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Celebrating ten years of creating pop hits, the British artist shares her victories, challenges, and the creative transformation she is currently experiencing in her narrative of resilience.
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Mabel Alabama-Pearl McVey, widely recognized simply as Mabel, is on location at an industrial site in North London for her first cover shoot of 2025. As she moves among the warehouse’s thirty-foot-high ceilings, each click of the camera signifies another achievement for the singer-songwriter, who is emerging from a period of creative dormancy. “Experimentation has been crucial for me,” Mabel says over Zoom the following week, reflecting on the tumultuous times that have influenced her twenties. “I had a couple of years where I needed to reconnect with my roots and return to the essence of who I am.”
With the support of a high-tech Lotus Emeya engine, Mabel embodies her own version of star power on set—confident, composed, yet flexible. As she wraps up the first decade of her career, the 29-year-old is shaping her identity with “a little sauce” that she adds, blending various aspects of her artistry. “Now I know who she is, I recognize that person. So, I can enjoy myself on set and be creative. For two years, I was too afraid to do that,” Mabel reveals.
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In a discussion with CLASH, Mabel reflects on the challenges and victories that have influenced her journey. Understanding her identity has been difficult thus far, with roots tracing back to her musically-rich and frequently changing childhood. Born in Malaga to Swedish pop star Neneh Cherry and respected music producer Cameron McVey, the West London native spent her early years studying in Stockholm—a time she describes as “a bit culturally confused.” Facing a new language, playground dynamics, and her diverse heritage, Mabel learned to connect her surroundings with the love from her family, which provided her solace.
“Home is where my family is,” she states. “Even when we traveled, my parents excelled at making hotel rooms feel like home; from blankets and candles to hot plates where my mum would cook.” Now, sharing her life with her two stylish Italian greyhounds and fiancé Preye Crooks, Mabel is laying the groundwork for her own home from which she can take flight. “I feel really secure knowing I’ve established a home in London where I spend a lot of time,” she elaborates. “This has been significant because I felt I lacked that for quite a while.”
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Growing up on classic Soul Train tracks—think Minnie Riperton and Stevie Wonder—alongside the 2000s pop glam of Justin Timberlake and Destiny’s Child, Mabel has formed a deep connection to melody. “I was always very emotional and sensitive as a kid,” she admits, recognizing the creative influences of her upbringing. “My parents understood how to engage with my youthful self through creativity. I started playing the piano and journaling to discover lyrics.”
At eighteen, Mabel signed her first contract with Polydor Records. “Everything progressed rapidly,” she recalls, reflecting on her breakout with the 2016 ballad, ‘Thinking Of You’. Following that, she made her mark in the UK’s Afro-swing scene with ‘Finders Keepers’, a plush collaboration with Kojo Funds that marked her entry onto the charts. As she found her niche in mainstream pop, a determined Mabel began to assert her independence, trusting herself more and relying less on her family—an experience she now questions but considers vital for her growth. “I needed to prove my individuality by doing things alone,” she asserts. In 2019, she released the platinum-certified ‘High Expectations’, which became the biggest-selling debut by a British woman that year, earning her the BRIT Award for Best Female Solo Artist.
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Despite her rise in the public eye, the pressures from her label weighed heavily on Mabel, clouding her direction. With reflection, she considers the challenging transition into adulthood, worn down by the demands of being a role model for her young fans. “I was so trained by the media to project this perfect image due to my role-model status. It felt like a huge weight,” she expresses. Additionally, Mabel contemplates her experience as a woman under scrutiny, grappling with the pull between tabloid judgments and her inherently expressive nature. “Especially as a woman, the media can instill fear. They twist your words out of context.” Soon enough, she turned inward, silencing her voice while conforming to social beauty standards. “It took very little time for me to start valuing what others said about my appearance. That shift can happen quickly, and undoing it requires years,” she warns.
Eventually, Mabel began to trust her instincts, realizing that fame alone did not satisfy her. “Five years later, I woke up and saw this isn't the journey I wanted to pursue,”
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--- Celebrating ten years of creating pop hits, the British singer shares her successes, challenges, and the artistic awakening she is experiencing in this narrative of