Inside a frigidly cold warehouse on an east-London industrial estate, Maisie Peters is a portrait of positivity. Bolstered by a single portable heater, the 25-year-old lights up in front of the camera in tiny lace shorts, throwing her arms in the air to a soundtrack of Carly Rae Jepsen, Lily Allen and Lorde. While the team around her zip up their puffer jackets, their breath visible in the cavernous studio, Peters exudes warmth, posing with ease and enthusiasm, engaging people in conversation and singing along to the pop girly anthems. She’s comfortable and in control: you wouldn’t know this Cosmopolitan cover is one of her first photoshoots back after months away.
‘It was a really nice return,’ the singer muses three weeks later, when we catch up over coffee in the quiet corner of a Dalston cafe. Gone is the oversized mustard-coloured dress and OTT frills, replaced with a striped long-sleeved T-shirt and minimal makeup. ‘It was the first shoot I’ve done – I’m back on the wagon! I’ve never had a year and a half gap from being public-facing ever, but [the end of 2024] felt like the right time to pull away.’
Hard graft
Originally from West Sussex, where she grew up with her twin sister and parents – a geography teacher and communications consultant – Peters has been releasing music since the age of 15, sharing songs to YouTube and busking in nearby Brighton. At 17, her current manager approached her and, after a couple of EPs, industry behemoth Ed Sheeran signed her to his label Gingerbread Man Records, to release her first album, You Signed Up For This, which landed in 2021. ‘I was a teenager when I made that, and it felt amazing to throw paint at the wall [and see what stuck].’
Two years later (‘my first album basically rolled into my second’), Peters released The Good Witch, which made her the youngest British female solo artist in nine years to have a UK number-one album. The record is ‘about a very short and intense period of my life. It’s a dramatic, emotional, angry break-up album. I look back on it as a beautiful time capsule’.
As well as embarking on her own headline tour for The Good Witch, Peters then spent three solid years supporting the world’s biggest acts on theirs – including over 40 nights across the UK and Ireland with Sheeran. ‘I was on the Coldplay tour, I was on the Noah Kahan tour, The Eras Tour. I did Conan Gray’s tour...’
It was around this time that I first met Peters, when she was on vocal rest after being diagnosed with vocal polyps – growths on her vocal cords caused by overuse. While she was still bright and warm, it was obvious that seven years of constant promotion and a relentless period on the road, as well as the fear of a potential operation, were dimming her light. ‘I did the whole [The Good Witch] tour with these vocal polyps and was in vocal therapy for three months. I couldn’t sing or drink or eat certain foods, and I never really shared anything publicly. It was very stressful and anxiety-inducing – every day I was waking up and thinking, “I can’t sing. How can I play to 3,000 people tonight? I can’t hit my notes.” Also, “Will I ever get better? Will I ever sound the same?”’
Thankfully, Peters healed ‘pretty much entirely’ without an operation – but it did shift her focus and make the need to prioritise herself clear, leading the singer to pull out of Kelsea Ballerini’s North America tour in January 2025, citing mental health and a need to recharge as her reasons why. ‘For so many years, I was pushing and pushing and pushing, and at the end of that year, my body – even before my head – realised, like, “I can’t do it any more,”’ she reflects now, wide-eyed through her round-framed glasses.
‘I was so not the person that did that [pulled out of engagements.] I was the girl that said yes to everything – to every tour, to every album, to every meet and greet. That was my personality. It took my brain a while to realise I was not in a healthy place to be doing that. I had to stop.’
In the time since, as well as working on her third album, Peters figured out what the life of a ‘normal’ twentysomething woman looked like. ‘I went on holiday, I saw my family a bit more. I moved into a flat with my sister and our boyfriends. I had an amazing year of finishing the album and being an actual person. It was challenging to be still. There were months where I didn’t have much in my calendar and days stretching before me where I was doing nothing, because you can’t be in the studio 365 days of the year. I found that hard – partially for the person that I am, and partially for my ego – but I know I really needed it.’
The new era
Stepping out on to the stage at Wembley Stadium to a sea of 90,000 glittering, screaming fans, was ‘the best day of my life’, Peters says. In August 2024 she opened for Taylor Swift, after a lifetime as a dedicated Swiftie (she has previously shared that supporting the artist on tour had ‘been my dream since I was 12 years old’, and has frequently cited Swift as a major influence on her songwriting and career.) But what should have been a joyful moment of celebration, where she could relish in the triumph of her achievement, quickly turned sour. Peters performed six songs on the night, and after the gig, posted a 17-second clip of the final track of her set, 'Lost The Breakup', to TikTok. It wasn’t long before online trolls criticised the singer in the comments. ‘The video went viral and got an insane amount of hate,’ she says now, sipping slowly on her latte. ‘It’s still my most viewed video, and it gets [negative] comments every single day. I was having problems with my voice at the time, so it exacerbated a fear of mine…’ she trails off.
The video has since had over 21.8m views and 17k comments, many of which don’t deserve repeating. But Peters insists she can still look back on the performance fondly. ‘[Before something like this happens], you think, “I’m above that. I know online hate is irrelevant.” But it’s a very different [feeling] to getting it. Now when I see other artists going through it, especially smaller female artists, I reach out to them. It was an amazing day, and this doesn’t detract from that. It was just one straw upon the camel’s back of the very intense life I was living at the time.’
Peters has since taken inspiration from the moment for a lyric on her new album, Florescence (out 15 May), which she describes as her most mature release yet. ‘It’s so funny; I feel like I’m on my comeback, but I’m literally 25 years old! This album is much more grounded, and from a more peaceful place [than The Good Witch]. It’s a version of myself that feels like the most me. It’s a return to the sound I began with and the type of songs I wrote when I was first starting out – but it also feels like an evolution. It’s the first album I’ve made fully as a grown woman.’
She also quips that Swiftogeddon – a night out that plays non-stop Taylor Swift – is probably where she gets recognised the most. ‘Me and my friends joke that it’s the only place I can’t go any more. I remember being like, “Guys I think I might be too famous for Swiftogeddon!”, and that is actually [the only place].’
Finding her happy
Listening to her third album, there’s a glaringly clear influence on Peters’ songwriting: her relationship, which she’s been in since early 2023. Almost every song on the record is underpinned by the security of a happy and fulfilling partnership, one that comforts you from the inside out. ‘It’s easy for that thread of healthy love to go throughout the album, because it’s going throughout my life,’ she agrees. ‘It’s such a stabilising force. People joke that this is my Lover album, even though I wonder if [they] will be surprised by the lack of real love songs.’
Although there is a sense of reservation to the singer, playing with her nails as she talks, Peters is generally an open book. A self-described yapper, she seamlessly switches between pop star promotion mode to vulnerable twentysomething, often touching on her boyfriend (whose identity she keeps private) without being prompted. ‘It’s a very reflective album. Being in true love gave me these new glasses – metaphorically – to look backwards and see myself in a new light. To be able to look at past experiences and relationships, and write music about them in a way that is more hopeful and less angry.’
Her relationship isn’t something she plans to ‘go public with’ (‘What does that even mean? I’m publicly in one’), but Peters does occasionally post a glimpse of him on social media, and says ‘we’re very happy in our bubble and in our life’. There is one particularly amusing anecdote she’s happy to divulge about him and her mentor, Sheeran.
‘While making this album, me, my collaborator Joe [Rubel] and my boyfriend all went to Ed’s for dinner, and he wanted to hear what I’d been working on. We were in his beautiful home with this surround-sound speaker system. But bless my king, I don’t know if [Ed] knew how to work them, because he got out this Bluetooth speaker. He’s like, “Go on then Mais!” so I played him 'You, You, You' and 'Audrey Hepburn.' My poor boyfriend is there, and I’m playing these songs about him in front of Ed Sheeran and all these amazing other people. That was a surreal experience.’
Florescence, Peters says, was written between Nashville and London, and has country music influences thanks to her love of artists like The Chicks, Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert. ‘It’s back to my roots – it feels very reflective of the earliest kind of music I made.’ She also worked with Marcus Mumford, from Mumford & Sons, on a few tracks. ‘I love the fact that all of my albums have the same collaborators on them, but it’s also important to have a breath of fresh air, and Marcus was definitely that. We just really clicked – he’s an amazing musician and was a great sounding board for me.’
Mumford hasn’t topped Sheeran in her estimations, though: Peters is his self-proclaimed number-one fan, and it’s clear from spending time with her how much she values his mentorship. ‘He gives me really useful advice. We’re not in communication every day, but I know he always has my back, and he has supported me so much more than anyone would have to. He’s such a genuine and kind person. He’s a true artist, and you’ll truly never hear anyone say a bad word about him.’
Protecting her peace
One thing Peters has had to readjust to since announcing her new album is the need to – or the feeling of needing to – be constantly visible and present on social media. It’s something she referenced back in 2023 when we spoke, and still feels now. ‘What I do is amazing, but it’s intense. You’re having to put out so much of yourself, and expend so much of yourself. The need to constantly be on… I’m a musician, so I’m sure I only feel it a certain amount compared with other people, but there’s always that thought in the back of your mind: “Did this even happen if I didn’t make a TikTok about it happening?” It’s taken years to understand that life is a lot bigger than that.’
Peters has also spent time working on how she feels about her own image, ensuring she doesn’t get pulled into the trap of comparison. ‘I have quite a healthy relationship with my appearance – I’m so used to seeing myself in pictures and videos, and I’ve been online for 10 years, so I have a very neutral relationship to it. I see myself and I don’t see myself.’ It’s something she’s spoken about at length on her Twinhood podcast with her sister Ellen. ‘I’ve been in real phases of looking back on pictures of myself and being like, “Oh my god, why don’t I look like that now?” “I look so old now.” “I’ve gained so much weight,”’ she tells me. ‘But I can pretty quickly snap myself out of it. It’s like, “Just get off of your phone! Don’t look at iPhone memories! Go and read a book. Make some pasta. Call a friend.” The way I’ve chosen to deal with it is [this]: I know who I am, and I know how I think I look.’
It also helps that her fanbase ‘are so smart, kind and respectful’, and that she has a strong support network around her (‘I was my dad’s number one on Spotify Wrapped’). She lives with her sister and their boyfriends – ‘it’s a matriarchy! We call it Princess Palace’ - and also recently started going to therapy. ‘I’ve had a therapist for the past six months, and she’s been amazing. I haven’t had one before – [but] going into the new campaign and era, I was like, “I should probably get this down,” and it’s been great.’
She is also hoping to get the balance between public-facing Maisie Peters and the Maisie Peters behind closed doors right. It’s something she sings about on 'Audrey Hepburn', one of the first singles from the new album. ‘There are bits to love in all of it,’ she says now. ‘I love Fashion Week [for example], but I also want to be on a farm with the Shetland ponies, like I was this weekend. There are some aspects of it that are so exciting, but I also really like, you know, wearing my welly boots and going to the pub. I’m trying to remind [myself and other people] that you can be both. People are so vast, and that’s what makes us interesting.’
As for what the rest of the year holds, Peters pauses for a moment. ‘Releasing an album is the best bit, if you’re lucky enough to do it,’ she says. ‘Having a whole body of work to reflect you and your life… It’s so validating, fun and beautiful. There will be [live] shows and there will be performances. I’m just going to try to keep my feet on the ground and my eyes forwards, and have a lot of laughs.’
One thing’s for sure: while her fans have some time yet to wait before the full album drops, it’s certainly going to be worth it, because Peters is back and raring to go.
Cosmopolitan UK's April/May issue is available from 5 March in all good supermarkets and newsagents
Florescence by Maisie Peters is released 15 May
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Photography: Emilia Staugaard; Styling: Rebecca Jane Hill; Editor in Chief: Claire Hodgson; Art Director: Alex Hambis; Group Entertainment Director (Luxury & Women’s Lifestyle): Lottie Lumsden; Entertainment Editor (Special Projects): Nicola Fahey; Hair and makeup: Lauren Evans; Nails: Tinu Bello; Set design: Mick O’Connell; Fashion Assistant: Charlotte Malley; Photo Assistant: Luke Regan; Bookings Director: Sophie Leen; Video Production: Megan Beattie; Video Assistant: Jaff Shubber-Barton
