Calum Scott Interview - My World, Kid At Christmas, Tour

Over the past eight years, singer/songwriter Calum Scott has risen to be one of the top pop artists on a worldwide level. Releasing multi-platinum singles such as “You Are The Reason” and “Dancing On My Own,” and launching successful tours on several continents, Scott has come a long way since he appeared and auditioned on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent (for Simon Cowell) in 2015.

Scott is now known for his powerful, soulful lead vocals, his heartfelt, thoughtful songwriting, and his positive attitude on life. He has released two albums, Only Human (in 2018; certified gold) and Bridges (2022). He is also known for his other singles “Where Are You Now” (with Lost Frequencies), “Heaven,” “Rise” and “Whistle” (with Jax Jones).

2024 has been an excellent year for Scott in different ways. He originally planned to take some time off after completing his Bridges Tour in 2023. However, he received an outstanding offer to be the opening act for superstar Ed Sheeran’s 2024 massive stadium tour, playing shows in many countries. This gave Scott an opportunity to perform in front of millions of fans, and he sang his hit “You Are The Reason” onstage with Sheeran.

	SPECIAL FEATURE: STREAMING AUDIO
	Here’s an excerpt of our interview with Calum Scott, who talks about his busy year in 2024, releasing new songs and touring with Ed Sheeran in the past year.

In addition, Scott released several singles in the past two years. In 2023 he released two strong, uptempo songs, “Lighthouse” and “At Your Worst.” Then earlier in 2024 he released the fun, happy single, “Then There Was You” (from the animated film, The Garfield Movie) and the summer anthem, “Roots.” Most recently, he put out his ballad single “My World” and his first holiday song, “Kid at Christmas,” which he sang with hit artist, Christina Perri.

This fall, after Scott completed his tour with Ed Sheeran, he embarked on his own tour, called The Songbook So Far Tour. He headlined his biggest venues to date, playing shows in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. He also found time to write songs for his upcoming third album, which he plans to release in 2025.

We are pleased to do this new Q&A interview with Calum Scott. He discusses his recent singles, his tour with Ed Sheeran, and the songs he’s writing for his next album.

Here’s the lyric videof of Calum Scott’s single, “My World.”

DK: It’s been two years since you released your last album, Bridges. What’s your life and career been like since then?

Calum Scott: It’s been an absolute rollercoaster of emotions now. I remember at the end of the Bridges tour which finished in 2023, I sat with my manager and he said, “Look, 2024 is going to be a quiet year. We can get you in the studio, we can finish that third album, and we’ve got all the time in the world.” But then at the end of 2023, my manager told me that we’d been selected to support Ed Sheeran for all of 2024. Wow. So we spent six months this year touring with Ed Sheeran in stadiums, which was a dream come true, and then we had some of my own shows. At first I was only supposed to do one show in London for The Songbook So Far tour, but the we added a European leg, then Asia, Australia and America. So I just finished touring last month on what was supposed to be our quiet year. and it’s been amazing. I’ve also recorded this Christmas song (“Kid At Christmas”), and I had a song in The Garfield Movie (“Then There Was You”). It’s been phenomenal.

DK: Last year you released two singles that I liked, “Lighthouse” and “At Your Worst.” Can you talk about writing those songs?

Scott: “Lighthouse” and “At Your West” came from me doing two writing camps for my third album. I’ve found people that I like to work with, and I’ve found a place that I like to work in. I think it’s a tough thing as a songwriter and as an artist, to find the people that you like and the people that you really gel with. Because these are people you’re telling your story with, and you’ve got to find people that get you. So I found a couple people that I love working with. We went to a studio where we lived out of for a week or two, and writing the songs came quite easily because I feel I’m more content now than I’ve ever been. I feel more at peace with who I am, and where I’m at in the music industry.

I’d love to aim for the dizzy heights that Ed Sheeran’s at, but then again I’m also very humble, very human. I still live back up in hometown in Yorkshire, and I’m living a dream. So I always pay my respects to that, and I never want for too much. And so it helps me write really authentic, genuine music. “Lighthouse” in particular was a song that came at the top of last year and was kind of an anthem, and being out in stadiums I was able to use that song to fill the sound in these big places.

Here’s the video of Calum Scott & Christina Perri’s song,
“Kid at Christmas.”

“At Your Worst” was a song that we were playing around with my music, and trying to find a new sound and experiment a bit. I want to use my third album as a way to show people that I can do other things and push outside of my comfort zone. “At Your Worst” actually came quite easy, and it was a real joy to to perform that song across stages this year.

DK: You also did a fun song called “Then There Was You” for The Garfield Movie. How did you write that song for the movie?

Scott: This was the first time I’ve written for a film. I was in touch with a friend named Michael Hodges, who was the producer of the Garfield soundtrack. He said, “Look, we have this opportunity; would you like to write for the movie?” And I was like, “Of course.” So he gave me the scene of Garfield as a little kitten who was meeting (his owner) Jon for the first time. He’s purring outside at the window where Jon’s inside having his pizza, and Garfield’s trying to get in. And I was trying to tell the story of how Jon used to think that life was gray and glum and he’d walk around wanting for more. And “Then There Was You” seemed so apt for that scene. As it turns out, it didn’t make that scene (it was played at the end of the movie), but I had so much fun writing it with six or seven of my friends that were in the room helping me write the song. And I love the fact that it was used in The Garfield Movie because the movie accentuates that it’s fun and enjoyable to listen to, but it does have an added lyrical meaning.

DK: I like your new ballad, “My World.” What inspired you to write this song?

Scott: For “My World,” it’s a return to the ballad because I’d released some more boppy numbers, and I wanted to release something that felt like the side of me that started with “Dancing on My Own” and “You Are The Reason.” I wanted to go back to a song which was more classic storytelling. But I’ve also been inspired by being on the road with Ed Sheeran, being in these stadiums full of people and watching how his music has transcended across different ages and different genres. So I wanted to mix “My World,” which is more ballad, but then adding this huge drop of the chorus that felt very ethereal and dramatic.

It was a bit of a different approach for me. I’ve using my next album to experiment with what I’m capable of and what I can do. Don’t get me wrong…there are some traditional, tearjerker ballads on the next album, but there’s also some things that I’ve tried to experiment and push outside of my comfort zone, to show that I’ve got different styles and ambitions of my music. Yeah, I’m always going to want to stand behind a microphone and sing a ballad with no games and no gimmicks. But being able to release things like “At Your Worst” and “Lighthouse” has enabled me to fill a stadium with sound.

Here’s the video of Calum Scott’s song, “Then There Was You”
(from The Garfield Movie).

DK: You’ve just released a holiday song called “Kid at Christmas,” which you sing with Christina Perri. How did you connect with Christina to do this song?

Scott: Christina and I have mutual friends in the industry—as soon as you get into the business and start mingling with people, you realize that it’s much smaller than you think. We have a mutual friend called Jennifer Decilveo, who works with Christina a lot, and she’s started working with me. So I met Christina for coffee, and I realized that she’s a lovely, authentic girl who’s down to earth. And we’ve both had these timeless ballads, with Christina having “A Thousand Years” and “Jar of Hearts.” So we’ve kind of experienced the same things and it was easy to relate to her.

We said we should definitely do something in the future. And then this Christmas song came in my inbox, and I recorded a vocal in Malta of all places. It was like summertime and I was sunburned, singing a Christmas song which is crazy. Then I sent it to Christina and she wanted to vocal it as well. Christina’s been doing lullaby albums for her daughters, so she was the perfect person to have an authentic vocal on there that made it so classic and traditional. I’ve wanted to do a Christmas song that could stand the test of time, and I feel like I’ve done that with Christina.

DK: You mentioned that you were already doing songs for your next album. When can we look forward to your next album coming out?

Scott: Hopefully soon. Like I said, I’ve been very busy with Mr. Sheeran all year. And because I’ve been busy on tour, it’s been a bit more delayed than I would have hoped. But I feel like I’ve got some of my best music on this next album. I’ve got some of my most personal songs, and I’ve got some tearjerkers on there. I’ve also got some amazing collaborations that I didn’t see coming. So hopefully it will be coming early next year, and there will be news of a world tour. I’ve also written for other people’s projects, and I’ve been in talks with some film studios. So I’m excited to see what 2025 brings me.