'Ireland really showed up!'

At just 22, London singer-songwriter Skye Newman carries herself with a poise beyond her years.

In the past 12 months, she has rapidly built her profile, being named BBC Radio 1's Sound of 2026, following in the footsteps of last year's winner Chappell Roan.

She also secured nominations at both the BRIT Awards (Song of the Year for Family Matters and Breakthrough Artist) and the MOBO Awards (Best Newcomer).

Her first two singles, Hairdresser and Family Matters , made chart history, making her the first British female solo artist in more than a decade to land her first two singles in the UK Top 20.

Yet, she remains completely unassuming.

Fresh from two sold-out nights at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre, Newman is still "buzzing" from the experience.

Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment, she describes the atmosphere as nothing short of electric, and says the Irish crowd gave her as much energy as she gave them.

"I will always put on a show and give everything that I have," she says, "but naturally, the more that they give back to you, it just pumps you up even more.

Ireland really showed up."
From the moment she arrived on stage, the connection was immediate.

"As soon as I stepped out, you could feel it.

I’m a huge person on energy, and there was so much passion in that room.

It was insane."
That sense of awareness runs through everything Newman does, including how she’s built her team.

In an industry still grappling with imbalance, she’s been deliberate about surrounding herself with women.

"I knew coming into this world there was going to be so much lacking for women, that’s just the reality," she says.

"Not just in music, but everywhere.

I was really intentional about making sure - no offence to the fellas - that I had women in my space."
For Newman, it’s about more than optics.

"They’ve got the best intentions for me.

They’re thinking about my health and my wealth in terms of my mental, not just the money.

I’ve got a great team of women around me, both in my work and in my personal life.

Even the label I chose, I walked in and saw so many women at the table.

That mattered."
Representation, especially for young women coming from backgrounds like her own - a message clearly reflected in her new single Woman I Am - is never far from her mind.

"It’s everything," she says.

"When you’re a young girl, you follow what you see.

So if someone can look at me and think, 'She’s doing it, so I can too,’ that means the world."
Growing up in an area where opportunities can feel limited has only sharpened that drive.

"I come from somewhere people don’t really get to do things like this.

So, the fact I’ve come from less, it might make someone else feel like they can do more."
She’s quick to point out the inequality of that journey.

"There are men from my area who’ve made something of themselves, but it’s not the same connection.

They’ve got an upper hand, it’s a different ball game entirely.

That’s why I’ve been so firm about supporting the women around me."
As the youngest of six, she learned early how to hold her own, an inheritance she describes as both a gift and a burden.

"I got to watch mistakes play out before I ever made them myself," she says.

"In that sense, I’ve been lucky.

But when you come from council estates, when you grow up with less, there’s no choice but to toughen up.

You grow up quick.

You learn to stand on your own two feet because half the time everything around you feels like it’s falling apart."
Turning experience into purpose
That pressure has left its mark, keeping her perpetually switched on.

"I’ve always had to be on it, mentally and emotionally.

It’s helped me, definitely, but there’s a flip side.

There were times I just wanted to be a kid and couldn’t.

Even when I tried not to care, I couldn’t switch it off.

I’ve always felt older than I was."
Still, Newman doesn’t linger in the weight of it.

"It is a blessing as well," she adds.

"Because now I can write music that might help someone else not feel like that.

If I can give people the chance to just be young, to actually have their childhood, then that means everything."
Newman admits she's still catching herself in the moment, pausing almost in disbelief at just how quickly everything has shifted.

"It’s honestly been the most incredible year of my life," she says.

"And the fact we’re only three months in is absolutely mental to me.

I do feel like I’m going to wake up one day and it’ll all be over, like it’s just been a dream.

"Any great moment I had growing up, it never lasted long.

Happiness was a minute or so, if that."
Now, she’s learning to sit with something altogether unfamiliar: consistency.

"To suddenly have a life where it’s constant - where it stretches into months - it just feels surreal.

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it."
She pauses, then adds, "I count my lucky stars every single day."
Newman is set to return to Ireland this August for a second outing at Electric Picnic, and she admits she's "buzzing" to be heading back to Stradbally.

"Festival season is the best - it’s my favourite," she says.

"Last year was just incredible.

Honestly, wow.

Everyone showed up for me in such a big way.

I haven’t been let down by a crowd yet.

I feel really blessed.

I hope everyone’s ready for it."
Newman's new EP, SE9 Part 2, which expands on the themes of identity, growth and self-understanding that have become central to her writing, will be released on 29 May.

Both SE9 Part 1 and SE9 Part 2 will be available on CD and vinyl, with the CD released at retail and the vinyl offered as a D2C exclusive, featuring the exclusive track Blood and an acoustic version of Too Far South.

As for what comes next, Newman is keeping things open-ended.

"It’s funny, even though there’s so much I want to do, I don’t have fixed milestones in mind," she explains.

"Of course, every artist has certain venues or moments they dream about, but for me, it’s more about building a solid group of people who genuinely connect with my music.

That’s what matters most.

"It’s easy to get lost chasing milestones, and I think that’s where people go wrong.

You’ve got to enjoy the ride.

There will always be ups and downs, things won’t always go to plan, but as long as I love who I am and the music I’m making, then I know I’m succeeding."
With that mindset, it’s hard not to feel that the sky really is the limit.

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