17-year-old vocal powerhouse Taet recently sat down for a chat with Pressparty about her blossoming career in the music world, getting to meet One Direction's Zayn Malik, and her passion for songwriting. 

How did you first get into songwriting and what's your creative process like?

I’ve always really liked songwriting and I’ve always taken an interest in it, and I used to do it by myself at home. I used to just write songs in my room, but I started taking writing seriously when I watched other people doing it in the studio and I saw how great it was because you get to write your own experiences into a song. 

When I was 14, I was working with really good writers and I was a bit, not intimidated, but kind of nervous so I’d write and not show or sing them to anyone. I started writing with J. Warner, who got my confidence up massively, and I learned loads from him. I’ve been writing ever since and writing in front of people – properly – for about six months. Going into sessions for other people and writing for myself for about six months, yeah. It’s quite daunting.

How did you overcome shyness?

I just wrote and wrote, and listened to loads of songs from my favourite artists and I’d watch their biographies. They were all similar – then I realised there’s no point in being shy about it because everyone goes through the same things, so if it (my songwriting) helps other people I might as well do it. It’s like Adele – everyone goes through different personal situations, but we can all relate to her songs. It’s something I love, too, and everyone around me was encouraging me. 

Are there certain themes you gravitate towards when you're writing songs?

Obviously because I’m a teenager I like to write about boys, but also I write about situations in general life… what I’m going through at the moment. In the music industry, it’s always up and down so on some days I’ll be really positive, but other days I’ll feel really down and I’ll write depending on my mood. 

Who are your main influences?

Beyoncé, Rihanna… some of my favourite artists are Lauryn Hill, Brandy, Michael Jackson, but then I love the Spice Girls and Britney Spears. At the moment, I love Tori Kelly. I love her voice so much; it’s so stripped back. She’s amazing. I also think her story is so good – she went on ‘American Idol’ and got turned down, so went on YouTube and got picked up by Scooter Braun, Justin Bieber’s manager. I just like her journey – it’s inspiring. I also love One Direction, 5 Seconds Of Summer, and Chris Brown… also, the great people like Whitney Houston and before she died I went to see her. She’s my inspiration, I love her and she was amazing – I was just in awe of her and have so much respect for her as an artist. Mariah Carey and Aretha Franklin, too.

What do you think of programmes like 'The X Factor' and 'The Voice'? Are you a supporter of vocal competitions on such a big platform?

I think they’re actually really good… I don’t know if I’d audition for shows like that right now, but they’re definitely things I wouldn’t ignore. Even if you don’t do well, it’s a great platform. It can be hard going on a TV show and waking up the next day being famous, so I’d give a pat on the back to anyone who deals with that well. I’d never say never! 

Social media is something that has become hugely important in the music world over the past few years, how are you finding that? Do you think it's a useful tool to get your name out there?

It’s so important to get a good following and there are lots of artists now who are going about their career the independent way. They put out music for their fans themselves. It’s also great because artists can interact with their fans. I did a cover actually and tweeted ‘Here’s my cover of @ToriKelly’s ‘Stained’ and she tweeted me back saying it was amazing and it was her favourite cover that she had seen. It’s so important. I’ve started doing YouTube covers and it’s so important to connect with people, you know?

The downside though, is that when people see someone famous in real life they can tweet ‘I’ve just seen whoever’ and thousands of people can instantly find out where they are. 

You recently met One Direction’s Zayn Malik, which must have been exciting! 

Yeah, I was at a studio complex called F Block and the one next door was Naughty Boy’s studio. I’m a fan of One Direction and kind of love Harry Styles, so they were like, “Zayn’s next door in the studio”. I was so excited, but didn’t want to just go and knock on the door so they said, “we’ve got an artist called Taet next door and she’d love to meet you”. I spoke to him and he was asking how my music’s going. He’s such a nice person and it was good. He was so humble. It was about two or three months ago now… I was so happy! I only met him for a couple of minutes, but I shared a photo from when I met him and fans still contact me now about it!

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would you choose? 

I would say Beyoncé, but she’s the most amazing person in the world so I’d probably be crying the whole time. I’d probably choose a boy… probably Drake. I love his songs so much because he raps and sings, I’m obsessed with his stuff. I love how he writes, too. It’d have to be a boy because it’s cool when the two voices work together, but I love Prince as well… Prince is so talented.

There are lots of female solo singers out at the moment who are all doing incredibly well. Who are you enjoying listening to at the moment?

The girls are doing so well. I was looking at the charts the other day and the girls are killing it. I love Ariana Grande. Do you remember Jo-Jo? She’s coming out with a new album soon, which should be amazing. I really like Ella Eyre and Ellie Goulding; her voice is really cool and different. Oh, and Jessie J. I love ‘Bang Bang’.

You have a really powerful voice, do you have a favourite style to sing in or genre to work under? 

I love all different types of music, but pop and R&B are my favourite to sing. Even though people can be dismissive of pop music, it’s great because you can always relate to it. I like pop music with amazing singers, too. Sam Smith - he does amazing songs but has an incredible voice. 

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m trying to find a perfect sound at the moment. It’s really hard to actually find a sound, but I’m working towards an EP. I’m doing covers and YouTube stuff, and want to do more live shows. Just working with loads of people really as the people I’m in the studio with are super talented. 

We’re always writing songs – you just don’t know, do you. Sometimes I write a song and think it’s rubbish, but I carry on writing on and when I show it to someone they see potential in it and show me how good it could be.

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Watch Taet covering Sam Smith's 'Money On My Mind' and Ella Henderson's 'Ghost' below: