HIS SONG, You are the Reason, has been enjoying heavy rotation on our local radio stations. So it came as no surprise that Calum Scott enjoyed a good turnout at his showcase performance on March 17.
The following day, during an interview session with the press, Scott told how he became teary-eyed listening to the audience sing along to his song during the performance the night before.
It was not so long ago that the Britain’s Got Talent finalist took that first big step to becoming a professional singer.
Scott was a member of a Maroon 5 tribute band called Maroon 4 before he took part in the reality singing competition in 2015. Before that, he had tried out for The X-Factor UK, but was rejected.
After coming out sixth overall in that competition, Scott released a cover of Swedish singer Robyn’s hit Dancing on My Own, a song that blew away the Britain’s Got Talent judges, especially Simon Cowell, during the audition show.
But it was only in March 2018 that he finally came out with his first album, Only Human. The album features, among others, ballads such as You are the Reason, Dancing on My Own, What I Miss Most and No Matter What.
When asked why it took him so long (in music industry years) to put out an album, Scott said: “I don’t think it was strategic.
“I enjoyed overnight success with Britain’s Got Talent. Let’s not forget before that, I was working in human resources. I was just as normal as everybody else. I only knew how to sing, but had no idea how to put out a record.
“So for me, getting signed to Capitol Records was a monumental thing in my career. It meant I had to start working hard to be able to [reach] where I am at right now. I had to learn from scratch how to put out an album.”
Scott said he had to learn how to write his own songs and work with the right people. It took a little time, but “now that I am there, my second album will be a lot more confident”.
He added that hopefully, it would not take as long to come out as his first, but as he put it, “Rome was not built in a day. I am not going to rush anything out”.
He is well aware that he can’t keep his fans waiting, but he knows that he only has one shot with the music he puts out.
Scott is also aware that he is known for his emotional ballads, and does not want to make any drastic changes to his musical direction.
He said: “To be honest, I look to people like Adele, who has written three albums of complete heartbreak – and we still buy them.”
He added that for his next album, what is important for him is to take his audience on an adventure, “with a story that has highs and lows”.
He wrote most of the songs on his first album. “Songwriting is incredibility hard for me, but being able to write from my perspective is what gives my songs the edge. It also gives it humility, because of people relating to what I have been through.”
Despite being currently single, Scott describes himself as a hopeless romantic, which he claims inspires his writing.
He says: “I take my inspiration from living my life one day to the next, and with all the highs and lows.” This also includes breaking up, making up, breaking up, and making up again.
The fact that he gets to travel across the world with his music is something that blows his mind.
As for future undertakings, he says that he has plans to work with Leona Lewis again and hopes to do an all-male duet with a singer like Sam Smith.
