Pretty Fierce talk to us about collaborating with Doja Cat, emetophobia, arena tours and staying "true to yourself" [EXCLUSIVE]

Sheffield's very own all girl group Pretty Fierce are still on a high after the recent release of their debut single - 'Ready For Me'. The new track, released via Mark Morrison's ('Return Of The Mack') record label - Mack Life Records on May 20th, has already been named as 'Tune Of The Week' on Flex FM's Breakfast Show. Talking about the debut single, vocalist Katrina-Marie Howson says that - "Ready For Me is all about loving yourself, realising your worth and dusting yourself off after a breakup/experience you've had with someone. It can be about any type of relationship and can relate to EVERYBODY. Whether you're a young girl with a high school crush, or a grown woman who is feeling herself. We are all about inclusivity, and this is a feel good, empowering anthem. The song really takes the audience on a self-love journey and we want people to feel confident after listening to it." Before Katrina-Marie, Macey, Ayanda and Georgie start living their dream and release their next set of singles and an EP, we caught up with them to find out a little more about them.   

For those who may be new to your music, how best would you describe your sound?

Katrina-Marie Howson - "I would say our sound is catchy, fun, carefree and inclusive. When people listen to our songs, we want them to feel uplifted, related to and for people to just genuinely enjoy our authentic lyrics and believe/connect with what we're singing about”

Ayanda Mthethwa - "Our sound is a combination of pop, r&b and afro beats. As individuals we are different to one another, whether it be culture or persona, but as a group we intertwine our individuality to create something diverse.”

Georgie Ryan - "I would best describe our sound as being pop with hints of R&B and dance influences. We like to tell a story with our music and we hope our lyrics resonate with people."

What challenges have you faced in the music industry so far?

Katrina-Marie Howson - "It has been hard keeping the spirits high and momentum going. The pandemic didn't help, and the frustration of being limited to what we can do and who we can go out and see didn't help us as a band at all. Rejection is also another big factor we've had to face so far - although it's a huge part of the process, having doors closed on you when you really believed in something, hurts, but everything happens for a reason.”

Ayanda Mthethwa - "Finding myself in the right environment to create and network with the people that align with the same ideas and goals.”

Georgie Ryan - "The music industry is tough, it’s very difficult to get yourself in front of the right people and to know who has your best interests at heart and who is in it for the wrong reasons. You have to keep grounded and not get carried away and stay true to yourself."

How difficult would you say this career path is in terms of making a name for yourself?

Katrina-Marie Howson - "This industry is hard because it's constant rejection and constant competition. There are so many people out there trying to achieve their dream of becoming an artist, and everybody is hungry to get noticed. We know we've not been good at marketing ourselves and getting ourselves out there in the best way we can so having a team of people that can help us with that has been amazing. It is tough as well because girl-groups are notoriously known for not being appreciated or being the underdogs in the industry, and the constant comparison to other successful groups can set you up for failure before you've even started and it puts you under too much pressure to try and live up to what has already been achieved.”

Ayanda Mthethwa - "The first initial steps are hard, but when you continue to keep faith and believe in your abilities ,there is no doubt that things will fall into place.”

Georgie Ryan - "It’s not easy to get yourself out there on a wide scale, but we try and focus on making music that we love and for as long as we do that we hope others will enjoy it and what we do as well."

How important is it for you to have creative control over the work you produce?

Katrina-Marie Howson - "I am a control freak so I like to take the lead with things, and have things done a particular way and on time. I don't mess about. I have a vision and plan for almost everything in my life, and I love to incorporate that in my music. I love to get on board with almost every decision making scenario and it's always been like that. I want to be as real as possible and true to myself, and for things to really represent me so if I get control over that, it's a win win but if people I am working with know better, I will absolutely step back when needed.”

Ayanda Mthethwa - "I believe that having control over the music as a collective is important, because the music is a form of expression and being able to express yourself authentically is important. Also having support and guidance from mentors, managers is just as important.”

Georgie Ryan - "We like to play a big part in the creative process in everything we do, whether that be song writing, choreography or styling.. we want to stay true to ourselves as we think it’s important to be authentic."

Where do you draw influence and inspiration from for your work?

Katrina-Marie Howson - "I have always listened to lyrics in songs and always been interested in what the song is about and the journey the artist takes you on and I wanted to do that myself, when I started properly writing songs, Charli XCX, Camila Cabello, Raye & Kamille are my favourite artists who's songs I cannot get over the lyrical geniusness, and what has gone into their work.”

Ayanda Mthethwa - "On a personal level, I am highly influenced by my culture and upbringing. South Africa is a country where music is within us, when we celebrate we sing, when we mourn we sing, a vibrant place that taught me how to appreciate music. I am inspired by experiences, being able to be moved by what I hear, to shift from one feeling to another and there are many artists that do this.”

Georgie Ryan - "Each other! The girls inspire me everyday, when we write songs we base them on real experiences we’ve had whether that be together or individually."

If you could collaborate with anybody going forward, who would you choose and why?

Katrina-Marie Howson - "Oh my goodness! I would absolutely love to collaborate with Anne Marie, Aitch, Mabel, Wes Nelson, Machine Gun Kelly, The Kid Laroi, Doja Cat, Mimi Webb - anybody who is in the charts or current right now; they are killing it!”

Ayanda Mthethwa - "I would love to collaborate with Doja Cat. She is a talented, creative stand out woman. Her ability to make such quality music and videos is inspirational. With her also being from South Africa also creates a relation.”

Georgie Ryan - "Oh goodness now that’s a big question! There are so many artists we would love to collaborate with, I know amongst us we have said Doja Cat on a few occasions which would be amazing."

Tell us a random, funny fact about you that not many people know.

Katrina-Marie Howson - "There aren't many things people don't know about me as I am a VERY open book - but I do suffer with Emetophobia, a very strong phobia of Vomit”

Ayanda Mthethwa - "I usually keep to myself but when it comes to music I’m much more out there.”

Georgie Ryan - "I was once an extra in Coronation Street and it’s something I’m very proud of haha!"

Do you have definitive aims or goals for your career?

Katrina-Marie Howson - "I want to do everything and anything. There is no limit. The absolute dream would be to have a UK arena tour (sellout), perform around the world, have a number 1 single (or a few) and absolutely get invited to the BRIT awards whether we're nominated or get to perform there  -Just getting to do what I love and have worked hard for is the goal”

Ayanda Mthethwa - "Five year plan would be at least three albums and an arena tour. Possibly some collaborations outside of music.”

Georgie Ryan - "Performing, making music and making people happy!"

Where do you hope to be this time next year?

Katrina-Marie Howson - "I would like to think we've got lots more of our music out, and we're just performing everywhere and making this our reality”

Ayanda Mthethwa - "Three singles that introduces us to the world, and an EP. Being able to show our personalities on social media and interact with our audience.”

Georgie Ryan - "We all have things we would like to achieve but I know something that we talk about all the time is touring! An arena tour or something of that nature would be incredible."

What should we expect from you in the coming weeks and months?

Katrina-Marie Howson - "Getting Ready For Me out is a huge deal for us as the song has been in the process for a long time so we just want to focus on that, give it it's time to shine and just promote like crazy and hopefully get to perform this year”

Ayanda Mthethwa - "You can expect our single that’s out now and a behind the scenes videos of the making process of the song.”

Georgie Ryan - "In the near future you can expect to see hopefully more music, good content on our social media and hopefully some performances. So stay tuned!”