After a five-year hiatus, London-based singer, songwriter, and producer Bayley Mckenzie is back—and stronger than ever. At just 25, Bayley has already lived a full creative arc of early passion, personal trials, and now, powerful reinvention.
His new single “Oh My” marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter, ahead of his highly anticipated album “Charming Doesn’t Always Mean Nice,” due out on June 6th. With deeply personal lyrics drawn from love, heartbreak, and mental health struggles, Bayley brings raw emotion and truth to every note.
In this exclusive interview, we dive into the making of “Oh My,” his artistic evolution, and the message he hopes to share with listeners who, like him, have found healing through music.
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Hi Bayley, thanks a lot for being with us today. First of all, welcome back! After a five-year hiatus, your single “Oh My” is such a powerful return. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the song and what made it the perfect choice for your comeback after five years?
Hello! I appreciate you calling it a powerful return. I wrote Oh My back in September 2023. A couple of months earlier, I’d come out of a six-month relationship, and for a while, the songs I was writing were coming from a place of heartbreak and anger. But I was starting to leave those feelings behind. Then I heard the beat for Oh My, and while listening, I realized I hadn’t written anything light-hearted — just a cute pop song — in a really long time. I started thinking about what was happening around me: people close to me catching feelings for their friends… and I was going through something similar myself. I ended up writing Oh My in about 10 to 15 minutes. When I decided I wanted to release music again, I knew it had to be the first single. I love the melody, the lyrics — it’s just an upbeat ‘I’ve got a little crush’ song, and it felt like the perfect way to reintroduce my music to the world after five years.
You mentioned that you wrote a lot of songs over the last two years inspired by personal experiences. What was the turning point that made you decide it was time to share your music with the world again?
Over the last two years, I wrote so much. I made three different versions of Charming Doesn’t Always Mean Nice, each with different songs. The reason I kept removing and adding tracks was because I couldn’t stop writing — my feelings kept shifting, and the way I was processing things was changing. As soon as I lost a connection to a song, I didn’t want to record it. But in early 2024, I started writing a collection of songs that I stayed in love with—while keeping the ones from 2023 that still felt true. For the first time, I felt like I was truly creating an album I wanted to share.
I knew I was making a real body of work when I wrote Let You Let Me Feel Sad in May 2024 – A heartbreak ballad about falling in love with someone who wasn’t emotionally invested in me. That song just brought everything together and was definitely the turning point for this album.
Your upcoming album is intriguingly titled “Charming Doesn’t Always Mean Nice.” Can you give us a sneak peek into the themes and stories we can expect from it?
“Charming Doesn’t Always Mean Nice” is about my life between May 2022 and March 2024. During this time, I went through three breakups, struggled with alcohol, made plenty of foolish decisions, experienced a house fire, had a crush on a friend and battled with my mental health. This album—a pure pop record—tells the story of it all and reflects the life lessons learned along the way.
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How did your time away from releasing music affect your artistic vision? Do you feel your sound and approach to songwriting have changed compared to your earlier work?
On my previous album, I produced all the beats and did everything myself, which meant the songwriting ended up feeling more surface-level. I was creating what I thought the world wanted to hear—not something truly personal to me.
When the reception to that project wasn’t what I expected, I lost the drive to create for years. But I never stopped trying to grow as an artist. I spent that time listening to a wide range of music, studying lyrics and rhyme schemes, noticing how the same words could carry different weight depending on how they were sung and the emotion behind them. In my head, I was training to become a better songwriter.
Then, two years ago, I started writing again—but this time, it was different. I wasn’t doing it to make an album. I was writing as a way to process what I was going through in real-time. Songwriting became my main focus. And instead of producing the beats myself, I teamed up with some incredible producers—King 80 Industries, Jimmy John, Quitall & Ellé Gante, EverestDidThis, Don’t Cry, and ROSVS. Working with them on this album allowed me to pour my full heart and soul into the lyrics, and more importantly, to learn what it means to make music for myself. For the first time, I’m telling my story in a raw and honest way.
Who or what would you say are your biggest musical inspirations when it comes to crafting your sound? How do artists like Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift influence your artistic choices?
Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift are definitely my main inspirations. Their storytelling—and the way they evoke so much emotion through their lyrics, melodies, and vocal textures—is incredibly inspiring. That’s become one of my biggest artistic goals: to make sure the lyrics I write and the beats created by the amazing producers I work with feel aligned, to sing with feeling, and to always write from a place of truth and vulnerability.
You describe music as your joy and safe haven. What was your earliest memory of falling in love with music, and how did it shape your desire to become an artist?
From the moment I was old enough to understand what music was, I loved it. I grew up surrounded by it—my mum always had legends playing: Whitney Houston, LeAnn Rimes, Amy Winehouse—just to name a few. When I was 8, I sang for my music teacher at school for the first time outside of home. She told me I had a good voice, and that really stuck with me.
Around that time, my school made a CD featuring students from all year groups, and a few of us got to sing solo tracks. Naturally, I chose “Hero” by Mariah Carey—of course. I still have the CD somewhere… maybe I’ll share it someday. I also joined the school choir, which led to some incredible opportunities like performing at the O2 Arena as part of Young Voices and singing at the Royal Albert Hall.
Outside of school, I joined a weekend performing arts club and got to be part of a show called “Buddy Malone”—basically “Bugsy Malone,” but you know… copyright stuff. I even got to sing “Tomorrow” from the film on stage. All of that, combined with my love for singing, gave me such a strong thirst for music and a dream to make my own.
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“Oh My” has such a raw and emotionally honest vibe—how important is vulnerability in your work? Do you find it difficult or freeing to be that open in your songs?
It’s funny—I was literally asking myself the same thing the other week. And ultimately, the answer is: I’m never going to find it difficult to be myself and be real in the music I create. I know with this record, some people will know—or assume—that certain songs are about them. And sure, I had a moment of, “Do I really want this out in the world for them to hear?”
But when I thought about it more, I realised how much the dynamic has shifted. I’m writing, singing, and making music for me now. Once that clicked, any hesitation disappeared. If there’s something I want to say or something I feel, I have no trouble sharing it. That’s the whole point of this record—to be honest, and to stay true to my story.
As a singer, songwriter, and producer, you wear many creative hats. Can you walk us through your creative process—do you usually start with lyrics, a melody, or a feeling you want to capture?
It was so fun stepping into the studio last October to start recording Charming Doesn’t Always Mean Nice. Since I wasn’t producing the beats this time, I was able to focus on things I hadn’t paid much attention to before—like how to sing certain words, layering harmonies, and really shaping each vocal moment. Over the past year, I’ve put a lot of work into developing my voice and getting it to a healthier place.
Back in the day—like with my 2016 track “Crazy” (which I released last year and has now reached over 4.8k streams)—I’d usually start with the beat, and the lyrics would come second. I think it always depends on where I’m at musically, but with this album, I’d start with a concept, hear a beat that resonated with it, and let the lyrics flow from there. Most of the songs came together pretty quickly.
I also got to stretch myself in other ways—like editing the “Oh My” music video frame-by-frame, adding all the lyrics on screen, and coming up with fun promo ideas. It’s been a full-circle creative experience.
Looking ahead, are there any collaborations or live performances in the works that you’re particularly excited about? What can we expect following the release of the album?
I recently did a show on YouTube called “Bayley Mckenzie – The Live Show”, which was received so brilliantly. It left me feeling elated and more confident as a live performer. I’ve also got a collaboration in the works—a remix of one of the songs from the album—plus more music videos coming soon.
There’s also a live performance being planned in London, though it’s still in the early stages. I’m really excited about what’s ahead following the release of this album.
Finally, what message do you hope listeners take away from your music—especially those who may be going through similar struggles with identity, heartbreak, or rediscovery?
There’s always a way out of the darkness. Things definitely take time, but life has a way of eventually falling into place and guiding you to where you’re meant to be. It’s also okay to feel lost, heartbroken, or wistfully hopeful along the way. I hope everyone who hears these songs can connect with them and relate them to their own personal experiences.
Thank you for such an incredible interview. My new album, Charming Doesn’t Always Mean Nice, is out June 6th. The first single, “Oh My,” is out now—go give it a listen!
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