FOCUSING ON THE PRESENTS! NINA’S SWIFT SURPRISE
GIFT EXCHANGE LEAVES SINGER DREAMING OF COLLAB
INA NESBITT says her idol Taylor Swift is the gift that keeps on giving... after she sent her a cardigan. And in return, the Scottish star bizarrely sent her a Santa’s grotto as a thank you.
The Best You Had singer now hopes to team up with the Shake It Off chart-topper after revealing how Swift, 31, gave her the courage to be her own boss and a ‘DIY’ music artist.
‘She is the reason I picked up a guitar when I was 15,’ she told Guilty Pleasures. ‘Then, it was mainly female pop artists who sing and dance. I can’t dance.
‘So I was like, “I can never be that person”. Then I saw Taylor Swift writing her own songs and was like, “That’s what I want to do”. She encouraged me to do that.’
And their stars are now aligning. ‘She (Swift) picked two of my songs for a playlist and gave me a shout-out at the Billboard awards, which was surreal. She is one of my idols,’ the 27-year-old added.
‘I’d love to work with her and have a chat. She has been through a lot as a person as well.’
A recipient of Swift’s generous side, Nesbitt said: ‘She sent me a cardigan last year for her album Folklore, which was so cool.
‘It had a note saying, “To keep you warm”. I sent her a Santa’s grotto with flowers. I heard she likes Christmas.’ Like Swift, Nesbitt is changing the music landscape by calling her own shots.
‘For so long, females just sung songs. People would be surprised you played an instrument or go, “Oh, you actually write songs?”. Stuff like that. At the labels it is older men. How are they going to get heartbreak from an 18-yearold female?’
Being her own boss ‘feels great’, she said, adding: ‘I’ve been independent for years now. For me, it feels normal.
‘When I hang out with artists on a major label I forget how lucky I am. For me, as a DIY artist it’s perfect. I don’t have to get approval for the music I make.’
It means she was able to name her new track Life’s A B****.
The tune is a ‘post-2020, driving-your-car-through-a tunnel-at-night song’, she said.
‘It’s about the unpredictability of life. The ups and downs,’ Nesbitt added.