New pop find: Ria Ritchie

Here is a sentence that will make your heart sink like a shoe in a yoghurt: "With over 10 million views and 35k subscribers, Ria Ritchie is nothing short of a Youtube phenomenon."

I know what you're thinking: OH JESUS NO MAKE IT STOP. But hang about, because Ria Ritchie is actually pretty good. Here are the facts of which you need to be aware.

:: Ria is 23 years old.

:: Or maybe 24. It isn't 100 per cent clear.

:: She hails from Lowestoft, which has given us such musical luminaries as Tim Westwood, Lil Chris and The Darkness.

:: Her brother is actor Reece Ritchie, who was in mopey drama The Lovely Bones and current BBC 2 thing White Heat.

:: Those early YouTube video, recorded in her bedroom with "moody" lighting, include spine-tingling covers of You Might Need Somebody and Rihanna's PS (I'm Still Not Over You).

:: Plan B spotted her, and has now co-written and produced five of her songs.

:: One of them is called Peculiar and although I'm not allowed to put it on the blog right now, when you hear it you will go "wow".

:: Ria once met Jay-Z's business manager, who promised to put her in touch with some people who could help progress her career.

:: He also told her "about Beyonce's Single Ladies record", which sounds like a very exciting moment but the journalist who revealed this morsel of gossip apparently forgot to ask a follow-up question :(

:: The Jay-Z connection appears to have been written out of her official biography, so it probably came to nothing.

:: But that's just the harsh reality of the music business, which will kick you in the teeth as often as it touches you gently on the boob and says "I could make you a star".

:: Ria has recently toured with Example and Wretch 32.

:: She is currently "cutting tracks" with The Nexus.

:: Which basically means David Sneddon, as you can see.

:: Amazing.

Let's just get on with the music. Here is the current single, Only One.

Ria Ritchie - Only One


And here is one you can download to keep, which is called Blow Back. It's produced by Sam Frank of Skream "fame".



It's all still early days, but you should follow Ria on Twitter or on Facebook as she prepares her assault on the music industry. We'll be checking in at regular intervals, that's for sure.

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