Katie Gregson-MacLeod
{{Short description|Scottish musician}}
{{Infobox musical artist
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| honorific_prefix =
| name = Katie Gregson-MacLeod
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| image = Katie Gregson-Macleod Playing Victorious 5 (crop).jpg
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| caption = Gregson-MacLeod performing in 2024
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| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date |21|2022|09|01}}
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| origin = Inverness, Highland, Scotland
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| genre =
| occupation = Musician
| discography =
| years_active = 2020-present
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| website = {{URL|https://www.katie-gregson-macleod.com/}}
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Katie Gregson-MacLeod is a Scottish musician. She rose to fame in 2022 when her song "Complex" went viral on TikTok.
Career
Gregson-MacLeod released her first single, “Still a Sad Song” in 2020 when she was 18.{{Cite web |last=David |first=Laura |date=2022-11-10 |title=Katie Gregson-MacLeod is on the rise |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/katie-gregson-macleod-on-the-rise |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Furniss |first=Olaf |date=2020-09-30 |title=Under the Radar: Katie Gregson-MacLeod |work=The Scotsman |url=https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/under-radar-katie-gregson-macleod-2955766 |access-date=2022-02-01}}{{Cite web |date=2020-08-18 |title=Resonate Artist Of The Week: Katie Gregson-MacLeod |url=https://www.resonatescot.co.uk/aotw/2020/8/18/resonate-artist-of-the-week-katie-gregson-macleod |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=Resonate Music Conference |language=en-US}} In 2021, while attending university, she independently released her debut EP Games I Play with that track.{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Sophie |date=2022-12-07 |title=Katie Gregson-Macleod: pop's next heavyweight is reinventing the power ballad |url=https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/katie-gregson-macleod-interview-new-ep-complex-radar-3361707 |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}
On August 4, 2022, Gregson-MacLeod posted a short video of part of her song "Complex" on TikTok. Overnight, the clip garnered over 100,000 views.{{Cite news |date=2022-09-01 |title=Katie Gregson-MacLeod: I woke up to absolute madness |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-62737537 |access-date=2023-02-02}}{{Cite web |last=O'Toole |first=Lucy |title=Katie Gregson-MacLeod: "It's like a fight or flight thing, when your life changes literally overnight" |url=https://www.hotpress.com/music/katie-gregson-macleod-its-like-a-fight-or-flight-thing-when-your-life-changes-literally-overnight-22948989 |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=Hotpress}} The clip eventually amassed over 7.2 million views. She released a full version of the song later that month.{{Cite web |last=Santa Poggi |first=Maria |date=2022-09-06 |title=Katie Gregson-MacLeod Doesn't Mind Being Your Next Sad Indie Girl |url=https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/katie-gregson-macleod-complex-songwriting-sad-girl-indie |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=Nylon |language=en}} She signed with Columbia Records and released the EP Songs Written for Piano on that label later that year.{{Cite web |last=Geraghty |first=Hollie |date=2022-12-02 |title=Katie Gregson-MacLeod releases new EP 'songs written for piano' and shares 'white lies' video |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/katie-gregson-macleod-releases-new-ep-songs-written-for-piano-and-shares-white-lies-video-radar-3359808 |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} She was named one of BBC Radio Scotland's 25 Artists to Watch in 2022.
"Complex" was nominated for Best Song Musically and Lyrically at the 2023 Ivor Novello awards.{{Cite web |last=Murray |first=Robin |date=2023-04-19 |title=Katie Gregson-Macleod On 'complex', The Ivors, And Competing With Harry Styles |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/news/katie-gregson-macleod-on-complex-the-ivors-and-competing-with-harry-styles/ |access-date=2023-09-19 |website=Clash Magazine |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Hood |first=Lottie |date=2023-04-20 |title=Inverness TikTok sensation Katie Gregson-MacLeod takes on Harry Styles for top songwriting award |url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands-islands/5637805/inverness-katie-gregson-macleod-ivor-novello/ |access-date=2023-09-19 |website=Press and Journal |language=en-GB}} In October 2023, she released her third EP, Big Red.{{Cite web |last=Shafer |first=Ellise |date=2023-10-13 |title=Katie Gregson-MacLeod Talks Documenting the Life Cycle of a Relationship on ‘Big Red’ EP and ‘Coming Back Down’ After ‘Complex’ Went Viral |url=https://variety.com/2023/music/news/katie-gregson-macleod-big-red-ep-complex-1235754868/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Swann |first=Emma |date=2023-10-11 |title=Album Review: Katie Gregson-MacLeod - BIG RED |url=https://diymag.com/review/ep/katie-gregson-macleod-big-red |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=DIY |language=en}} Gregson-MacLeod won the Vega Breakthrough Award at the 2023 Scottish Music Awards.{{Cite web |last=Media |first=P. A. |date=2023-11-05 |title=Sir Elton John and The Who win at the Specsavers Scottish Music Awards |url=https://news.stv.tv/entertainment/sir-elton-john-and-the-who-win-at-the-specsavers-scottish-music-awards |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=STV News |language=en-GB}}
Personal life
Gregson-MacLeod is from Inverness. She has played music since an early age and began songwriting around age 12. She was a history student at the University of Edinburgh.{{Cite news |last=Gauntlett |first=Annabelle |date=2022-10-16 |title=Edinburgh student Katie Gregson-MacLeod becomes viral sensation after song 'Complex' explodes on TikTok |work=Edinburgh Evening News |url=https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/must-read/edinburgh-student-katie-gregson-macleod-becomes-viral-sensation-after-song-complex-explodes-on-tiktok-3881562 |access-date=2022-02-01}} In 2023, she moved from Inverness to London.
Discography
= Extended plays =
- Games I Play (2021, independent)
- Songs Written For Piano (2022, Columbia Records)
- Big Red (2023, Sony Music)
- Love Me Too Well, I’ll Retire Early (2025, Last Recordings on Earth)
References
{{reflist}}
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Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Category:21st-century Scottish women musicians
Category:Scottish women singer-songwriters
Category:Scottish singer-songwriters