Singer Sophie McLaughlan tours world and releases song after break-up

Sophie McLaughlan, who performs as SophieAnnabell, spent five months visiting dozens of countries throughout Europe before jetting across the Atlantic to the USA.

Now she has used that difficult time to pen The Best Season of Your Life.

She said: “I was in a long-term relationship for eight years which, sadly, I ended in April last year.

“Because I had been living with the person for pretty much the whole eight years, changing that was so different to what I was used to.

“We had to live together for a few months after breaking up, which was horrendous.

“One day I was like: ‘I don’t want to just stay here and continue to work and keep being sad.’

“I decided to take a five-month sabbatical from my work to go travelling.

“I was very fortunate to be able to do that because we sold our house and I used the money to do that.

“I was pretty much living my best life for five months, country-hopping round Europe, and I managed to go to the USA as well.

“I just thought I just wanted to put it into a song to show that you can still, even though you are going through the hardest time, try to live your best life.”

During her time off work, Sophie, who grew up in Haddington and now lives in Dunfermline, visited countries including Spain, Italy, Finland and Iceland, stopping off in bustling cities such as Nice, Monaco and Rome along the way.

The 26-year-old works in financial crime for NatWest.

However, music has always been a part of her life, and she has been singing since she was just 10 years old.

During that time, Sophie, who picks out Brit Award-winning Raye as among her biggest inspirations, has performed at the Seaglass Inn in Port Seton, Musselburgh’s Ravelston House Hotel and Haddington’s Waterside Bistro.

Along the way, she has also performed on a variety of television talent contests, including Deutschland sucht den Superstar in Germany.

The former King’s Meadow Primary School pupil, who has also taken to the stage at Haddstock, told the Courier how it was her dream to be a musician and “be doing something creative”.

Sophie, whose dad Mark still lives in Haddington, told the Courier: “I feel like I have a lot of thoughts and feelings that I don’t talk about.

“The best way to communicate that is through music.

“I was literally lying in my bed thinking I was just so sad and I am done being sad.

“I am going to turn this into something that can be good.

“I made a beat and started putting lyrics together.”

Working together with a producer based in Los Angeles, The Best Season of Your Life was created.

The single, which will be followed up later this summer by Ruin – “a girl boss anthem telling all the boys where to go” – is released today (Friday) and is available on all major streaming platforms.