Isabella Sophie Tweddle (born 27 May 1999), better known under the stage name Billie Marten, is a British singer-songwriter and musician from Ripon in North Yorkshire.
She has since released four full-length albums: Writing of Blues and Yellows, Feeding Seahorses by Hand, Flora Fauna, and Drop Cherries, all of which have received critical acclaim.
[8] When she was twelve she performed some music sessions for a local Yorkshire based YouTube channel called Ont' Sofa.
[9] Among the songs she performed was a cover version of Lucy Rose's "Middle of the Bed", which quickly received thousands of views.
[2] With the money she received after signing a record deal with Sony at age 16, she purchased a Series One Land Rover Defender.
[2] She expressed frustration with the large amount of money that record labels earn from streaming music, leaving artists struggling financially, saying, "Most people I know that have a top 10 album right now are on Universal Credit,".
[27] At aged 18, Marten was diagnosed with severe seasonal affective disorder (SAD), causing some depression and anxiety.
During the time she was enrolled, she continued pursuing her musical career by touring but also attended university twice a week - on Mondays and Fridays.
However, Marten described this period, in a 2019 podcast with Kate McGill, as feeling discouraged by the lack of feedback on her work, and by classmates who came unprepared and didn't show interest in assignments.
During 2020, she briefly moved back to her parents' home in North Yorkshire for 6 months due to the mandatory COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom.
[14] Her single, "Ribbon", released from her debut EP of the same name, was inspired by her train journeys from Yorkshire to London to perform at concerts when she was a teenager.
[12] She cites Robin Hood's Bay, a small fishing village in Yorkshire, as one of her favorite places in the world.