The Irish songwriter who wrote Slow Hands admits she’s ‘dealt with enough f*ck boys’

You think you don't know who RuthAnne Cunningham is... but you do.

If you've ever hummed along to Niall Horan's Slow Hands or ran like a demon on the treadmill to Britney's Work Bitch, then you know her work. RuthAnne has been writing pop songs for some of music's biggest names for over a decade. After winning a songwriting competition at the age of 17, the Dublin native completed her Leaving Certificate then promptly headed for the bright lights of LA. She told us on this week's episode of Girls With Goals that instantly she was surrounded by some pretty intimidating people:

'The second day there, I met Billy Steinberg, who obviously is a massive songwriter... he wrote Like A Virgin and Eternal Flame and he said instantly 'sit down and play me something,' there was literally Grammys on the piano, for some reason I was quite fearless back then so I did '. 'I played a terrible song, I remember the song I played and I can't believe I sang it, but he saw something in me and told me to come back tomorrow and we wrote Too Little Too Late the next day '

Two years later the song that RuthAnne co-wrote on her third day in LA was given to pop sensation JoJo and her status as song-writer was cemented. Several years and several hit tracks later, RuthAnne is now embarking on a solo career with an album set for release early next year. With a hit song under her belt and living the high life in LA, it's easy to believe that things were set up but that wasn't the case. RuthAnne explained the hardships she faced while living away from home at such a young age and how it has inspired her new music:

'I had a lot in me to say at the time about words being so powerful. I've had people be incredibly mean to me and say horrible things to me or about me, and some of those things you just never get over as a human, they stick with you. The song (Liquid) is about people basically learning that a lot of people say things out of their own insecurities, projecting their own fears onto you and you can't let it bother you, LA had started to bother me.'

Fresh from a successful turn at Electric Picnic, and having recently toured with Alanis Morisette, RuthAnne joined us to talk about life in Los Angeles, writing for the stars, and why she waited so long to step into the spotlight. Listen to the full interview below and at 14.10 you'll hear her perform her new single 'Liquid'.