{"id":35884,"date":"2017-11-03T09:38:44","date_gmt":"2017-11-03T09:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=35884"},"modified":"2017-11-03T09:38:44","modified_gmt":"2017-11-03T09:38:44","slug":"wales-found-next-great-popstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2017\/11\/03\/wales-found-next-great-popstar\/","title":{"rendered":"Has Wales found its next great popstar?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Betsy\u2019s debut album is a pop spectacle via a farm in rural Pembrokeshire<\/b><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_35889\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 416px\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-35889 size-medium\" title=\"Betsy, Matthew Maitland, Warner Bros.\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/10\/betsypress-416x312.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"416\" height=\"312\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-35889 size-medium\" title=\"Betsy, Matthew Maitland, Warner Bros.\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/10\/betsypress-416x312.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"416\" height=\"312\" \/><\/noscript> Betsy classes her style as &#8220;trashy opulence.&#8221; Credit: Betsy \/ Matthew Maitland \/ Warner Bros.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Betsy didn\u2019t have the origins of your classic pop-star, growing up on a goose-farm in rural Pembrokeshire. But the 25 year old&#8217;s newly-released,<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/4R74Nrmc0On5AjzgMrvLj0\"> self-titled debut album<\/a> sets her apart from the crowd with a bruised, Bassey-esque vocal delivery flavoured with synths.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was a massive step being in the music industry coming from Pembrokeshire,&#8221; Betsy says, &#8220;getting yourself in it is hard enough even if you\u2019re from London.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Betsy says it\u2019s all down to &#8220;luck and who you meet&#8221; and says she sent her first demo out to &#8220;every man and his dog.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>She may have signed a record deal with Warner, but Betsy still hasn\u2019t forgotten her roots. Her press photos were shot in the caravan her brother still lives in in Pembrokeshire.<\/p>\n<p>But the question remains; if Betsy is Wales\u2019 newest pop star, why hasn\u2019t the land of song birthed a bone fide pop presence?<\/p>\n<p>Rod Thomas is a singer-songwriter who performs as<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/25bvQC4jyyFUce6jbzNlwb\"> Bright Light Bright Light<\/a>. Originally from a small village near Neath, he moved to London to originally pursue a career in PR. He spoke to Alt.Cardiff about the country\u2019s struggle to break or sustain any major creative and commercial musical talent.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35893\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 416px\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-35893 size-medium\" title=\"Rod Thomas, WMA\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/10\/blblpromo2-416x312.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"416\" height=\"312\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-35893 size-medium\" title=\"Rod Thomas, WMA\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/10\/blblpromo2-416x312.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"416\" height=\"312\" \/><\/noscript> Rod Thomas releases music as Bright Light Bright Light. Credit: Rod Thomas \/ WMA<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Rod Thomas is a singer-songwriter who performs as<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/25bvQC4jyyFUce6jbzNlwb\"> Bright Light Bright Light<\/a>. Originally from a small village near Neath, he moved to London to originally pursue a career in PR. He spoke to Alt.Cardiff about the country\u2019s struggle to break or sustain any major creative and commercial musical talent.<\/p>\n<p>He names modern singers like Katherine Jenkins and pop singer Marina and the Diamonds as stars who are still working consistently. But a barrier to most people are the lack of music-related opportunities in Wales, which necessitates a move to cities like London.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Growing up in the Welsh valleys,&#8221; he says, &#8220;your chances of kickstarting a career are much slimmer than if you grow up within reach of a major city with a thriving music scene. You have to work hard to get <i>to<\/i> a place where you can see the first step, as opposed to working hard <i>making <\/i>the first step.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Betsy\u2019s debut album is a pop spectacle via a farm in rural Pembrokeshire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":280,"featured_media":35889,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,19],"tags":[5871,189,3082],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-35884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-culture-home","tag-betsy","tag-music","tag-pop"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Has Wales found its next great popstar? 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