Lucy Spraggan was the first contestant in “X Factor”'s history to score a Top 40 single, and independently-released album, “Top Room At The Zoo,” before the live shows even aired.
This unprecedented success for the folk-pop singer has led to three Top 20 albums in the UK — two of which were self-released. Before turning to music and after having her leg crushed as a demolition operator by 1.4 tons of slate from a cherry picker crane, Spraggan originally planned to become a firefighter. A former magician and self-proclaimed “bike purist,” Spraggan grew up listening to Dolly Parton and Joni Mitchell, but also Blackalicious and Tupac. The four-time UK Top 40 artist just released her fifth full-length album, “Today Was A Good Day,” via Cooking Vinyl Records. Spraggan and her wife, Georgina, have been married for three years and foster children in their home, where Spraggan says she feels, for the first time in her life, “settled.”
What was your experience like on “X Factor”?
It was a very strange thing to happen. The reason I went onto “X Factor” was because I'd been speaking to a couple of big, major labels before it. One wanted me to lose 30 pounds and change my name to Lucy Diamond, and another one wanted me to wear a top hat, a princess dress, and Dr. Martens boots while I was playing, and I was just a bit like, ‘Yeah, I don’t want to do any of that. I want to do what I’m doing.’ The opportunity came up to go on “X Factor” so I just went for it. Having overnight fame in the UK was mental. Pretty hard to deal with, coming from being a street salesperson to this insane change. It’s not something the human brain can process, really.
For your newest album, how did you pick the title “Today Was A Good Day”?
This story is from the July 2019 edition of Inked.
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This story is from the July 2019 edition of Inked.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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