With her blonde wavy hair, deeply personal lyrics and country-infused music, it is easy to see why this talented singer-songwriter has won comparisons to international pop sensation Taylor Swift.
Bailey Tomkinson, 20, has burst into national media in recent weeks thanks to her incredible performance in the iTunes music video charts, where soared to No. 2 with her single I Wish (It Didn’t End Like This), ahead Dua Lipa and Sam Smith.
The Cornish singer-songwriter is now looking ahead to what is sure to be her biggest year yet, with festival performances and ‘big announcements’ to come.
Blonde ambition: With her blonde wavy hair, deeply personal lyrics and country-infused music, it is easy to see why Bailey Tomkinson, pictured, has won comparisons to Taylor Swift
And Bailey, who is dating fellow musician Jordan Lee Collins, is achieving all this success without a record deal or a management team.
Instead she relies on the help of her family, whom she describes as ‘her rock’.
‘My dad is really good at communications, so he helps with that,’ she explained in an interview with Hello!. ‘My mum was a singer when she was younger, so she has knowledge of the industry.’
Bailey is also able to maximise the benefits of social media and streaming services like Spotify, where she boasts just shy of 11,000 monthly listeners.
She has also enjoyed the support of country music icon Brad Paisley, who played Bailey’s single Movie Scene on his BBC Radio 2 Saturday Sessions last year.
Rising star: The Cornish singer-songwriter, pictured on the beach, is now looking ahead to what is sure to be her biggest year yet, with festival performances and ‘big announcements’
Determined: Bailey, pictured left and right in Instagram snaps, is achieving all this success without a record deal or a management team. Instead she relies on her family for help
Streaming sensation: Bailey is also able to maximise the benefits of social media and streaming services like Spotify, where she boasts just shy of 11,000 monthly listeners
Chart success: Bailey Tomkinson has burst into national media in recent weeks thanks to her incredible performance in the iTunes music video charts, where soared to No. 2 with her single I Wish (It Didn’t End Like This), ahead Dua Lipa and Sam Smith, pictured
The singer described how she ‘came out of the womb’ singing and wrote her first song when she was just 15 years old.
Three years later she released her first music, while still at college, and has performed at a string of gigs and festivals since.
She revealed how, just like her idol Taylor, she also draws on her personal life when penning lyrics.
‘Taylor is partly why I wanted to start songwriting,’ she continued. ‘I was the biggest Taylor Swift fan at school. In fact, I was nicknamed “Bai-lor Swift” because I had curly hair like her and wrote songs about all the boys I fancied.’
A-list fan: Bailey has also enjoyed the support of country music icon Brad Paisley, who played Bailey’s single Movie Scene on his BBC Radio 2 Saturday Sessions last year, pictured
Laid back: Bailey’s down-to-earth nature comes across in her Instagram account, which boasts a relatively modest 3,900 followers and is refreshingly devoid of the pouting, provocative images posted by many of her contemporaries. Pictured, a snap from her Instagram
Upcoming gig: This year she will appear at Cornwall’s PandaFest, which was founded by her boyfriend, fellow musician Jordan Lee Collins, pictured together at Christmas
Unlike many up-and-coming artists, Bailey has not made for the bright lights of London, preferring instead to stay put in her hometown of St Ives, which she credits with keeping her ‘grounded’ amid the growing buzz and attention.
Her down-to-earth nature also comes across on her Instagram account, which boasts a relatively modest 3,900 followers and is refreshingly devoid of the pouting, provocative images posted by many of her contemporaries.
Instead her feed is filled with deliberately casual, softly-lit images taken on stairwells, at gigs and – of course – by the sea, which combine to create a dreamy, 70s feel.
The account is also used to communicate directly with fans and to promote previous and upcoming performance dates.
It was most recently announced that she will be appearing at Cornwall’s PandaFest, which was founded by her boyfriend Jordan.
And things look set to get even bigger now that there has been ‘some interest’ from labels in recent weeks. It seems her star is very much on the ascent.
‘It’s all very exciting,’ she added.