Double Page Spread Article - First draft

This is the first draft of my article text for my double page spread. I plan to re-draft this and make final corrections before putting it in my magazine.

The legacy of Lennox

“I only started getting an education after I left mainstream education.”

School dropouts are labelled in our society as failures, but with millions of pre-orders on her debut album, Legacy, Lennox Lupin is anything but a failure.

Hayley Williams of Paramore is unarguably the most influential female pop-punk star of our time, and if you were to combine her voice with the tone of the music of Panic! At The Disco, you may just create a sound similar to that of upcoming star, Lennox Lupin. We’d watch out if we were you, Hayley! We sat with Lennox today, to find out how she has, in a matter of months, progressed from posting covers on YouTube and bringing in fewer views than a cat hanging from a ceiling lamp, to announcing her new album on her weekly radio show, with over five million followers.

It’s not an uncommon thing to dream about ditching school to record an album with your mates, but it is an uncommon thing for these dreams to become reality. One year ago to this day, Lennox Lupin was just a regular kid, blasting music through her headphones on what seemed to be a regular Monday morning, but it just so happened that on this particular day, she decided not to go to school. “It just wasn’t for me, y’know? All that academic crap, it’s not who I am.” Lennox told us, before explaining how she went home to record a video of herself singing a cover of Casual Affair by Panic! At The Disco. Brendon Urie, lead singer of P!ATD himself would later stumble across this cover, sharing it on twitter and sending it viral. “Yeah, that was a crazy f*cking day.” Lennox laughed (we did tell her to mind her language!). “Brendon sharing my cover was definitely a turning point, I got so much positive feedback, it was the happiest and most accepted I’d felt in years, it was pretty much in that moment that I realised I wasn’t gonna’ go back to school, it was wasting my time, time I could spend promoting myself and progressing as an artist.”

Lennox spent every day afterwards recording videos for YouTube, both of covers and songs she’d written herself. With the ability to play piano, guitar, bass and drums (and the triangle!), she had no problem recording her own stuff, pretty impressive for someone who couldn’t remember her name on national television. “Oh man, that was embarrassing. [laughs] It was an interview for the BBC, I was so intimidated, they asked me to introduce myself and I froze up, I knew my name started with L but anything past that was totally gone!” Don’t worry, Lennox, we’ve all been there... (I hope!)

After racking up over a billion views on her YouTube channel, LupinSings, Lennox was recognised by the BBC as having potential as an upcoming artist, and offered a weekly slot on Radio one, to feature her own music as well as showcase other artists she felt deserved the recognition. “Being on the radio is kinda surreal, man. It sorta doesn’t feel real, I mean... I can’t imagine people driving home from work or school on Tuesdays and hearing me going on at them, I know that I for one would hate that [laughs].” Lennox’s radio-show is aired live on BBC Radio 1 at 4pm every Tuesday. We’d recommend checking it out!

Lennox’s successes didn’t stop there, only last week, Lennox announced on her radio-show that, with the help of Fuelled by Ramen, she will be releasing a full length album next month, Legacy! “I’ve never worked so hard on anything in my life.” She told us, on making her album. “I never focused this much at school, it’s funny, I only started getting an education after I left mainstream education. Yeah, making my album has really helped me settle down and it’s given me something to be passionate about, I’m really excited for everyone to hear it, honestly, it’s pretty sweet.” We promise you, we’re excited to hear it ourselves, Lennox!

Spending the day with Lennox really gave us a look into the personality behind the star – a popular opinion among the pretentious older generations is that any young artists are in it for the cash, overcome with fame and fortune with no real care for anything that matters, but with Lennox, it couldn’t have been further from the truth. Every penny made by her album will be donated to charities to help LGBT youth, such as Stonewall and the Albert Kennedy Trust – “I was never in it for the money, I mean yeah I want to make a living off of this, but if someone else can make a living off of my work as well as myself, it seems senseless not to help ‘em out a bit, y’know?” We totally agree, Lennox! Miss Lupin is by far one of the most down-to-earth and generous stars we’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, she’s taken the industry by storm and we expect as much from her in the future. “My future plans? Oh, you’ll have to wait and see, I’ve got quite a bit to reveal, maybe even a tour, who knows! I’m only just getting started.”

Lennox’s album, Legacy, is available to pre-order from her website now for £7.99. All proceeds will go to select charities. Lennox’s radio-show can be found on BBC Radio one on Tuesdays from 4pm.