I have always struggled with expressing emotion, I used to think I was a very hard person but music has shown me I'm a big softy! Writing songs to me really is like writing a diary, it's very private and very personal. My most emotional songs have been written alone in a locked room, I'm able to express myself there.

The best advice came from my manager, Anne, who told me to never compare myself to other people and to be true to myself. There's so many talented people out there in the world of music it can be intimidating, and she taught me to be inspired by talent and not scared of it.

Singing your own songs live is so personal, it's like standing there reading out your diary pages. I still get really nervous so I would have to say performing is the greater rush for me.

I was actually working throughout the worst of the recession. I watched half my team lose their jobs, the hours were longer and the future was uncertain... But I worked with an amazing team and even in the worst times I was proud of the work I did and part I played. A lot people are surprised to hear I still miss the bank sometimes!

LATE will always be the most important song to me. I used to struggle to perform it live without getting upset but have performed it a lot now, which has really helped. Very often it makes people in the audience cry, and that means so much to me that they can relate to the emotions in the song. It was actually a really easy song to write, I wrote most of it in one day... it sort of flowed out of me. I was never good with dealing with emotion, so I think I kind of needed to write it!

The biggest lesson is that you write the best songs when you're being real, an honest and you mean what you're saying, not trying to be something you're not.

I have always struggled with expressing emotion, I used to think I was a very hard person but music has shown me I'm a big softy! Writing songs to me really is like writing a diary, it's very private and very personal. My most emotional songs have been written alone in a locked room, I'm able to express myself there.