{"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":"2017-11-14T14:21:42","modified_gmt":"2017-11-14T14:21:42","slug":"wales-found-next-great-popstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/wales-found-next-great-popstar","title":{"rendered":"Has Wales found its next great popstar?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Betsy\u2019s debut album is a pop spectacle via a farm in rural Pembrokeshire<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Betsy classes her style as “trashy opulence.” Credit: Betsy \/ Matthew Maitland \/ Warner Bros.<\/p><\/div>\n

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’s newly-released, self-titled debut album<\/a> sets her apart from the crowd with a bruised, Bassey-esque vocal delivery flavoured with synths.<\/p>\n

“It was a massive step being in the music industry coming from Pembrokeshire,” Betsy says, “getting yourself in it is hard enough even if you\u2019re from London.”<\/p>\n

Betsy says it\u2019s all down to “luck and who you meet” and says she sent her first demo out to “every man and his dog.”<\/p>\n

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

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

Rod Thomas is a singer-songwriter who performs as 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

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Rod Thomas releases music as Bright Light Bright Light. Credit: Rod Thomas \/ WMA<\/p><\/div>\n

Rod Thomas is a singer-songwriter who performs as 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

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

“Growing up in the Welsh valleys,” he says, “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 to<\/i> a place where you can see the first step, as opposed to working hard making <\/i>the first step.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Betsy\u2019s debut album is a pop spectacle via a farm in rural Pembrokeshire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":35889,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12,19],"tags":[11534,11257,2959],"yoast_head":"\nHas Wales found its next great popstar? - alt.cardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/wales-found-next-great-popstar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Has Wales found its next great popstar? - alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Betsy\u2019s debut album is a pop spectacle via a farm in rural Pembrokeshire.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/wales-found-next-great-popstar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-03T09:38:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-11-14T14:21:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/betsypress.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/\",\"name\":\"alt.cardiff\",\"description\":\"If it\\u2019s offbeat and in Cardiff then it\\u2019s online here.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/wales-found-next-great-popstar#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/betsypress.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Betsy classes her style as 'trashy opulence'\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/wales-found-next-great-popstar#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/wales-found-next-great-popstar\",\"name\":\"Has Wales found its next great popstar? 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