‘Justin Bieber was played a lot in the dressing room’: Leah Williamson’s candid series | Culture

The first song I liked
I used to have a cassette player with crappy headphones, and only two cassettes: Hero by Enrique Iglesias and How I Live by LeAnn Rimes. I played with them over and over again.

The first song I downloaded
Michaela Strachan in search of Girls. I thought it was interesting that he wrote a song about him, even though I didn’t know who he was until I saw him.

The song I make at karaoke
My debut at Arsenal was singing Stand By Me with Ben E King. These days, I would want a Justin Bieber number, maybe One Less Lonely Girl.

I know every word to this song
Every song on the Bridget Jones soundtrack, because my mom used to play it a lot in the car when I was little.

The perfect song to play at a party
I love old music, so my favorite parties are 50th birthdays or weddings where you get all generations together, and they play things like Never Too Much and Luther Vandross.

I can’t listen to that song anymore
Is Ü Now By Jack Ü featuring Justin Bieber was played a lot in the (Arsenal) changing room, so when it comes to this, I have to stop.

My favorite football song
Three Lions by Baddiel & Skinner & Lightning Seeds, for 2022 Euros. Being able to sing “Coming home” was amazing. Today, Angel (North London Forever) by Louis Dunford gives me goosebumps.

My secret favorite song
Back to Sender and Elvis Presley always played in my ears on the way to the football game.

The song that changed my life
My grandmother is big, and she takes me to see Paul Simon, Florence + the Machine and Teddy Swims. When we saw Norah Jones, the crowd was a bit older – no one had their phones out. When he sang Come Away With Me, I thought: “This is what music says.”

The song that wakes me up in the morning
I have been listening to Inner Smile by Texas. We’ve had a lot of Michael Jackson in the training ground, because of the movie. I think the song that wakes me up the most is Billie (Loving Arms) by Fred Again.

A song that makes me cry
Years ago, I cried in the middle of a New Year’s party when Dancing Alone by Robyn they came. Even though it’s a great song, I think it still resonated with me. When I was 16 years old, I called my mother: “Can you come pick me up?”

The song I would like to be played at my funeral
I don’t want people to cry. I want them to be happy. So I’ll have Believe with Cher or I’ll Be Around the Spinners.

England’s next Women’s World Cup match is against Greece on 9 October. Leah Williamson is a Cadbury ambassador.