Relentlessly driven from the jump, Caity worked one day at Co-op before attending a songwriting session that would flip her life upside down. She'd uploaded a TikTok of her song 'Average Student', which racked up a million views overnight on the app, leading to a DM from a management agency and a meeting with producer duo Future Cut, who'd notably worked on Lily Allen's debut album 'Alright, Still', who Caity would draw immediate comparisons to when her music arrived.

An impulsive decision to upload the track spiralled into the push she needed to go all the way. To Caity's shock, Future Cut immediately wanted her on board and have continued to work with her on practically her entire discography so far. They've helped shape her sound, which is distinctly British in her delivery, much like the aforementioned Lily and Kate Nash, with a splash of do-wop pomp borrowed from Meghan Trainor.

While Caity is keen to constantly keep going these days (she mentions it only takes her a couple of days to recharge after a tour before she's ready to get back on stage or in the studio), her Duracell bunny energy wasn't always channelled into music. As a child, she took on sports, acting and dancing, but her heart wasn't in it.

Caity grew up in Southampton ("Fuck that place," she says of it now) with her mum, dad and two older brothers, one of whom is, according to her, a great singer, and the pair would try to outdo each other in the vocal realm. She might have kept her real voice under wraps, though, until she got on stage and fully let loose in front of them.

Despite her confidence now, it's surprising when Caity admits she never really felt like she fit in at school. Struggling to express herself back then, she says she knew exactly who she was but didn't have the confidence to live as her most authentic self. Coming into the music industry changed that perspective drastically, as she found a community of fans who embraced her exactly as she was.

"I felt like I've never really belonged anywhere. Like at school, I didn't feel like I could be myself. Now my fanbase is like an army of people that I just…" she trails off. "Everyone's friends and we're all nice to each other. No bad vibes, just good vibes only. I love them. I was a sheep when I was little, I would do whatever, wear whatever, just so people would like me. I'd be nice to everyone; I wanted to be everybody's friend, even if they were dickheads. Then lockdown happened, and all those people that I actually never liked, we stopped talking. I thought, oh my god, I don't miss you. I literally had nobody for a while and then started doing music, and I found a beautiful community of people that are just amazing."

That community came out in their droves when she started playing live shows, and that initial bug for performing she caught clearly stuck with her. Caity really thrives when she gets on stage and has proven that time and time again this year, undertaking a mammoth festival season bookended by her own headline tour this spring, and a brief stint in Australia this autumn. In 2024, she'll be going on her biggest tour yet, 12 dates winding up at London's Eventim Apollo.

She continues, "Going on tour is like the most magical experience ever. It's the driving there; I'm with my band, and with my manager, and with my videographer. We're all like this big family on the road. I'm pretty sure I've been to every service station in the UK by now; we get a little Maccies. We get to the place, and then I get ready. Every single day is just beautiful. And every single day is the best day ever anyway, but every single day on tour is like the extra best day. It's so much fun."

The tour will be in support of her upcoming mixtape 'Still Learning', featuring 14 tracks, some of which we've heard plenty of; breakout hits 'X&Y' and 'Pretty Boys' make the cut, plus this year's uber-catchy '2468'. Although Caity's brutally honest lyricism has played a huge part in her come-up, 'Still Learning' turns a new page as her most vulnerable release.