Listen: 90s Welsh pop star returns with new single following breast cancer battle

A Welsh singer songwriter who had one of the biggest global hits of the 90s has returned with an anthemic new single and video filmed on the shores of Southerndown following her recovery from breast cancer.

Platinum singer songwriter, Donna Lewis is widely known for her hit song, I Love You Always Forever” from her debut album, Now in a Minute which was released in 1996.

Born in Cardiff, Donna studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where she majored in classical composition for piano and flute.

The Imposter

Donna has gone on to release a further four albums – and her latest called Rooms with a View is set to be released soon.

The lead single from Donna’s upcoming full-length is called “The Imposter”.

Donna describes the song “an anthem for anyone who’s ever felt the dark and the light together; anyone who’s felt fear and bravery all at the same time.”

The single was inspired by her own battle with breast cancer. She said: “During my treatment, I found myself in different rooms during different visits to the hospital.

“The verses step into these rooms and capture the fear, pain, and darkness of chemo’s side effects. But the chorus shines with love and light and gratitude.

“It’s a thank you, both to the medical staff who cared for me, but also to myself for being a little braver and a little stronger throughout the journey.”

Through the healing power of music, Donna and acclaimed producer Holmes Ives channeled the adversity of her battle with breast cancer into artistry, creating an album that resonates with hope and resilience.

Ambassador

Donna is set to become an ambassador for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, the United States’ largest and most impactful breast cancer movement.

The upcoming album ‘Rooms With A View’ is a collaboration between celebrated singer and songwriter Donna Lewis and renowned electronic artist and producer Holmes Ives.

The record documents Donna’s year long journey through breast cancer. She said: “Cancer was the uninvited messenger, the darkdweller who I sought to banish with the love of my family, brilliant doctors and my art”.

Diagnosis

In 2021 Donna Lewis was about to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of her breakthrough smash hit single ‘I Love You, Always Forever’ and her debut album, ‘Now In A Minute’ when a routine medical check up, (delayed by the pandemic), brought her the news that no-one ever wants to hear.

Plans in place to mark the anniversary, the tour dates, the live TV special, the remixes, were put on hold to deal with more urgent matters.

Donna then spent the next year or so undergoing treatment and surgery, all the while actively writing and recording before she felt ready to prepare releasing new music once again.

Donna had been introduced to the work of electronic artist and producer Holmes Ives in 2021 when he had created a reworking of a piano vocal track she had released called ‘I Told You So’.

Since then she had always wanted to further collaborate with him so when it came time to get creative again she suggested they write maybe 2 or 3 tracks together as a potential release for the two of them.

Completed remotely, they have yet to meet in person, musical ideas were passed back and forth and Holmes worked up tracks for Donna to write lyrics to.

Trauma

As Donna began the creative writing process, she soon realised that without any intent to do so, every set of lyrics going down on the page all represented a different chapter of what she had experienced over the preceding year.

Some cryptically capture the trauma and the fear of the diagnosis and treatment while others were observational recollections of more mundane aspects, such as her favourite nurse or the different views from the various treatment rooms.

What had been intended to be a four track EP now became an album as how the chapters of the story unfolded made it impossible to convey this momentous journey in anything less.

Donna said: “The instrumental tracks that Holmes Ives sent me coaxed the lyrics from the pages of my journals and inspired an album of stories, unlocking fears, and the climb to a healthier me – mind, body and spirit”

Donna’s inspiring lyrics, enhanced by her unique vocals which she has become famous for, married seamlessly with the driving rhythmic dimensions of Holmes Ives stunning production and has resulted in what she has described as a “testament of strength, gratitude and facing fears”.

Donna said: “The Imposter is an anthem for anyone who’s ever felt the dark and the light together; anyone who’s felt fear and bravery all at the same time.

“The video was filmed at Southerndown beach in January. A few days after my father’s funeral, I put on his old cardigan and my high school friend Tim Stanbury and I braved the cold and shot some footage on my phone and an old camera.

“This place holds so many amazing childhood memories for me and fills me with gratitude, letting the light shine out into our lives.”

Hoping others find strength in her music, she added: “It is an offering of hope for anyone going through a dark tunnel. I am forever grateful to share it with you”.

Stream the new single, The Imposter, from Donna Lewis here.