Big record labels are lining up to sign street musician Allie

A young busker has been approached by several record labels who want to sign her when she reaches her 18th birthday.

olydor, Sony, Universal, Atlantic and Disney have expressed interest in Cork-born Allie Sherlock, 17, who is currently writing songs with Kodaline guitarist Steve Garrigan in a London studio.

Sherlock, who has racked up 800 million views of her busking videos online, said her debut album will have a “grunge acoustic pop vibe” similar to that of US sensation Olivia Rodrigo.

“It’s all about choosing the right label now, but it’s nice to have the choice so we can get the best deal and build the best team for me,” Allie said. “I want to pick the songs that I’ve written that best tell my personal story.”

Her mother Michelle died when the singer was just nine years old. “It was heartbreaking but I had my dad here to help me through it. I can write songs about it now and people can relate to it when they go through the same scenario,” she said.

“It was a very sad time and every anniversary is particularly hard. I still miss them but time heals too and it’s always good to get them out. Sometimes when you can’t talk about it, you have to write about it. I think she would be proud of where I am now.”

Allie, from Douglas, also spoke about her experience of bullying which eventually led to her decision to be homeschooled.

“I was only 10 or 11 at the time. It was very difficult. I felt like I wasn’t wanted by the other kids at school and I felt very left out,” she said. “I originally went to an all-girls school but switched to a co-ed school because it was closer to my home. I was the new kid so that didn’t help.

“It wasn’t physical, it was more the way they treated me. It was done in a more insidious, more insidious way. I came home very stressed and literally sweating from stress.

“My father asked me what was going on and why I felt this way. He tried to help me but when nothing changed we just decided that I should go. Being homeschooled made me feel safe.”

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About feeling lonely while learning from other kids her age, Allie said, “I’d kept in touch with all my friends from my previous school and we hung out a few times a week and I had friends from my area, so I was still able to make contacts.”

She said she has a message for anyone going through a similar situation: “It gets better. Talk to someone. Don’t keep it to yourself.”

Allie, who will perform alongside Hermitage Green at the Horizon Irish Open golf tournament at Mount Juliet Estate in July, also spoke about the regular harassment she experiences when busking around Dublin’s Grafton Street.

“There are always inappropriate guys,” she said. “Sometimes when they come up to me and ask me for a photo, they put their hands in awkward places that are way too far down my back, and I have to tell them, ‘You can’t move your hand.’ It happens once every two weeks. I literally say, “Take your hand off me”. It first happened when I was 14 or 15, when I started growing up, if you understand me. The guys are usually in their forties.”

Allie said male buskers would never have to experience similar treatment.

“There needs to be more protection, especially for street musicians. I definitely saw it happen to other buskers on Grafton Street.”

Describing one incident, she said: “A guy jumped in the face of an actress while she was acting and tears rolled down her cheeks when he said that to her. Passers-by came to help, so it’s great that people are aware, but I think most people are not aware enough of what is happening.

“Just last week, while I was playing, another person came up behind me and yelled in my ear, ‘Don’t quit your job!’ It’s not pretty, but you have to laugh about it. My father sees everything and is wary of people being inappropriate.”