Kettering supermarket worker's song hits 10m views on TikTok

Mae Stephens is hoping for stardom after a song and video of hers reached 10 million views on TikTok

A singer who worked in a supermarket is set for stardom after gaining more than 10 million views on TikTok.

Mae Stephens from Kettering, a regular on BBC Music Introducing in Northamptonshire in recent years, has just signed to EMI records.

Her song, If We Ever Broke Up, was released on Friday after a snippet of it posted on New Year's Day went viral on the social media platform.

The song tells her ex-boyfriend's father how his son treated her.

"I've read a lot of comments from people saying that this song helped them through their break-up because it gave them that boss energy."

• Listen: Mae Stephens talks to Kerrie Cosh

She said it was "really surreal to have people sing lyrics to the song I have written".

The singer-songwriter, who also works shifts in a local supermarket, has been writing since the age of 12.

Mae Stephens wrote her song about a break-up when she was 16

She said she used music to help her through the hardships of teenage life, and composed her songs on her grandmother's old piano.

"I used to be quite angry as a kid and I had a lot of pent-up tension, especially coming home from school," she said.

She was bullied at school for being the "loud, quirky kid", she added.

When her classmates found the YouTube channel to which she uploaded her original songs and covers, every video she shared would prompt more hate and spitefulness to be sent her way.

Pushing through the negativity with the help of her music and her brother, she was "determined to push forward and prove a lot of people wrong".

"A lot of kids are probably going through stuff that's a lot worse than what I went through and it's not highlighted as much as it should be," she said.

"To watch kids go through that and not have someone to look up to is something I really hope I can help with.

"I want to be the champion of the underdogs - Mae's misfits."

Mae Stephens appeared on BBC Music Introducing in Northamptonshire on Saturday 11 February.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [e-mail]