Stereo Six: Irish Artist Brooke Shares Inspirations for Her Alt-Pop Sound

When you’ve got the talent and musical capabilities of Brooke, you really don’t need a last name. The Irish alternative pop artist recently released her new single “That’s Rich,” a song heavily inspired by both Blondie and indie rockers The Gossip. After having read Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry’s autobiography, she wanted to take that attitude that Harry maintained towards her life and career, and use it in her own way. The “That’s Rich” message is that you should never settle for anything that doesn’t fulfill your needs.

It’s been a steady climb upwards for the singer and songwriter ever since she was a contestant on The Voice UK in 2020. She became an overnight sensation on the show, impressing both judges and viewers with her voice and showmanship, which catapulted her to becoming one of the season’s finalists. Brooke has been well supported by Grammy-winning singer Meghan Trainor who has taken Brooke under her wing and helped show her the way. Now, Brooke is ready to compete for Ireland’s spot in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place in May in Turin, Italy.

With the anticipation for Eurovision starting to build, we connected with Brooke for a session of Stereo Six in which she laid out six of her most influential albums, some of which may surprise you given the style and tone of her music.

1. Bruce Springsteen – “I’m on Fire”

“I am obsessed with Bruce since I heard the spoken part of this song, I think he’s an amazing storyteller. He has one of those husky voices that could tell you anything, I just love him as an artist and hope to see him on tour one day. This is one of my all-time favourite songs.”

2. Miley Cyrus – Plastic Hearts

“I’ve only recently appreciated art in the form of completion and listening to artists’ albums in full and feel like Miley has brought back some rock icons like Billy Idol and Joan Jett who are rock stars from my dad’s era, and put them in front of a new audience.

“She obviously appreciates the life they lived and the art they created and I think Miley is in a league of her own when it comes to performing. This album, while different for her, breaking down barriers when it comes to cross-genres, from rock to pop to show she can do it all and it works.”

Artwork for the albums Brooke lists in this Stereo Six

3. Lil Nas X – Montero

“This whole album, I’ve never seen a campaign like it. Everyone was talking about it, and the fact he had only three singles out before it, and people went mad for it. He has so many icons backing him, like Elton John, who loves him. His music is amazing and his music videos are actually educational. He’s such a young, cool artist who is the role model I’d aspire to be. He literally birthed his album, he’s changing the game.”

4. Ed Sheeran – x and Il Divo – Greatest Hits

“I had knee surgery and only had two albums saved in my phone. I lived for both of these, I knew every word to Ed Sheeran’s Multiply and loved Il Divo’s. These albums were like therapy for me when I was in the hospital. I listen to every genre of music, strange albums.”

5. The Cinematic Orchestra – “Arrival of the Birds”

“People don’t know, but my favourite music is instrumental. I get lost in the arrangements and find that words can sometimes distract from the music. I really appreciate the master of the music. Some of your biggest childhood memories are around music from cinema scores – particularly Finding Nemo, it has the power to pull your emotions.”

6. Blondie

“I’ve seen her three times in concert and she was unbelievable and her story is an inspiration to me. She left her career at her peak to care for her band member, and even now she’s coming back to just explore her glory days and celebrate new music and love how she’s not tied to her old hits and is a true artist.

“I just love legends of that era, like I’ve seen Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, The Eagles, John Fogarty… I just love music and being able to connect with people across generations and wish I could have lived through some of those eras too.”

Artwork for the single “That’s Rich” by Brooke