Love Island’s Paige Turley: Reality Star To Pop Star?

Long before Paige Turley won Love Island with her boyfriend, Finn Tapp, you might remember the islander had starred on another talent show: Britain’s Got Talent. Paige, 14 at the time, made it to the live shows, after impressing the judges with a rendition of Bon Iver's Skinny Love. ‘You know, it doesn’t really feel like it was me,’ Paige says, talking to Grazia over the phone. ‘I was quite naive to it then as I was so young. Musically, and on a personal level, I've grown so much since then.'

So it was kind of written in the stars that eventually, after her Love Island victory, the Scottish singer would land herself a record deal. Her debut single - out on Friday - is a cover of the Artful Dodger classic Movin' Too Fast, a collaboration with 36-piece The House & Garage Orchestra. ‘They’ve actually collaborated with Robin S, and I had sung her song [Show Me Love] in the villa so, when it came to me, it just felt right. I was like “Oh, this has to got to be a sign.” It's so nice to get back into it, it's been a whirlwind, the past month or so.'

Lockdown has been busy for Paige, who spent most of it in West Lothian, Scotland, with her family and boyfriend Finn. The singer hopes, in the not-so-distant future, to release her own songs - and has been attending writing sessions over Zoom. ‘Lockdown’s been good because I’ve had loads of time to write,’ she says. ‘What I tend to find is that I’m writing an idea for a song - and halfway through I jump to something completely different. I’m just sat writing what’s going on in my head. And Finn’s always like “Aw, are you writing songs about me?”’ (By the way, if she could collaborate with one person, she'd love it to be Stormzy.{ =nofollow})

Before Finn, Paige was dating Grammy nominee Lewis Capaldi{ =nofollow}, with whom she went to college. But there's no bad blood and Paige genuinely sounds like she doesn't mind being asked about the singer. 'People are curious,' she says. 'It's the same with Adele, people are just curious about their life and how they can write these songs. It doesn't annoy me at all - I would probably ask the same questions.'

Paige says she didn't have even have time to think about what she wanted to do after Love Island when she was approached to be on this year's winter series, with her flying off to South Africa just weeks after the first conversation. And then, up until lockdown, she was busy doing all the promo and media opportunities that are available to those few lucky islanders who do well outside the show. So if it wasn't for lockdown, this single might not have happened. 'Having the time in lockdown, it's definitely given me a chance to reflect and it's opened up so many doors for me,' she says. 'I'm literally just so grateful for having the chance to go on the show.'

Hopefully, with an already large fanbase, she can make the transition from reality star to pop star. 'It would be lovely to have the musician title alongside the Love Island title,' she grins.

Paige Turley and The House & Garage Orchestra’s ‘Movin’ Too Fast’ will be available to stream and download on Spotify and Apple Music from July 17.

READ MORE: Love Island Winner Paige Turley On Spending Lockdown With Her Boyfriend Finn