The pandemic was a transformative time for Cat Burns. Having started her career busking on the Southbank, the Streatham singer-songwriter and BRIT School alumnus turned to TikTok, where she began uploading covers and original tracks that rapidly set her star rising. Then there was all that time alone. “The first 2020 lockdown taught me that I didn’t know much about myself at all,” Burns tells Apple Music. “And that I wasn’t being honest with myself about who I was and who I loved. Being at home really allowed me to explore that about myself.” That inspired “Free,” a moving yet beautifully uplifting account of coming out to her mother. It’s a perfect example of the heart-on-sleeve lyricism and irresistible pop sound—influenced by guitar music, indie, gospel, and more—that have earmarked Burns as one of 2022’s most exciting breakout talents. This Apple Music Home Session features an intimate take on it, alongside a performance of “Go”—on which Burns imagines how she’d react to being cheated on—and a disarming cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You.” “I chose these songs because they’ve really changed the speed of my career and mean so much to me in different ways,” adds Burns—a 2022 Up Next UK artist—of her own songs here. “The pandemic changed me massively, and without it, I definitely wouldn’t have written ‘Free’ or probably even released ‘Go’ either!”