Sydnie Christmas is now entering womanhood and beginning to understand herself. It’s been two years since Sydnie won over the hearts of the nation on Britain’s Got Talent.
The 30-year-old singer from Gravesend, Kent, stepped out onto the stage in front of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli with her stunning rendition of Tomorrow from the musical Annie, winning Amanda’s Golden Buzzer – giving her an instant place in the semi-final.
Aged just 28, Sydnie won the show after performing Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz. But as she’s just shy of eight weeks away from her 31st birthday, Sydnie is now coming into motherhood and expressing her emotions.
View 7 ImagesSydnie won the hearts of the nation on Britain’s Got Talent(Image: Getty Images for The National Lo)
Speaking about her latest single, Run, she told the Mirror of laying her heart bare on the track: “It’s very interesting, I learned a lot about myself. For someone that’s very dyslexic, I like to think of myself as quite poetic; it’s like a diary when you’re writing a song. I’ve just learned that I’ve come a long way with my emotions, I’ve grown and dare I say blossomed as a flower, I’ve come into my womanhood with a more understanding of situations and emotions and myself when going through certain situations and it’s been really, really cool. Something that I didn’t know would happen.”
However, for Sydnie, it was “scary” to put the song out to the world. “I’m presenting myself as ‘Hello, my name is Sydnie Christmas, and I’m a singer-songwriter’,” with many questioning whether she’s “the girl from the theatre”. “I’ve been writing songs since I was 11, it’s so vulnerable putting something you’ve wholeheartedly created out there.
“I’m so happy and shocked by how lovely everyone’s been about it. I’ve had hate online going through a show like BGT. I haven’t touched wood, seen anything negative, which is amazing. I hope people love Run as much as I did writing it.” The singer admits she wrote “in the moment, what she needed to hear,” adding that the song went on to write itself, with Sydnie instantly knowing it would be her lead single.
View 7 ImagesSydnie’s upcoming album will see the star open her heart like never before(Image: Getty Images)
“The album is going to be wrapped around that optimism, and that fight for life and hope and motivation for yourself,” she commented. In a world where music has shifted to once again see songwriters open up about their personal lives, rather than putting their vocals on the next big dance track, Sydnie admits it’s “important” for people to remain themselves throughout the process.
“I don’t know how to do anything else,” she said, adding that people in a similar position to herself often have time to discover who they are, what their sound is and what image they want to portray, not just through clothing but as an artist. And during our Zoom chat, it’s clear that Sydnie has remained her bubbly self, not letting her fame sweep her off her feet. She said: “Maybe that’s just how it needs to stay, and just write the music that I want to write in that moment, whatever style comes out of my mouth in that moment and dress the way that I dress and say, and act how I only know to act and to be.”
Sydnie admits it makes listeners and fans feel “more connected” to the artist, adding: “You can feel so connected to a song, it’s nice to be really connected to the person that wrote it, it’s just another layer of how amazing music is.” Listening to Run, it’s clear that Sydnie has drawn inspiration from big, bold sounds, including John Farnham’s You’re the Voice, Katy Perry’s Firework, and Coldplay. “It makes you want to get up and run,” she said
7View 7 ImagesSydnie says her new album is centred around optimism and fight for life(Image: PR)
7View 7 ImagesAlthough she’s finding her feet, she says that when she’s writing, what she’s feeling is put onto paper(Image: Brett Cove/SOPA Images/Shutterstock)
Born This Way by Lady Gaga also “shattered” Syndie’s body. She commented: “I want to make a song that gets a song out of their pit and makes them want to run a marathon, that is what my inspiration was that day.” Two years on from her Britain’s Got Talent victory, Sydnie says the biggest advice and lesson she’s learned is to be yourself.
“That’s the only thing you will do right,” she said, adding: “There’s many wrongs in this industry, it’s a lot of pressure, I’m like ‘If I just be myself, it’ll be fine.'” Although Syndie isn’t a mum yet, she says if she’s lucky enough to welcome any, she wants them to remain on the same level of grounding as she has.
“In a world dominated by social media, the pressures of being a young person has changed from when I was young,” she said, adding: “ I just want to really knuckle down in. Just be authentically yourself and be as mad or wacky or cool or quiet or just literally just be comfortable in being exactly who you are instead of feeling the need to change yourself or be something that you’re not.
View 7 ImagesRun by Sydnie Christmas is out now(Image: PR)
“I think that’s sad, I think we shouldn’t live our lives for other people, or for trends, or social media, that’s why I just try and remain a little bit carefree and ‘sod it!'” Social media for Sydnie is a new journey to navigate, and being an artist is a “whole business” because she hadn’t posted cover videos before.
She shared one song on Spotify; however, she wasn’t an active TikTok user before winning Britain’s Got Talent. “I just felt like if I was doing that, I was not being authentically myself,” she said. She also admits that prior to her victory, she was scared to sing in front of a camera, but felt relaxed performing for other people, as performing to a camera felt “lonely”.
Sydnie continued: “I’ve got help now that’s helped me, that’s a whole different ball game, being a singer is most of your business, that’s how you connect with people.” She added that “unfortunately”, the music business is 80 per cent social and is “free marketing” if an artist reaches the right algorithm.
View 7 ImagesSydnie reveals she would love to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest(Image: Getty Images for the NTA’s)
Social media is something Sydnie is learning about and has “invested in some help” after the music industry has moved on from popping into stores and buying CDs, which no longer sell. Instead, artists are now chasing streaming tallies, but Sydnie is “enjoying the ride”.
Now, she’s trying to be as “present” as she can. “Sometimes I catch myself going ‘What is going on?'” she said of her BGT win, adding: “Two years ain’t a long time. I’m here, just finished writing my second album, but first originals, with what I’ve done and BGT happening, I’m like ‘What has happened?’ I’m still fighting and climbing, people on the outside go ‘she’s made it’, but no, we’re now here, and we’ve got to work double hard to continue.
“I love this line of work so much, it’s crazy, it’s nuts, since BGT I’ve been at school every day going ‘Take in every bit of advice everyone’s given me,’ when they say every day is a school day, whoever thought that was a genius.” Over the years, Sydnie has realised she’s more resilient and patient than she ever expected.
“I’m happy that I have that quality,” she said, adding that she often sees people in a similar position in the industry becoming disheartened and angry if things aren’t going their way. She said: “It breaks my heart. They’re so hurt by that, things just take time, and I just want them to realise.”
Looking back on her career so far, Sydnie says she’ll “always wave” the Britain’s Got Talent flag, adding: “I’ll always be proud of it and just to be present. Other things will come when it’s your turn, I’m proud that I’ve learned that quality and being alright with being patient and letting other people win.”
One thing Sydnie would love to add to her CV is Eurovision. Speaking of the appeal, she said: “The audience, the spectacle of it and how proud I would be to represent my country. It would be writing a song that I wrote, it’s such a big appeal to me, I’ll keep trying, I’ll try every year.
“I love that every single contestant is different. I watch it every year with loads of my friends, it’s like you’re in a different musical every single country that comes on. It’s wicked, it’s an event in my mind.” Although Sydnie’s album isn’t released until later this year, she revealed to the Mirror that she has a favourite song, other than her current single, Run.
“I won’t tell you the next single name, that’s in the near future,” she said, adding: “There’s a song on there, which is kept in the roots of what people know me fore, which I had to leave on there. I’ve got to feed all my supporters. I had them in mind while writing it, the sound of it is the Sydnie people know. It’s in the middle of the album, it’s called I Can Defy.
“I wish the producers of Bond would hear it; we’ve just recorded the orchestra for it, and it is amazing. It was my little head nod to the Bond team, keeping it British, it’s one I’m really proud of, it’s a nod to BGT and a nod to that version of Sydnie, which I love, it’s called I Can Defy, this song being all about resilience and fight for life and motivational.”
Sydnie admits she would love to be the next soundtrack to a James Bond film, but she will “patiently stay in line”. Regardless of whether her song is used for the Bond films, it’s clear that Sydnie’s career is going to continue soaring.
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Run by Sydnie Christmas is available to stream on all platforms. Her upcoming album is available to pre-order now by clicking here.
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