Mimi Webb on Confidence, <em>Confessions</em>, and the Enduring Power of Pop
Emerging from Canterbury with little more than a notebook of songs and steadfast determination, Mimi Webb has become a new standard-bearer for British pop.
Born in 2000 in Canterbury, England, Webb emerged as one of pop’s brightest voices after her 2020 breakout single “Before I Go” gained widespread attention. She quickly followed with a string of hits including “Good Without,” “Dumb Love,” and “House on Fire,” each showcasing her flair for heartfelt storytelling wrapped in soaring pop hooks.
Her debut EP, Seven Shades of Heartbreak (2021), and first full-length album, Amelia (2023), cemented her reputation as an artist unafraid to channel raw vulnerability into glossy, radio-ready tracks. With a distinctive voice and emotional honesty, Webb has carved a space in contemporary pop defined by both raw intimacy and unfiltered relatability.
Her second studio album, Confessions, represents a more self-assured chapter. After scrapping an earlier version that she felt wasn’t “deep enough,” Webb rewrote the record to lean into greater vulnerability, drawing on themes of heartbreak, family, and personal growth. The 12-track collection includes reflective songs such as her latest single, “Narcisssist”, the heartfelt “You Don’t Look At Me the Same”, and a collaboration with Meghan Trainor on “Mind Reader.”
Framing the record as her most authentic statement yet, Webb has described Confessions as the moment she finally feels fully herself — an artist with a growing legacy defined not just by her hits, but by the honesty that she brings to pop music.
KP: To start on a broad note, the album is aptly called Confessions and explores themes of “heartbreak, self-reclamation, female agency, and emotional rebirth.” Take us back to the time of its inception — what was it that inspired the record, and what did its writing teach you about yourself, if anything?
MW: I feel like it really taught me about becoming my true self — about stepping into womanhood in my mid-twenties and exploring different aspects of life: family, heartbreak, and everything in between.
At first, I was mainly writing about relationship heartbreaks — the kinds of things that you go through as a teenager or in your early twenties. But over time, I started writing about family struggles and deeper things that I had experienced. I remember thinking, I want to write about this. I need to put it down and explore it. Even though I didn’t know where to start as a songwriter, I eventually figured it out.
That process pushed me to experiment more — both sonically and lyrically — and to express myself in ways that not only helped me but could also help others feel seen in whatever they were going through, too. I didn’t want to just keep writing about the same kind of heartbreak that I used to; I wanted to open it up and show that my songs can hold many different emotions and experiences.
With Confessions, it felt right to call it that, because it really is me confessing things that I had never shared before. At the time, my parents had separated, and I was trying to process the emotions around that — not as someone in the relationship, but as an outsider within the family, figuring out how to deal with that kind of heartbreak.
So, Confessions became the perfect title. It represents me finally being real, telling the truth, and moving away from that “pop girl” image where everything always looks perfect and happy. Sometimes it’s not great, and I wanted to be honest about that. What makes my music special is being able to tap into those real emotions and put them down in a real way that people can connect with.
KP: Well, aptly, in the album’s title track, “Confessions,” you sing, “Wish there was a world / Where I didn’t have to hide / My confessions.” It also speaks of you living a double life, feeling torn. Where were you emotionally while penning that track, and how did writing it help you process or make sense of those feelings?
MW: I was in LA during the last week before we wrapped the album when I wrote “Confessions.” Honestly, the title came to me very last minute. I knew what I wanted the song to be about — it was meant to be truth-telling, a real kind of reality check — but I didn’t quite know how to say it. Then the word “Confessions” popped into my head, and it just made sense. I wanted to confess how I felt, to really write down my emotions as a songwriter, and to be open and honest in a way that people could relate to.
Lyrically, it comes from those lonely early hours of the morning — when everything’s quiet, everyone’s asleep, and you’re left alone with your thoughts and feelings. That’s the space that I wrote the song from.
For a long time, I would distract myself by going out with friends and surrounding myself with people 24/7 to feel less lonely. But eventually I realized that actually sitting with those thoughts — the darker moments that we try to avoid — was what helped me grow and become a better version of myself.
That’s really what “Confessions” is about: that experience, that learning curve, and the growth that came from it.
KP: I love it! I think that’s my favorite off the album.
But to go back to the production, I found it fascinating that you wrote and recorded the record for months and months before scrapping most of it to completely start over. While some could look at that as a form of self-doubt, I viewed it as the polar opposite — a very brave act that was driven by confidence in you knowing exactly what you wanted to achieve, what you wanted the record to sound like, and boldly reaching out to grab it.
How did you gather the courage and the confidence to start all over again? What advice would you offer women who are afraid of starting over in any area of their lives?
“For a long time, I would distract myself by going out with friends and surrounding myself with people 24/7 to feel less lonely. But eventually I realized that actually sitting with those thoughts — the darker moments that we try to avoid — was what helped me grow and become a better version of myself.”
MW: I remember having this pit in my stomach, this awful feeling that I just couldn’t shake. We were nearly done with the album, but something didn’t feel right, and I didn’t even know what it was at first. I spent a lot of time just sitting with myself, trying to process, and I realized that I wasn’t being true to who I am as an artist in the music that I was creating.
So much had changed in my life — so many unexpected events and shifts — and I just knew this wasn’t the album for me. It felt commercialized, like I wasn’t telling my story. One night, I called up my management and said, “This doesn’t feel right. I feel lost. I don’t know where I’m going with this as an artist. I need to redo it.”
The very next day, I was in the studio with Amy Allen and John Ryan, and we started rewriting the record. Those days ended up being some of the best that I’ve ever had in the studio. Even though we were writing about sad and heavy moments, the energy was so good — it felt right to go back and really dig in.
I’ll never forget walking into the studio, sitting at the piano, and just bursting into tears. Amy asked me how I was doing and what we were working on, and I told her, “I think we need to rewrite this whole thing.” She sat down beside me and said, “Right, let’s do it. We can do this.” That moment of support — from another songwriter, another woman — was incredible. The sisterhood and the understanding that we had in that room made me feel held in a way that I’ll never forget.
Looking back, even though it came from a dark and difficult place, it felt natural to start over. By then, I had more clarity, more growth, and more time to process everything that I had been through. That made the songs easier to bring into the studio, and ultimately, it turned out so much better than I could have imagined.
KP: I think that was really the right choice.
MW: Aw, thank you!
KP: Your video for “Love Language” — to put it simply without getting into any metaphors — features men competing as canines at a dog show. I couldn’t help but draw a comparison in my mind to the criticism that Sabrina Carpenter recently drew for featuring herself as a dog on her album cover — under the control of a man — with your opposing imagery here.
Was the concept of men as dogs in a competitive setting a deliberate commentary on gender dynamics, or did it grow from another inspiration?
MW: Yeah, I feel like I’m a very playful, tongue-in-cheek person, and I really wanted the video to feel like a show. I wanted to play a character and pull inspiration from different movies and rom-coms. We just thought that it would be really fun to go down that route.
What blew me away was realizing that these people actually train to do this — they play animals all the time as part of their day-to-day careers.
KP: Wait, what?! [Laughs].
MW: Yeah, really! Some are wolves, dogs, or apes in Wicked and other productions. I loved that it’s an art form and that people enjoy doing it — it’s their craft.
I thought, Why not bring these amazing performers in? They could show me how it’s done. And they were incredible — very method in their acting, even off set, fully in character. It was amazing to watch them work and learn how they do their craft.
Overall, it was just a lot of fun. We had a laugh, and I got to learn things that I had no idea about — like, how do you even jump through a hoop properly? [Laughs]. It wasn’t just fun; it was amazing to see their skill and dedication up close.
So yeah, it was crazy, cool, and just really fun. I loved every bit of it — it was playful and inspiring.
KP: Particularly in the age of social media, female artists often face undue scrutiny around image and branding. How have you navigated that pressure while staying true to yourself?
MW: I feel like, for me, I’m just trying to be as present as possible in life. It’s really about going with my gut — following how I feel, what makes me feel sexy, when I feel my best, and what I’m naturally drawn to. That’s always been my instinct.
All I can do is my best, be myself, and hope that people connect with that. If they do, great. If not, that’s okay too.
KP: I think that’s great advice and a really healthy way of looking at things.
Due to the massive audience it holds, one could argue that the confessional power of pop may be one of the most powerful amongst all genres. What does pop music mean to you personally, and what kind of impact do you hope that your tracks have on people’s lives?
MW: I feel like pop music, to me, just feels so varied right now. There are so many different versions of pop, and that’s what makes the genre so beautiful — there isn’t just one sound that defines it. There are endless directions that you can take.
Amazing artists like Chappell Roan and Charli xcx, for example — they’re great pop artists, but they’ve also carved out their own unique visions within the pop world. That’s the beauty of it: we can all embrace the “pop girl” label but do it in our own way, write the music that we want, and be the pop girls that we want to be. And that doesn’t mean that we all have to sound the same — diversity is what makes it special.
KP: As I was reading about you, nearly everywhere mentioned your Amy Winehouse influence, and she’s a favorite of mine too, of course! I have to put you on the hot seat, but I know this is almost impossible! What’s your favorite track of hers? Actually, two or three — I’ll go easy on you. [Laughs].
MW: Oh, honestly, “Back to Black” is just my absolute go-to. She’s incredible. What I love is that she was completely herself — authentically herself — through and through. She was also such a historical figure as one of the most iconic British artists, and she really changed music for us.
She showed us that you don’t have to be just one thing — you can be multiple things, you can be anything that you want. And if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, that’s their problem. That’s why I love her so much. She didn’t care about anyone’s opinions; she was so strong in who she was and where she was going.
KP: Her impact is just astounding. There are very few artists you can think of who are that legendary with basically just two albums — Frank and Back to Black — before Lioness was released posthumously, of course. We’ll be talking about her forever based on just those two records. It’s remarkable.
MW: Exactly! And again, it’s her authenticity that really resonates. People could see she was just being true to herself, and that is a huge moment for music in general.
KP: Her live performances were beyond incredible, too. One of my favorites is “He Can Only Hold Her.” I remember when she first performed it live by combining it with Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” — it was just unforgettable. Do you remember that?
MW: Yeah! Oh, it’s so good.
KP: Absolutely legendary.
A main goal of your career has been to empower women. What does that mean to you, why, and what legacy do you hope to leave behind?
MW: I think the legacy that I’d like to leave behind is really about empowering women. For me, it’s about being able to listen, to hear how people feel, and to be authentically strong — strong boss ladies — but also recognizing that we don’t always have to be strong. Sometimes it’s okay to just sit back, embrace our feminine energy, relax, and also tap into our masculine energy when we need to run our lives the way that we want.
I’d like to be remembered as someone who was authentic to herself, who lived the life that she wanted, who enjoyed every second of it, and who stayed as present as possible. I think that’s a very special way to live — and a legacy worth leaving.
KP: What advice would you lend women about life, work, or love?
MW: You have to love yourself before you can love anyone else. Self-love and self-worth are the most important things. For me, as a woman, when I’m in that higher, self-loving mindset — my “goddess mode,” if you will — I feel indestructible. Nothing can take me down. I just keep going.
That’s exactly what I’d tell my daughter one day, hopefully, that self-love is the most important thing that we can strive for. And it’s the journey to that place that really matters — the moments of growth along the way.
This album is really about all of those moments that I’ve had. There are times when we compare ourselves or doubt ourselves — it’s human and completely normal. But the key is being able to pick yourself back up and decide how you’re going to respond to those feelings. That’s what matters most.
KP: What do you feel makes a provocative woman?
MW: I think what’s most important to me is having emotions and experiences, but also being able to decide how I respond, what the outcome is going to be, and where I move forward from there.
That’s what makes me feel strong, sexy, and fully myself. Knowing that I have the choice to decide my next move — that’s the most confident feeling that I’ve ever had.
Photography: Tyrell Hampton
