On stage American Idiot’s Amelia Lily is all about rock. Good, old-fashioned, guitar-thrashing, angsty, political, angry rock. Playing Whatsername in the musical based on Green Day’s album of the same name, the former X Factor finalist is plunged into a post-9/11 world in which three friends are struggling to cope with life. Drugs, booze and guns are the order of the day as the trio head down the darkest of roads.
Offstage the score to her life is rather more… light and fluffy, like a well-made sponge. Out, for the most part, go the axes and negativity, in come the songs from the world’s favourite animated movies and a healthy helping of pop.
That shouldn’t, I suppose, be a surprise for the singer who shot to fame as the comeback kid on Simon Cowell’s Saturday night TV monster of a show. Pop is in its very DNA. But it’s credit to Lily that having seen her rock out with the American Idiot cast at West End LIVE and on stage at the Arts Theatre, we can only imagine her as a full-blooded, leather/denim-wearing, head-banging rock star of the first order.
We didn’t expect Mulan to feature in the list of songs that help define her life.
See what else makes the list and listen to them in the Spotify playlist below:
The song that reminds me most of my childhood…
Reflection from the Disney film Mulan because it was the first song I ever sang on stage and I was petrified.
The song that reminds me of the time I realised I wanted to go into performing…
Love Story by Taylor Swift. After hearing this song I started writing songs and playing guitar,.
The song that makes me happiest…
Any Disney song. I’ve always been a huge Disney fan and the songs are just so clever and animated.
The song most likely to make me cry…
Unconditionally by Katy Perry. I think it’s so romantic and the lyrics are so beautiful it just makes me really emotional.
The song that reminds me most of terrifying auditions…
Piece Of My Heart, the Janis Joplin version. It was my X Factor audition and every time I hear it it brings back so many memories of how I was feeling at the time and what an incredible journey I went on.
The song that reminds me of finding out I had got the role in American Idiot…
21 Guns by Green Day. When I first heard this song I thought “Wow, this is incredible.” The way they have arranged it for the musical is beautiful and so powerful and I felt really happy to be able to perform it in my audition.
The song I most look forward to every night in the show…
Letterbomb, because it’s my solo and I think it sits in my voice really well. It’s such a powerful song!
The song that reminds me most of my parents…
A Sky Full Of Stars by Coldplay reminds me of my dad because he loves that song. And Black And Gold by Sam Sparro reminds me of my mum because she always used to sing it and go on about how much she loved it.
The song that reminds me of falling in love…
A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. I think the whole song is stunning down to the strings and melodies. It’s a hugely famous song too as it was used in the Twilight film.
The song I have to turn off when it comes on the radio…
Happy by Pharrell. I love it but I’ve heard it too many times and it’s a bit repetitive now.
The song I hope will make people think of me…
Queen’s The Show Must Go On. It was my comeback song on X Factor and it’s such a big song.
I loved performing it.