?
Can I change it to an album instead? Strict by Christina Aguilera. Nobody can say anything negative about that album, it’s perfection from start to finish.
What has been your biggest achievement so far?
Maybe me being the highest played Irish female artist on Irish radio in 2022. I also think it’s a huge achievement to be able to release a collection of work like this as a fully independent, self-labelled, self-managed artist. That’s super rare these days, everybody has a team around them. For me, I just needed to cut out all the noise and do this myself. I really needed to take the reins and trust my own gut, and I haven’t asked anybody’s opinion on anything. If I love it, it’s going out.
What is on your bucket list?
I’d love to go on a world tour. That’s like the ultimate dream. A world stadium tour is number one on my mood board.
Finally, could you sum up your new music for us in a couple of words?
It’s your ultimate summer collection. There’s a song there for every moment of summer!
Aimee will be performing at The Academy this Sunday, August 4th, and you can stream her EP Daisy Chains now