Singer Arlo Parks has said she was so shocked to receive praise from stars such as Lily Allen, Billie Eilish and Phoebe Bridgers that she thought her friends were pranking her.
The rising star from south London, right, said: “If I see a comment from those kinds of people online my first reaction is that it’s a joke.
"Like my friends have set up a fake account.”
Parks, who scooped the One To Watch award at the AIM Independent Music Awards in August and whose current single Hurt was picked as Annie Mac’s hottest record in the world on Radio 1, said she was proud to be associated with artists such as Eilish, but added: “I’m not on their level, though. I’m still at the start.”
Parks, 20, who is bisexual, spoke about feeling “supported” in coming out to her family and friends and said many fans had thanked her for being open about her sexuality because it had “helped” them.
The singer, who has Nigerian, Chadian and French heritage, said of the Black Lives Matter protests: “It felt like a period when everyone is learning, and that’s always a good thing. It can be uncomfortable, but … growth is always uncomfortable.”
