Kristen Hopkins, the lead singer of the new band The Delusional, tells us about musical inspiration, favourite venues, and how they got started.

At only 14 years old, a shy and innocent Kristen Hopkins stepped onto the music scene. 6 years later, Kris has become the lead singer in the increasingly popular band, The Delusional. We decided to interview her to find out what caused this transformation.

We know that you started your music career as a solo artist, but what made you decide to join a band?

“Ever since I was young, I knew that I wanted a career in music. At 14, when I was offered a contract as a solo artist, I thought it was a dream come true! But it didn’t take me long to realise that it wasn’t right for me. I guess I just needed the support from my band members. They’ve really helped me to come out of my shell!”

Since The Delusional formed in 2011, your fanbase has grown dramatically. How do you feel about this?

“I’m not gonna lie, I’m thrilled. I mean, the main aim was never to become famous, it was just about having a good time and enjoying ourselves. But now we’re able to do this as our jobs, not just as a hobby, and I love it! I’m so grateful to anyone who has ever taken the time to listen to our music or come to see us on tour.”

How did The Delusional manage to become this popular so quickly?

“Well we started off with a YouTube channel that was quite popular. But then Matt became our drummer and he already had a lot of fans, and a lot of them liked our music which was really great. It just went up from there, basically.”

Over your career, you’ve played at loads of venues. Which has been your favourite?

“I know a lot of people will expect me to pick the O2 Arena, which we played at when we supported Young Guns a few months ago, and that was fucking amazing. But honestly, I think I prefer some of the smaller gigs we’ve done. The atmosphere is always so much more intense when there’s less people, and I think the intimacy really helps us to create better relationships with our fans.

Speaking of your fans, what’s the weirdest moment you've had with a fan?

“To be honest, I haven't really had that many weird encounters. But I know Matt has had several girls propose to him, haha.”

What’s in like going in tour with the band? Has anything gone wrong?

“I absolutely love going on tour with the guys. They’re all so fun to be with, and we’re all just really close friends. I think other than leaving a guitar in another country, and nearly falling off a stage face first, everything has gone to plan, haha. Yeah, it’s all been great”

For anyone who hasn't listened to your music before, who would you say has inspired The Delusional the most?

“We’ve taken a lot of inspiration from bands with female leads, like Paramore, and the Marmozets. I think it’s important for there to be more bands with female members, there is so much talent amongst young girls.”

You’ve got quite a bit of criticism for some of the songs in your last album. How did you respond to it? Did you take it to heart?

“We just accepted that not everyone is going to like our music. We’re not here to please everyone, and to be honest I don’t give a shit about the haters. I love everything that we’ve made and I think that’s the most important thing.”

I hear that you’re releasing another album soon. How’s that going?

“Yeah, it’s going really great. We’re releasing our second album, Sugar Coating, next month, and we’re all really proud of it. We’ve changed our sound a bit so we’re a bit nervous about releasing git, but hopefully it will be a success, because we’ve worked really hard on it.”

Finally, what direction is the band going to take now?

“I don't know. We’ll just see what happens. We don’t stick to a particular style; we just play whatever we feel like playing, really. I know it’s gonna be fun whatever happens!”