Lauren Aquilina at Islington Academy

18-year-old singing sensation Lauren Aquilina has grabbed the attention of thousands of listeners with her Fools EP, which reached the top 50 iTunes Singles charts in its first week on pre-orders alone and topped the Maltese iTunes chart (above Adele!). The sold-out gig at Islington Academy was set to be Lauren’s biggest ever headline show, and having listened to the EP ourselves, we anticipated a spine-tingling performance.

As we expected, the venue was full to the brim with an excitable crowd, ranging from teens to middle-aged folk all here to see their favourite young singer in the flesh. Aquilina emerged with two band members to the whooping and screaming of her London fans – all 900 of them.

“Sorry if I look a bit doe-eyed”, Aquilina explained endearingly, “I’ve just never seen so many people in front of me before!”

Aquilina possesses equally remarkable talents as a pianist and a singer – it’s almost hard to believe she’s only 18 and has a voice comparable to the likes of Adele and Bon Iver, playing the piano like she’s Vanessa Carlton. Square One from her new EP dazzled the crowd, as did Talk To Me, which showed off Aquilina’s powerful vocal capabilities.

The young singer informed us that she could hardly speak on the morning of the show, and consulted a chap who referred to himself as “The Voice Doctor” who advised her to steer clear of the O2 for her sold-out concert, to which she responded: “Mate…. no.” It is Aquilia’s down-to-earth character that makes her so charming and likeable – she can hardly believe her luck and remains grounded through her ever-growing success, which we’re backing all the way.

Gemma Whitfield

For further information and future events visit Lauren Aquilina’s website here.

Watch the video for Fools here: