"It's been a busy few weeks, but it's been a long time coming."

New singer-songwriter on the block Aimée is enthusiastic in describing the upward trajectory her musical career is on.

"I've been trying to pursue this since I was a kid. I always knew this was what I wanted to do. From third year onward, I decided to take it more seriously."

For Aimée, social media continues to be king when it comes to promoting herself and her art. She began - as most do - by uploading YouTube videos á la Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes and co., before moving with the people over to Instagram where she shared weekly covers in a series that was later dubbed 'One Minute Wednesday'.

"It's crazy. There are artists that are bigger than me that would sell out a bigger room than me, but they don't have as many followers as me on Instagram," she says. "I just think nowadays, you'd be silly not to build your social media first. Everything is social media-based."

She cites Lewis Capaldi as an example of another way social media can only stand to benefit artists, as it allows fans to connect with them more on a personal level.

"People are absolutely in love with him because he's so funny. He's such a cool person. And I think that's why my followers have followed me since I was a nobody doing videos in my bathroom. There's people that have been following me since I was 17 and have watched my family's life and everything."

It wasn't long before she caught the attention of one of Ireland's most well-known producers, Mark McCabe, resulting in their top 30 collaboration, Over Me. The track's success led to a call from Universal: the rest is history.

"They just called me in for a meeting one day, not really knowing too much about me. They asked if I had much music, and I was like, 'enough to make ten albums!' I let them hear some of my stuff and they signed me."

Having considered a move to Los Angeles previously, she's thankful that the Irish scene is at a place where it's more receptive to popular music than it has been in a long time: allowing her to pursue her dream at home. She's also the first to admit that she lacked a certain level of experience in the early days.

"I went back and fourth from LA a lot, going to meetings, but I was only over with my own CDs of cover songs. It was when I started building my own fanbase here [in Ireland] online was when I really saw things moving. I was so wrong to think that I had to leave the country for anything to happen. If anything, build where you're from."

Aimée is quick to tag on a disclaimer whenever the words 'fans' or 'fanbase' spill out of her mouth.

"I still feel weird saying the word fans, because I don't believe I have the entitlement to say 'fans'. If I was to have fans, the Irish fans would be the most important. Not in a cringey way, but to get the support of the people from where you're from ... that means the world."

Fans and followers aside, she initially worried about classic Irish begrudgery from those who watched from the wings as she scaled the ranks.

"I feel like it's an Irish thing ... It's like, 'we liked you better in your box'," she explains when talking about the feared backlash. "At the start, when I stopped doing my covers because I was back-to-back in writing sessions, I got a lot of messages being like, 'why are you not uploading a cover, it's Wednesday?'

"But then as soon as I started releasing my own stuff, it was more than I expected. The support is unbelievable. I was worried. How do I go from being everyone's puppet to giving them everything I want now?"

How do I go from being everyone's puppet to giving them everything I want now?

Aimée's approach to song-writing is simple enough - channel the past and the present.

"I usually know what kind of vibe I want before going in," she says. "Whether it's an upbeat song or moody pop or a ballad ... I'll ask myself, 'what is it I want to say?' I always want to know what the message will be and I build from that."

Don't Bother's message is clear as day then, flipping the narrative on how women are supposed to be feel post-breakup - less forlorn woman, more a woman scorned.

"I want people to know I don't take shit from people," she says."That's why we [herself and Richie McCourt, producer and co-writer] chose it as the first single. I haven't had that many boyfriends, but any time I've written a breakup song, I've always found it funny, like, without saying it in a cocky way, 'you have no idea what you've lost'. It says a lot about my personality.

"I've worked with so many producers across the UK and America who I just didn't gel with. Me and Richie get along so well. He's so talented, and he gets my vision so clearly. He's really good at pulling the best out of it, because it's such a comfortable environment. Writing with him feels like a therapy session."

I always want to know what the message will be and I build from that.

With that said, Aimée notes the less pleasant sessions in which she feels her creative input as been overlooked because of her age and her gender, describing writing sessions where she has been openly laughed at.

"I don't care where you are in your career, you're no better than anybody else," she says. "You can always tell in situation ... Maybe it's because I've been brought up to be such an open book, you will know if there is something up with me.

"A lot of the time in the music industry, people walk around with this mask on. They let on that they're super confident, they know everything ... I find it so hard to work with people like that. It's ego."

This frustration applies to the media's treatment of her too.

"I think it's getting better, but because it's such a male-dominated industry, it still happens. Being asked about your fashion inspirations ... This is a music interview. Ask about my music."

I don't care where you are in your career, you're no better than anybody else.

It's strange to think about how none of what's been discussed might have come to fruition had Aimée made it on to a certain reality TV talent show.

"Mark [McCabe] was with me through a shit stage when I was faced with 'no' after 'no'," she explains. "There was a weird thing that happened with The X-Factor."

Having been asked to audition for the show, Aimée declined their request to film her family, specifically her mum who was very ill at the time.

"I performed in front of the judges, they loved me, got four yeses ... Hours before my flight to boot camp, they told me not to come because they didn't have a story ... They wanted a sob story.

"They had asked me three years in a row, and I thought 'maybe this might be to my advantage'. When that happened, I was like, 'what the actual fuck?'"

Following this, McCabe stepped up as mentor - and more importantly, a friend. Her signing followed shortly after.

"He knows his shit ... He's a dark horse!" she laughs.

Looking ahead, Aimée will be releasing her second single this summer, just in time for festival season, with an EP slated for release either side of Christmas.

"It's coming!" she assures. "Soon! Pop, R&B and dance are my passion ... It's so hard to sell myself. I'm not shit! I'm good! I swear!"

Aimée's new single Don't Bother is out now.

They told me not to come because there was no story ... They wanted a sob story.