Paige Turley
As she releases her debut single new chats to Love Island winner Paige Turley about moving in with boyfriend Finn Tapp and her singing ambitions
Just five months ago, Paige Turley and her now boyfriend Finn Tapp won the first ever winter series of Love Island, with the pair scooping £50,000.
Since then, the 22-year-old has bought a flat in Manchester with Finn, 20, after spending lockdown together at her family home in West Lothian. And that’s not all. Paige’s career is on the up as she is set to release a new single, a cover of Artful Dodger’s Movin’ Too Fast in collaboration with The House & Garage Orchestra.
The reality star, who made it to the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent in 2012, says her dreams of becoming a singer have come true after signing a record deal with Newstate Music. “I’m just so excited,” she tells us. “It’s more than I could have imagined and the orchestra is so talented. Each musician comes from different backgrounds, so being able to come together and recreate this classic tune is exciting. I just want to play live now!”
Here, Paige tells us how her relationship with Finn is going, how she managed to land a record deal and the artists she would love to collaborate with…
Hi Paige! How are you and Finn finding your new flat?
It’s amazing – we’ve settled down really well. We don’t know where anything is, so we’re still using Google maps to get about, but we’re excited for things to start opening up and having a nice date night.
Are you sharing housework duties?
I’m actually pleasantly surprised.
He’s been really good. Finn tends to take a lot of the cooking on.
Does he have any annoying habits?
He snores, which drives me up the wall! When we were living with my mum, he would maybe leave a wet towel on the floor and that used to drive me nuts, but I think maybe because it’s our own place now and he likes it quite spick and span, he’s been a lot more conscious of that kind of stuff, which is good. Now it’s just his snoring we need to work on [Laughs].
Ha! And what would Finn say were your annoying habits?
He would probably say snoring for me too. He says it’s me that snores and I say it’s him.
You must be thrilled to be releasing a single…
I am so excited. I think it’s all the more exciting because everything has been on pause because of lockdown. To be able to have a record deal and a cover and to work with a 36-piece orchestra, it blows my mind. It’s insane!
Are you a fan of the original song?
Yeah, I love house music. When I was in the villa, during a talent contest, I sang Show Me Love by Robin S and I’d seen she had collaborated with The House & Garage Orchestra as well, so I think it was just fate. I’m a big fan of the song.
How did you react when you found out you had a record deal?
Having a record deal on a cover, it’s just nuts – it feels good.
Have you been working on any other music?
Lockdown has given me a lot of time to write and I’ve had a couple writing sessions over Zoom, but it’s going be good to be able to get back into the studio and meet producers. There’s definitely stuff on the back burner and hopefully we can get some original stuff out soon.
Are there any artists who you would like to collaborate with next?
There’s quite a lot of people to be fair! There are bands, like Little Mix. It would be cool to do something different and collab with a girl band – or Stormzy. I absolutely love Stormzy, so you never know.
What does Finn make of your singing voice?
He loves it. I think he’s my number one fan. Since we got sent the original mix, he’s literally been walking about with it on in every room. I’ll be getting sick of this song before it’s released.
Have you written any songs about him?
He keeps asking me, “Oh, are you writing any about me?” Obviously he is the biggest thing in my life now, so it would be inevitable that I would end up writing songs about him and about my feelings towards him.
How do you feel about this summer’s series of Love Island being postponed?
It’s a shame because I have always been a big fan of the show, but I think everybody’s safety is the main thing. I have every faith that they are making the right choice. I think next year when it’s shown, it’s going to be huge, so that gives everybody something to look forward to.
What do you think about Jess and Ched and Luke and Demi splitting up?
It’s a shame. Everybody in the villa was so tight. We were so close. But I think with the circumstances – it’s been 12 weeks to not see somebody when you’re just starting a romantic relationship
– it must be hard and it must put a strain on it. It’s a shame for the guys, but I’m sure they’ll all do well individually.
Are you glad that you and Finn chose to spend lockdown together?
Definitely! It brought us so much closer. He got to see a bit of my world – where I was from and my family – and I did Zoom calls with his family, so I got to know them. I think it would have been hard to live separately.
Would you both be up for having your own reality show?
If you can hook me up then… [Laughs]. I think everything is a bit up in the air because of the circumstances, but we’ll never say never. Maybe once things are back up and running.