Maisie Peters on change, having a thick skin and her 'healed' sound

Ella Pavlides

In August 2024, Maisie Peters opened for Taylor Swift wearing socks which sparkled with “MP3”.

Fans read it as the first tease for her new album and now, nearly two years later, Florescence is here.

“It definitely has been a long time coming,” Peters tells BBC Newsbeat.

The Sussex-born singer has supported artists like Coldplay and Ed Sheeran, whose label she signed to aged 21.

Now, as she gears up to perform at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Sunderland, Peters speaks about growing up with her fans, struggling with pressure and why her latest offering will sound different.

“It’s just really exciting for it to be out in the world and for it to be part of other people’s lives, not just mine,” Peters says.

Her previous album, The Good Witch, came out in June 2023 and went straight to number one in the UK’s Official Album Chart.

It chronicled the love and heartbreak of her early twenties and was a hit with her dedicated fanbase.

Now, at 25, she says Florescence is a natural successor, but “definitely feels a lot more healed”.

“I’ve changed since making The Good Witch and all the previous [records].

“So I think it really just reflects the journey that I’ve been on as a person and as an artist.”

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The Worst of You star is hoping her fans are now “ready for an album like Florescence”, but says they should brace for it to feel “tonally and sonically very different”.

She’s quick to reassure supporters though that her new album carries “a lot of the same stories” – just with a “new perspective”.

Her track History of Man for example, from three years ago, is an epic exploring female heartbreak through the ages.

Florescence has a more settled feel, closing with a slow, peaceful tune called Nothing Like Being In Love.

But it’s not been a smooth journey reaching this point, something Peters reflects in her latest songs.

The album starts with Mary Janes, where she lists her insecurities: “My teeth aren’t straight / my jeans are as cool as my music taste”.

“In some ways I have a very thick skin,” she says.

“And in other ways, sometimes something can permeate that you really didn’t expect.”

There have also been challenges with a vocal condition and feeling anxious, with Peters getting visibly upset at a soundcheck when she supported Noah Kahan in 2024.

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Collaborating with different artists for Florescence has been inspiring, Peters says.

She calls US singer Julia Michaels, who wrote the song Kingmaker, a “huge hero” of hers.

Marcus Mumford, from Mumford & Sons, features on the track If You Let Me, with Peters saying they had an “instant connection”.

“[Marcus] is an incredible musician, writer and player. It was such a treat getting to work with him.”

And it’s not only singers, as Peters also teams up with Amelia Dimoldenberg.

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The Chicken Shop Date star, described by Peters as “super focused and creative”, directs the trailer for the album and the video for My Regards.

The video, which pays tribute to the cult British teen film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, sparked a delighted reaction online.

A number of fans commented under the clip, which included the film’s main actress Georgia Groome, to say the collaboration was “iconic”.

“We did get rained on pretty heavily and I was walking around in a massive daisy costume,” Peters says.

“It was such a crazy day, it really felt like I walked out of a dream world.”

For fans wanting to experience some of that dream through a full tour of the new album, Peters says they’ll have to “wait and see”.

But there will be a gig at the O2 in London next year, which she admits to being “a little bit nervous” about.

“I hope that people come. I hope there’s not just, you know, my mum and my sister,” she says.

Florescence is out from Friday 22 May.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back Maisie Peters on change, having a.