Talia Mar has spent a decade harnessing the internet’s attention to create a career built on music, community and refusing to be boxed in. From her early YouTube beginnings and BRIT School training to the platinum-certified success of Stay the Night with Sigala, the South London-born singer-songwriter has grown from online creator into a pop artist with a distinctly candid voice.

Now, she is entering a bold new chapter. Fresh from her first ever solo tour – intimate rooms across the UK with fans loudly singing every lyric – Talia has released her long-awaited EP, ‘Not Worth the Wait’. It’s a collection shaped by her journey through the music industry, her battle for independence, and her touching experience of motherhood. Rather than chasing a single, polished formula for her sound, she embraces it all – playful pop, darker reflections, and songs rooted in womanhood, friendship and self-reclamation. The EP is a celebration, and a conversation about reinvention without losing yourself.

Following the emotional announcement that she will be taking a hiatus from music now her tour has come to a close, her fans and community have praised her bravery and supported her more than ever. Talia described her final London date on Tuesday as “a farewell show of sorts”, while holding on to hope that it is not forever. Her vulnerability is familiar to her audience; she has always spoken to her fans as equals, whether through gaming streams, social media, or songs that turn individual experiences into something shared.

In this exclusive interview with 1883, Talia has opened up about the freedom of going independent and the joy of releasing music on her own terms. She’s shared the stories behind tracks including Girls in the Bathroom, the cathartic Psycho on a Couch, and Lady – a powerful reflection on the rules society writes for women. And now, she’s writing her own rules.

You’ve just wrapped up your headline tour, how has the experience been?

It’s been great and it’s taught me a lot about my career and myself. I’ve loved being in such small rooms with everyone, seeing everyone’s faces, singing the songs back to me. I truly have had the best few weeks doing it. 

How has it been to return to music with your singles so far? How has your sound evolved? 

It’s been very eye opening and I think I’m finally at a place where I do just enjoy releasing music that I love, rather than what I think is going to do well. That has probably in itself evolved the music into something more authentic and natural. 

Your long-awaited EP is now out in the world! What can you tell us about it and what inspired you? Which song is most special to you and why? 

I love all the songs on the EP, but I think ‘Girls In The Bathroom’ is definitely super special to me. I got all my girlfriends to sing the bridge with me and I talk about them in the song, along with my love of girlhood.

The whole EP was just inspired by my journey in music and not being able to release in the way that I wanted. So, the EP has a few different sounds to it, along with a few different stories and while it’s not necessarily supersonically cohesive, I think it matches me perfectly. 

What has influenced you most before this return to music? 

I think I get influenced by everything around me. From other artists, people I love, my friends and family. I’m always looking at different things and taking inspiration. 

Psycho on a Couch tackles some darker reflections with a quirky sound. What key messages or themes did you most want to share with this song, and why? 

I think I really wanted to just make something super lighthearted out of a situation that actually wasn’t that lighthearted and fun. I had a therapist who made it quite clear that she wasn’t my biggest fan, and I’m sure this is something that a lot of people have unfortunately also experienced. Whether it’s anxiety, or it’s actually justified, we’ll never know, but hopefully they can at least bop along to it while they cry. 

You first emerged in music 10 years ago. How do you think the landscape has changed for women in music? 

For women, things are constantly improving, but the more they improve, the more I think we realise we still have so far to go, which is both exciting and also sad. Social media has obviously allowed people to break out into this space where maybe they couldn’t before and give us voices where we previously didn’t have them. I definitely want things to continue changing, the way that they are. 

Why do you think it was the right decision to become an independent artist? How did you feel when you made that decision? 

I made that decision in a split second, even though I had toyed with the idea over my time with the label. I knew in the moment that I wasn’t allowed to release a song that the fans had chosen, that label life wasn’t going to be for me, at least at that point in my life. Going independent was so freeing and so exciting and it’s taught me so much about myself. 

You have a huge online community with gaming, streaming and social media. How do your roles in these spaces and in music influence and inform each other? 

They’re all such a big part of my life that they naturally just intertwine. There is no conscious decision between taking inspiration from one side of my life into the other. It’s just a completely subconscious merge of all the things I love. 

How has becoming a parent shifted your perspective on fame and success? 

I did recently announce that I’m taking a hiatus from music and I think that is a lot down to me being a parent now. It’s made me realise that what I wanted in life was to actually just release songs that I love and make music that I love. The other side of it, and the fame side of it, is actually something that I not only don’t want anymore, but also actively don’t want to seek out. 

Finally, in ‘Lady’, you write about the realities of being a woman – ‘No is rude’… ‘Don’t you dare gain the weight’… ‘You get silenced if you fight it’ – and about how you’re raising and teaching your daughter differently. What world would you like for her to grow up in? What are the biggest things you want to teach her, and the fans you have? 

I think like it says in the song, it’s about rewriting the rules that society has written for women over the years and reframing the way we think about ourselves. Also, knowing that if you want to do something, great, and if you don’t, then you don’t have to do it and that shouldn’t be questioned. 

Talia Mar’s EP, Not Worth the Wait, is out now. 

Interview Claudia Bradley