Ask Katy Tiz about her debut single, “Famous,” and she’ll quickly point out the song is meant to be ironic. The London-born pop newcomer is well aware that she’s got a long way to go before breathing such rarefied air. But things are definitely headed in an upward direction. Signed within a week of coming over to the U.S. this year after Lava/Universal Republic was tipped off to Tiz’s talent, she decided to stick around and make a home in New York City.

I spoke with Tiz on Monday as she was packing her bags for a tour of radio stations on the West Coast, aiming to make herself and her single at least more widely known, if not famous.

POPSERVATIONS: You’re from London, but it seems that everything is happening for you on this side of the pond first, which is sort of unusual.

KATY TIZ: “I’m based in America for the moment because I decided I needed to make a commitment. If I wanted to break America, then I’ve got to be here to do it. I only signed in April, but I made the decision to make the move as soon as I got here and I realized that this is where it’s at. I rang my parents and said, ‘I’ll see you at Christmas!'”

Were you surprised at how quickly things came together for you?

“I’d kind of done it for years and years and I didn’t really have my sound yet, and I just decided to write. Instead of what people wanted to hear or what I thought people wanted to hear, I just started writing what I loved. The transition into being comfortable doing that, and being like ‘You know what, this is me,’ was a really great transition. And the actual point of me signing, I was offered a deal within the week that Universal contacted me. And that was crazy. I’ll be honest, I still can’t get my head around it. It’s something I’ve always dreamt of. And I’ve always worked really hard for it, it’s just I can’t believe I actually have the opportunity to give this a go.”

You mentioned making the music you love. How would you describe it?

“My music is essentially pop music with a lift of reggae and a lift of R&B. It’s not straight pop. Although I am a pop artist, I want to keep those elements to it because they’re the parts that make it me.”

As there is at least one other Katy in current pop music — a quite prolific one, though she’s reportedly taking a break for a bit — how do you want to make a name for yourself? What perspective would you like represent? 

“I want to be that person that tells a story that everyone’s been through, because we’ve all had similar experiences, they’re not identical, but for me, I’ve really looked to music to help me through certain times in my life, and just also tell me that other people have felt that way. The thing about me is that I write all my lyrics, and that’s where my heart is.

It was quite a difficult period for me to open up and be like, ‘This song means the world to me. If you don’t like it, that’s fine, but that’s how I felt at that time in that room.’ And I want my lyrics and my storytelling to be such a big part of why people essentially want to buy this.”

Is ensuring that your point of view carries beyond the songs themselves important to you?

“Yeah, definitely! I believe that I’m married to this, as far as I’m concerned. The only thing I have this much passion in my life for is my music. I’ve had incredible help and I have an amazing team around me, but essentially, the essence of why I’m really doing this is the bit that I brought to them. And I think it’s important to stay actively involved because otherwise you can get lost in the other parts of it. I’ve never done videos before, but it’s really refreshing to know that the label really welcomed my ideas because I kind of always assumed that you don’t get listened to. I was more shocked to realize that they are really supportive and they do want my input in things as well as the music, like the videos and things like that. They’re more open to listening to me than I thought they would be.”

Tell me about “Famous,” and how it came to be your first shot out of the gate.

“Well, I was writing with my brothers in England for years [Ed. Note: Katy’s brother George Tizzard is half of UK production team Red Triangle]. When I came to L.A., literally the week the label flew me to L.A., they put me in a test session to see how it went, to see how I wrote. So I was in a test session with [songwriters] Matt Squire and Damon Sharpe. And we’re all in this crazy mood. And I’m obviously in a crazy place right then, because I just had my life turned upside down — hopefully. I hadn’t told anyone at this point. But I wrote “Famous” with them, and we just kind went for it and had fun.

The song is purely based on the fact that I’m not famous. It’s an ironic song. I’m not a hater, I don’t hate on anybody, and even if certain music isn’t my type of thing, I appreciate that everyone works damn hard in this business. So I did it just to be like, well, I’m not famous and this is kind of an ironic, fun song that we did at that point. And it was actually written in that test session and then that was my first single, straight off. As soon as I signed my deal, I had my single. And that was crazy, because it usually takes a long time to develop these things and to have the opportunity to go with a first single. And that’s why I’m still kind of shell-shocked, because that was only April and I’m already at radio, which is amazing.”

The first time I heard “Famous,” it was the uncensored version, and I was a bit taken aback. You’ve got quite a dirty mouth, Katy.

“Well, my nickname in England is Potty Mouth, so that should explain things! You know what, I didn’t write ‘Famous’ even thinking it would be a single. I don’t really know what came across us that night. We did it as fun, and then the business side of the industry came in, and they were like, “Yeah, we’re gonna take this. This is gonna be a single.” And I kinda went, “Oh, shit. My mom’s never gonna speak to me again!” My poor mother, who is very nice and well spoken, she rolled her eyes and sighed when I showed it to her. I tried to show her the clean version, but she’d found out about the dirty version. I think my brothers told her. They busted my cover!”

Some new artists cultivate an air of mystery so very little is known about them, while others seem to share seemingly everything. Where do you fall between those extremes?

“I want people to see my personality. Because at the end of the day, I am more normal than anyone you’ll ever meet. I want to have fun, and I want people to have fun with me. If there’s time to have fun in any situation, I’ll be doing it. I’m that kid at school who gets told off for not taking things seriously. I want to do that generally. If you can have a laugh, then have a laugh. Some pepole think I’m crazy, and I would agree with them at times. But as long as someone finds I’m funny, other than my dad, hopefully I’ve achieved what I wanted to.”

Since you’re just starting off, what do you want everyone to know right now about you?

“I want them to know that I’m just the same as everybody else. And this is my dream, this really is. I live and breathe music. I do it because I love it, not because I understand it. I want people to listen to my lyrics because I do have a story to tell and I’ve felt the ups and downs that everybody else has felt. Especially with my first single, I want people to know that I’m not famous, I wrote it because I was never famous, it’s fun. The rest of my music has a lot more depth to it as far as lyrics go. But this is kind of like an introduction, this is me walking into a room and saying, ‘Hey, everyone let’s have a good night.’ And then once you’ve gotten to know me, maybe I’ll tell you a little more. And that’s the rest of the record.”

Is the album finished? When can we expect to hear it?

“We’re looking at February or March. I could close the record now, we’re pretty much done on it. But I believe there’s always more to write. I’ll never stop. I’ve got too much to say, so I’m always writing it down and annoying my friends, and every day is a new experience, so you need to keep going. And I just believe that you can always do better than what you’ve got, and I’m never satisfied with what I’ve got. That’s what gives me the drive to keep going. I’ve written some utter shit, and I’ve written some great stuff, so I’ll keep going until somebody takes my pen off me.”

When all is said and done, and you and your pen have had a good run, what would you like your ‘famous’ last words to be?

“I told you I was ill.”

Back to life, you mentioned living and breathing music. What music do you listen to most?

“I’ve always loved Rihanna, and I love her music. I still listen to that every day. But the ones who remain in my iPod are people like Lauren Hill, Alicia Keys, India.Arie. — people I’ve listened to for years and years. I love old school R&B from a few years back. I also admire the career of somebody like P!nk. She’s been really consistent in what she’s does, and she’s so incredibly talented. As a spectator, which is what I still am and always will be, I have never lost respect for her, ever. I think she’s amazing.”

Well, it sounds like your short time in the U.S. has been amazing so far. “Famous” might not be an ironic song for long.

“I couldn’t be more fucking excited if I tried. I’m close to exploding!”

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Purchase Katy Tiz – “Famous” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.