'I was told I wouldn't make much of myself'

A singer who went viral on TikTok said she was told for “so many years” she was not going to amount to anything as she was always the “loud girl at the back of the classroom”.

Former Asda worker, Mae Stephens, 20, from Kettering in Northamptonshire, shot into the limelight when her track 'If We Ever Broke Up’ climbed to number 13 in the Official UK Singles Charts in 2023.

At the age of 18 she was diagnosed with ADHD and said she knew for a while that her “brain wasn’t the same as everybody else”.

She has released a new single which explored the disorder and said: “I will always stand for those kids that are told they are never going to be anything, I will stand there and say that they will."

Reflecting on her time in school, she recalled: “I was majorly hyper-fixated on [the] creative rather than academic which is why I didn’t do my homework.

“I spent so many years being told I wasn’t going to do anything or make much of myself - I was just some loud girl at the back of the class.”

She added: “I’ve known for a while that something on my brain wasn’t the same as everybody else.

“Going through the diagnose process as an adult you learn so much about yourself.”

Earlier in the year, she released new single 'ADHD'.

Speaking about the track, she said: “I will always stand for those kids that are told they are never going to be anything, I will stand there and say that they will.

“It’s not a disorder, it’s a superpower and we have to embrace it.”

The former customer service worker revealed she still visited her old colleagues at the Northamptonshire Asda store where she used to work.

She said: “Every time I go in, I get a cuddle and there’s people that work there that say hi.”

The singer will perform as part of the A Perfect Day concert at Delapre Park in Northampton on 16 June.

She told BBC Radio Northampton she was excited for the show.

“It was an instant yes, it was in my hometown, I couldn’t help myself, I haven’t been this excited for a show in a while,” she said.

“I’m so excited, I can’t wait.”

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