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Emerging

JBL Emerging Interview: Lily Williams on 'Losing My Accent' and her British identity in L.A

Rising UK singer-songwriter Lily Williams is a Brit abroad, and she’s losing her accent. Born and raised in the UK, she’s now based in California where she’s attracted an audience of loyal listeners with her soothing lullaby-like vocals, and has racked up over 10M streams completely independently. In this Emerging Headliner interview powered by JBL, the artist reflects on going viral on TikTok and the sadness that comes with losing a part of her British identity living in the US.

Despite the unmistakable American twang to her accent, Williams hails from Haywards Heath in West Sussex in the UK, where she began playing classical piano and clarinet at the age of 10. These days, she calls Huntington Beach, California home.

“I went to college in Boston when I graduated high school,” she says warmly, then immediately corrects her first Americanisms. “Oh my gosh! I realise how much I speak like an American when I'm talking to you,” she laughs, beginning again: “When I finished sixth form, not high school. I met my husband out there and all my network out in Boston, and felt like everyone I knew was moving up to L.A.”

With Tiktok, that's a bit of a danger because you can have these one hit wonders.

Having honed her talents overseas at Berklee College of Music in Boston, the multi-talented musician found herself back in the UK during the pandemic, where she began writing her album, How The Story Ends. Once restrictions were lifted, Williams headed to California again, although is quick to point out that she does miss England.

“I always go back at Christmas,” she nods. “You don't want to spend Christmas in California. It's just not the move. They don't know what Yorkshire puddings are. Their gravy is weird, so you've got to get home for the roast dinner. Luckily, I have this little corner store which is just across the street, and it has a lot of British snacks like Digestive biscuits, Cadbury's, this jam that I like from home, and I found some Heinz baked beans recently – that was a great moment,” she says, laughing at how excited she sounds. “I was just craving them!”

Headliner suggests it’s quite the trade off: Roast dinners and Digestives in the UK versus seeing the sun in L.A. “I know,” she laments. “I love being out in the sun. That is one of the best things. That's the one thing that makes me scared about moving back to England in the future, because I’ve got used to the sun every single day.”

It's not that you're sad for the life that you chose, but it’s that you can’t have everything. You have to make big choices.

After posting some of her unreleased demos online in 2021, Williams swiftly attracted an audience of loyal listeners, largely due to her success on TikTok. I Hope You Think Of Me became her first single, followed by July (Later On) and July (Live), drawing a combined 450K+ unique Reels on Instagram and over six million streams. Tallying over 10M streams independently, her authentic voice has endeared a growing fanbase in the US. Williams is slightly baffled by the way this has come about.

“It was so funny, because I'd been posting for maybe a year, and sometimes you get a little bit of traction on a song. I posted, I Hope You Think Of Me initially, and it got a little bit of traction, but nothing crazy. I decided to post it again months later, and that's when it really took off. It was a wild experience. I definitely wasn't expecting it, but it was so cool to see a song connect with so many people. That was the first time that had ever really happened to me.

“It was really freeing at the beginning, and it also was that start for my artist career, because once that started to grow in popularity, I had a lot more people interested in doing sessions with me as the artist in the room,” she says of the ways TikTok has boosted her career – although replying on that platform alone has its pitfalls as well as benefits:

“Over time, it becomes a little pressurised,” she nods. “Like, ‘If this song does well on TikTok, then it's going to do well on streaming, and it's going to gain your following and attraction. That's such a real pressure that a lot of artists feel today. It's amazing though – it's the best tool ever. It's leveled the playing field for so many people, which is just so cool, but it's obviously also there is pressure that comes with that, and a need to be consistent. 

"With Tiktok, that's a bit of a danger because you can have these – not one hit wonders,” she says, choosing her words carefully, “but a little bit, because people are just interested in one of your songs, they're not really trying to come along for the journey. But on the whole, I do think it's a great help.”

I love having a British accent, but I realised my accent has really changed.

Her new EP, Losing My Accent collects a dazzling run of new music, including such deeply personal songs as Every Storm, If I Don’t Like You, Love You To Death, Learning Curve and Things That Fall. Its title track of the same name sees Williams pondering her British identity in L.A., which has affected her more deeply than she at first realised.

“Every new person that I meet will be able to tell I'm not from California or from the States, but they will immediately think I'm Australian,” she says. “People can't believe I'm from England for some reason. I do think part of it is just because it is hard for people to tell the difference between all those accents. Living in the States, all my friends have different American accents, so I’m surrounded by the culture. I've definitely picked it up. 

"My dad tells me my intonation is not British anymore. I still sound a little bit British, but everyone at home is like, ‘You have an American twang’. I love having a British accent, but I realised my accent has really changed.”

After one such occasion when someone apologised for incorrectly guessing her accent, Williams shrugged it off, but felt differently about it by the time she got home. “I was actually really sad that people can't recognise I'm British,” she shares. 

“And it wasn't because they got it wrong, but it was just because I was like, ‘I've really changed’. I've now been in the States for such a big period of my life, and it feels weird to be letting go of a little bit of my childhood, or to be growing up and changing. It was this realisation of, ‘Wow. I'm really far from home, and I've definitely changed a lot’.”

Williams’s previous EP saw her take inspiration from influences spanning classic Disney scores, Chet Baker, The Beach Boys to Sara Bareilles, Laufey, and John Mayer. With Losing My Accent, her real life experiences took on more of an influential role in shaping the sound of the EP:

“For my last project, I had a very clear idea that I wanted it to be one story told through many songs,” she explains. “But with this one, it wasn't as clear cut as that. I was looking at the song selection and I felt like it was a window into being in your mid 20s and having that – not a midlife crisis – but the famous quarter life crisis that everyone seems to be having. 

"It's that thing of transitioning from being a kid to being an adult. I got married, so I found the love of my life, and I was learning to love someone forever, and I was watching my friends lose the people they thought were the loves of their lives, and also, people start thinking about their parents differently.”

You don't think about how when you move across the country, you might never go back home.

She uses her own experience of leaving her home country as a teenager as an example: “When you’re 18, you think, ‘I'm just gonna go travel the world. I'm gonna move across the country’. You don't think about how when you move across the country, you might never go back home. 

"You might end up living there 10 years and be 5,000 miles away from your family. But you don't think about that when you're 18. You only think about that when you're 26, 27, 28 and you're suddenly like, ‘I'm really far from all my siblings and my mum and dad are getting older, and I'm missing out on a lot of things’. It's not that you're sad for the life that you chose, but it’s that you can’t have everything. You have to make big choices. 

"The project was really about growing up, looking back and all those big decisions that you make when you're trying to figure life out. It was more like diary entries and it was a window into how I've been feeling the past year or so.”

She says that the answer changes a lot, but the song Learning Curve is a personal favourite of hers, while Love You To Death is the one she looks forward to playing live. “It makes you think a lot, but it’s this tongue in cheek-type song, and it's more of a Bossa nova feel. I have so much fun playing it and singing it, and you always get a good reaction from the audience, so that's definitely a great one to play live.”

it was a window into being in your mid 20s and having that famous quarter life crisis.

For her live shows, Williams makes use of a JBL EON ONE Compact Portable PA with Professional-Grade Mixer, which has been a game-changer for the touring singer and musician.

“I play the piano, so I've always been jealous of people that could just pick up a guitar and go out into the streets and just play without a PA system. You can't really do that with a keyboard!

Having a PA system is so useful for gathering fans together and doing a little show in the park, or doing something outdoors. It's so useful for that, or even for rehearsals where you don't want to be lugging a bunch of equipment around. Plus, it’s so easy to use,” she enthuses.

“It's very loud, and that's definitely something that you want and you need, especially from something so small. Also, it’s very lightweight, easy to set up, and so portable. You see so many people lugging sound equipment around, and that is what has put me off a lot busking because I am already having to carry a massive keyboard somewhere. 

"There's always just so much equipment, and you have to be pretty strong to be able to carry all that stuff! But having something super lightweight and portable is so useful because then you can just go out and do it yourself,” she smiles.

Photo credits:

Main image: Graci Burdick / Last image: Andrew Barajas