Songs for all Kinds of Feelings and Sentiments

English singer and songwriter Calum Scott is to perform this October in Budapest, returning to the Hungarian capital with a solo concert after stealing the hearts of the Hungarian audience by opening Ed Sheeran's concert last year. He tells Diplomacy&Trade how he tries to help sensitive people with his songs while remaining an everyday person and why he considers the responsibility of caring for his listeners as a badge of honor.

“Music is the universal language, there's no doubt about it. I've listened to music in different languages. I have sung in countries where English might not be their first language and yet there's an understanding of what the music's trying to do, what the performance of the artist is doing and how that makes you feel. It's like a Harry Potter kind of magic,” Calum Scott says. He believes it's a beautiful thing convey emotions through music even to those who can't understand all of the lyrics. He recalls touring in Taiwan with Ed Sheeran, was performing to an 80,000 people strong crowd. “At the end of one of my songs, I kind of held the mic away and it sounded like all of those people were singing that back at me. Music transcends culture and language and it's just a really beautiful thing.”

Human and relatable
The breakthrough for Calum Scott came in the TV program ‘Britain's Got Talent’ in 2018. He is of the view that “everybody has their own journey and I think that successes and barriers are equally unique to each artist. With my audition on Britain's Got Talent, the nation was able to see the emotions that I had with my family. My sister went on the show before me, she didn't get through causing upset and sadness. Then, I got through on the golden buzzer and obviously my sister was there for me, right by my side – as well as my mum. People got to see me as a human being as well as an aspiring singer-songwriter. I think that was really important for my growth and for my journey, and that's kind of been the sentiment since. I've always tried to be human and relatable and you know, the guy next door who you could listen to perform in a stadium and then you feel like you could go for a beer with him. That's the same way I see Adele. Of course, that also comes with its barriers. I've had to prove myself to people across the world that I'm not a one-trick pony, I'm not just somebody who sang a cover song – I'm a genuine artist and I'll continue proving that!”

Emotional music for sensitive people
He says his music is just very emotional and the people who listen to his songs are probably equally sensitive, especially for his catalogue of songs and not his features on DJ songs. “But I think it's a really beautiful thing that my music has soundtracked really important parts of people's lives, be that the voice that they need in their darkness; soundtrack to the first dance at their wedding; celebrate new life in the family; or even commemorate in life that has sadly passed. I'm honored anytime I hear my music being soundtracked in that way. In addition to being an artist, I'm a person as well and I've immersed myself in songs whether you're at the beach and you need uplifting and feeling good, whether it's a time when you're heartbroken and you're single and you've just recently come out of a relationship. I think that as artists, we have the obligation to create these soundtracks for people to accompany them through life. So, I hope that somebody immersed in my music will feel that they can dance and cry at the same time.”

No handbook for songwriting
Calum Scott considers music is like magic that just strikes a chord, sometimes for no reason, sometimes for a very obvious reason. “I think what makes music really special is that there's no handbook saying ‘this is the way to write a hit’. And even if we, songwriters, artists, producers, all try our very best to make something really successful, it’s not gonna be like that for the vast part of the efforts: you are on your journey to trying to find ‘that’ song,
and it does make it all the sweeter when you do come across that hit. ‘You are the reason’ took a full year really to get going and now, I stand by it as one of my favorite songs. However, at the beginning, I had no idea that it would be that. We just wanted to write a lovely song about love. And I think sometimes, you can pour your heart and soul into a song and it just doesn't resonate with people and that's fine. That's the game.”

Apollo vs. Dionysos
In art, there’s this idea of two ancient forces: the Apollonian, which is about structure and thought, and the Dionysian, which is emotion and chaos. As to which of those two feels more like home to him as an artist, the singer-songwriter has no doubt: “it is emotion and chaos that creates my music. Structure and thought are definitely the fault of my producer, John Maguire. He's a very emotional man but he's a lot more logical, a lot more rational as well whereas I'm completely opposite. I myself think with my emotions and chaos first, and then try to apply a little bit of thought and structure. So, I think we're a great team. We worked together as Ying and Yang and I always call him Bernie Taupin, referring to the songwriting partner of Elton John. You know, we're a dream team in that way because he understands – and he can also help me hone and control – my emotions so that it doesn't become a song that feels like it's just chaotic. You know, there's structure there, there's a real story and a real journey. So, I'm definitely Dionysian and I am so sorry if I've butchered that.”

Responsibility as a badge of honor
When it comes to the question whether there was a moment when he needed to motivate himself and says ‘I have to do this’, this matters, I have to keep going’, Calum Scott recalls that “yeah, absolutely, there's been many, many occasions like that. Even just recently, I would have said something like that while making this third album where I was doing a lot of reflecting. And this industry is really tough. You know, you try hardest and sometimes it doesn't work out and sometimes you feel like you're just not getting anywhere with it. Then, sometimes, the demands from social media and content making and stuff like this – it can feel quite taxing. And there has been many times when I've thought, I don't know if this is what I want to do anymore. There's so much pressure in the head on making the content. There's so much pressure in showing up and making sure that you're emotionally available to everybody all the time. It may sound like I'm complaining, but I love my job and I love my responsibilities, but that's not to say that it comes at a cost. You're spending time away from family, from loved ones and from your home comforts. I suppose when you're also under that pressure, you know, sometimes you can question yourself of whether this is what's making you happy. But then you go on tour and you see in real time how your music changes people's lives, how it changes their moods, with tears strewn down their faces because they really care about what you do, what you have to say, how your music speaks to them. And you only have to read a couple of messages in the DMs where somebody says: ‘Rise’ helped me beat cancer; or ‘You are the reason’ was the song that I walked down the aisle to marry my best friend; ‘Flaws’ is a song that helped me get over my body dysmorphia; or ‘Bridges’ helped me through my depression – you know, anything like that just reminds me that I have to do this. I'm gonna go through my dark times as everybody else will, but many people are relying on me to help them through their dark times. And, you know, I wear that responsibility like a badge of honor. I love what I do and I love the people I serve.”