Astrid S Knows She Can't Please Everyone, But That's Why She's Headed For Stardom

For Bustle UK's music issue, Noisemakers, we wanted to spotlight the new talent you're destined to find on your playlist in the next 12 months, as well as the industry heavy hitters you know and love. Bustle UK's social media editor (and all-round music super-fan) Charlie Mock scoured the scene to find the finest up-and-coming artists to take on the Bustle Booth. Read on to find out how "The First One" singer Astrid S is leaving her mark in the Bustle Booth.

Astrid S is sorry, but she’s going to make you think about your ex. Or at least her latest single, the apologetic anthem “The First One,” is certain to, after you religiously add it to every single one of your summer playlists. The 22-year-old Norwegian singer and songwriter takes on the spectre of first love in her new song, a wrenching confession to the subsequent partners she couldn’t love enough.

If you’re not yet familiar with Astrid S, seize this opportunity to make yourself acquainted ahead of her new EP out this summer (and once she inevitably ascends to superstardom, relish telling your friends that you loved her first). A clutch of pop luminaries have already co-signed the singer; she’s toured with Zara Larsson, Troye Sivan, and Years & Years, and contributed backing vocals for Katy Perry. In February, she debuted on U.S. TV, performing on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

But industry approval aside, her music speaks for itself. She makes big, boundless pop songs shot through with emotion; they’re songs to dance and cry to, from 2016’s “Hurts So Good” to this year’s “Someone New.” And more anthems are on the way: “I’m going to be in the studio most of the summer,” she tells Bustle.

Although a 2013 stint on the Norwegian version of Pop Idol propelled Astrid S into the music industry, she’s far from a manufactured pop star — she’s been writing her own songs since she was 15. “I’m so lucky to be in control over my own career,” she says. “I feel like I have a support system that only wants the best for my artistic vision and career and it’s a collaboration.”

It’s an artistic vision influenced by icons. “I listen to a lot of music my parents introduced me to. Artists like ABBA, Whitney Houston, Elton John, Prince, The Beatles, and David Bowie are all huge inspirations for me,” she says. “It’s so inspiring when artists are able to make timeless music that lives for multiple generations. It’s going to be really exciting to see which artists around today will live on for generations to come and what music I'm going to show my kids when they grow up.”

Despite her many successes, Astrid S still finds herself occasionally hung up — like the rest of us — on the critics. “For me the biggest challenge has been to realise that it’s impossible to make everyone like me and what I do,” she says. “I try to put my energy into the people that do like me for who I am and what I do and not waste energy on the people that don’t.”

Here’s a Bustle prediction: After her new single, she’ll have a whole host of new fans to devote her energy to. Ready to be one of them? Check out her answers to our Bustle Booth questionnaire below.