Inverness Tik Tok sensation Katie Gregson-MacLeod has teamed up with Adele’s producer to rework breakthrough track Complex.
The 21-year-old singer-songwriter’s profile sky rocketed when a 45-second video for her track Complex (demo) went viral on social media.
Complex (demo) has racked up 7.7 million views on TikTok and sparked a scramble by record companies to sign Katie.
Columbia Records won the race and released Katie’s highly-anticipated new single, a reworking of Complex.
The track is produced by nine-time Grammy award winner Greg Kurstin who oversaw Adele’s global smash-hit albums 25 and 30.
As well as producing both albums, Kurstin also co-wrote Adele’s hit single Hello and three more tracks from 25.
Kurstin, 53, has also worked with Paul McCartney and has now added further emotional weight to Katie’s heartbreaking song.
A full-time history student at Edinburgh University, Katie was working part-time at Perk Coffee and Doughnuts in Inverness when her world changed.
In August Katie posted the chorus to her unreleased song Complex (demo) just days after writing it.
The emotional rawness and honesty hit a nerve worldwide.
Within hours of posting the video, it had attracted more than 100,000 views, which rapidly rose to the multi-millions.
Katie admits before posting that life-changing video she could never have imagined working with a producer of the status of Kurstin.
She said: “When the opportunity arose to work with Greg Kurstin I couldn’t believe it.
“Working with him was something that even seven weeks ago I never would’ve imagined to be on the cards.
“Greg understood the light hand and subtlety with which I wanted to make this new version, and at the centre of the process was protecting the raw emotion of the track.”
‘I wanted to see where else the song could be taken’
The reworked version of Complex retains Katie’s original lyrics that immediately captivated millions of listeners worldwide.
Kurstin has written and produced for artists including Pink, Kylie Minogue, Elton John, Sia, Britney Spears, Liam Gallagher and Beyonce.
Having gone viral on TikTok, Complex (demo) inspired cover versions by Camila Cabello, King Princess, Madison Beer and Tom Walker within two weeks of the initial post.
Chart-topping star Lewis Capaldi, who scored a No.1 in the UK and USA, also offered valuable advice to Katie… over a pint.
Fellow Scot Capaldi rose from obscurity to top of the British and USA charts with Someone You Loved in 2018.
He could relate to Katie’s situation and called her up out of the blue to offer words of wisdom on how to deal with immediate fame.
Katie’s growing profile also led to a performance in the United States.
She recently joined singer-songwriter JP Saxe in New York to perform Complex together at the Rockwood Music Hall.
Katie explained: “It was really important to me to release the song in its rawest form, hence the demo release in August.
“Beyond that, I also wanted to see where else the song could be taken.”
‘Still conveys the unguarded moment’
Katie has been a gigging musician on the Scottish scene for a number of years.
The Inverness songwriter has self-released music with the support of BBC Introducing as well as BBC Scotland.
Complex and Complex (demo) follow the independently released Second Single Bed.
In 2021 Katie released debut five-track EP Games I Play.
On the Kurstin-produced Complex, Katie said: “I’m really excited for everyone to hear this new version.
“I feel it goes somewhere new but still conveys the unguarded moment in which it was written only two months ago.”
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