Curtain Call Track by Track

[Intro]
Hello and welcome to my commentary for my debut album, Curtain Call. Over the next twenty minutes, I'm gonna take you through every single track on the album, giving you all the reasons as to why we chose them and any anecdotes of the recording or writing process. So sit back, go grab a cup of tea, a coffee, packet of biscuits, and let's go through my debut album together

[Writing's on the Wall]
So the first song on my album, of course, has to be "Writing's on the Wall". This song marks the beginning of it all. It was my first ever appearance on TV wherе I, I stepped out of Britain's Got Talent in 2022 in my massivеly-oversized grey suit, coming just off a day of teaching. And I stood there, very nervous, wasn't really sure what the outcome was going to be, and I got to sing one of the most iconic Bond songs of all time, "Writing's on the Wall". That marked the beginning of this entire incredible journey that I've been on. Moments that I never would have dreamed of happening before, all because of this incredible song. So I can't think of a better way of starting my first debut album than going back to where it all started, "Writing's on the Wall"

[Feeling Good]
From Britain's Got Talent in 2022, "Writing's on the Wall" and "Rise Like a Phoenix", the moments that really launched me into this new, incredible career. All the way to Britain's Got Talent 2023 where I reappeared as a special guest performer as Noodle the Cat, the wonderfully-animated, uh, absolute legend of a character that gave me the opportunity to go back to my home, back to the Palladium, and back onto the TV. Uh, and I got to sing one of the songs that has been in my life for as long as I can remember. When I first started to find my voice, I was singing "Feeling Good". I remember singing it at, uh, school competitions, recitals, and, and any opportunity I can, and in fact, I still sing it to this day for every single soundcheck that I do for any show. It is my go-to comfort song and so to have the opportunity to sing that on TV and now having it as my second track on the album means such a lot to me. I hope you really enjoy it

[The Best Part]
So this fun and positively positive song is my first original on the album, written in early 2023. It's a song all about that universal feeling we've all had at one point in our life. Missing a loved one, missing someone dear to us. And after life changed completely, I've been so lucky to travel the world and have the chance to perform at some truly incredible, beautiful venues to amazing audiences. But every single adventure comes with its challenges and for me that was wanting my wonderful, incredible wife, Hannah, to join me on these adventures, to be with me. And I was definitely missing her, something I know we can all relate to. So I wanna dedicate this song, and I want you to listen to this song whenever you're missing that someone, or send them this song whenever you're missing them to know that the best part is yet to come

[Stand by Me]
"Stand by Me" is my next song on the album and it has been a part of my life since childhood. I remember it playing in the car, around the house, on holidays. My mum would always play us these incredible songs over and over again, they'd become such a part of our life, and "Stand by Me" was one of those songs. So while recording, we felt that something was missing. We wanted it to be a beautiful song sung for everyone and so we decided we needed a choir. Not just any choir, the best choir the UK had to offer. So in the early December 2023, I launched a search to find the UK's best choir and we got so many incredible submissions. The decision process was really difficult, but there was one choir that stood out to me. I was currently, uh, away doing work in Bali in Indonesia and I was sitting next to my incredible manager, Jay, and I played this choir and I think within the first ten seconds, I knew and Jay knew that they were the ones. So I'm so honored to have the Inner Voices on this track who absolutely elevate this song to a whole new level

[Bring Him Home]
"Bring Him Home" is arguably the most personal and significant song on the album for me. This haunting melody is from the beautiful musical Les Mis and it is the show that ignited my love of music and musical theater, something I would drive all my energy into from a very young age all the way up into university and still to this day have a massive love of musical theater. Les Mis was my musical and still is. It's a musical me and my mum would listen to every single day from the way home from primary school. We'd listen to the original cast recording of Les Mis. Uh, she used to put me in the back of her car and we'd sing along and, um, I'd go on to perform this musical in amateur dramatics societies about five times. Hopefully you're, you're understanding quite how significant this musical was and it is my dream to perform "Bring Him Home" on the West End stage one day. So this song had to be in the album, but I wanted to make it new, I wanted to make it my own, and I really, really feel like we have done that. It's my favorite song to sing so I really hope you enjoy my version of "Bring Him Home"

[Goodbye]
This original duet was an absolute pleasure to write and it stands out as one of the highlights of creating the entire album. It was a writing session between myself, Jay James, and Mike Stevens, two absolute incredible and inspirational songwriters and musicians. This song tells the story of a couple who have fallen out of love, one of who, who, who has completely given up on the relationship, and the other that wants them to keep fighting for them, for them to work it out. But clearly throughout the duration of the song you hear the breakdown of communication and you're left unsure of the resolution of this relationship. And it gives me the biggest honor to have the duet partner of Lucie Jones, an absolute sensational singer, performer, and, and person. One of the biggest names on the West End and to have her on my album means so, so very much so thank you Lucie for joining me to bring this song and story to life

[Let Me Live]
When I first signed the record deal, I had the opportunity to go to some incredible studios to do some songwriting with some incredible songwriters and this next song called "Let Me Live" happened to be my first experience of songwriting. I pitched up to a studio in London, really not knowing what I was about to undertake, it was my first session writing with other people. And I met the one, the only Matthew Nolan who put me at ease straight away and made the whole process so enjoyable and easy. Uh, this particular song has a really personal meaning for me. I knew I wanted to write a song around this topic and I'm so pleased that it, it came out as well as it did and the fact it ended up on the album. This song is about one of the biggest challenges I live with every single day and I will continue to live with currently forever. Of course, I'm talking about my Type 1 diabetes. For those of you who aren't aware, I am Type 1 diabetic. I have been since the age of 8 and it is something I haven't spoken very publicly about until I appeared on Britain's Got Talent and became a Diabetes UK ambassador. I, I wanted to write a song that gave me power over the condition that very often has control over me. And I know this song can be related to so many other situations, conditions, and moments in people's lives so I really hope this song resonates with you

[Can't Help Falling in Love]
"Can't Help Falling in Love" happens to be one of my wife's favorite songs, it has been since the day I met her. I remember one anniversary, I bought her a little, wooden music box that when you turned it, played this very song. This was years before Britain's Got Talent, years before the conception of the album. And so to have the opportunity to put it in the album as a little dedication to my wife really means a lot and I know, and I hope, it means a lot to Hannah as well. When we were recording the music video for "I (Who Have Nothing)", we had this incredible, uh, string quartet and a grand piano and we were between takes, we were just waiting for maybe a, a lighting change or a, a camera change, I can't quite remember. But we spontaneously started playing this song. I think it started with Andy on the piano just, just playing the chords, I started to sing, and the, the strings came in. And in that moment, Jay decided to record it. We listened back to it about a week later and we knew that that arrangement had to be on the album. So I dedicate this song to Hannah and I really hope you enjoy it

[Seize the Day]
During the heat of songwriting for the album, I had the opportunity to write with one of the greats, Eliot Kennedy, at his studio in Sheffield. A moment I will never forget, it was a beautiful day of laughter and fun and you can definitely hear that in the final recording. It is a feel-good song that any time I listen to it, I can't help but smile, and I hope you do the same. I wanted to write a song to tell the story of me as a teacher becoming a recording artist and all the life lessons and experiences that I have felt all packaged up in an upbeat song. So take a listen, enjoy, have a little bit of a dance and, uh, I hope you enjoy it

[Winter Song]
This next song was released as my first Christmas single in December of 2023. It's called "Winter Song" and it is a song for the entire winter season. It encapsulates everything I hold dearest about that magical time. And when writing in Sheffield with Eliot, he played me this power ballad, asking me if it was something I'd like to record, and I jumped at the chance. I just knew it was a song that I wanted to sing. It was only then that he revealed to me that it was actually written by him and six-time Ivor Novello-winning Gary Barlow which, of course, only made me want to record it even more. They said that they were waiting for the right voice for their song and I am so honored that that happened to be my voice. So I hope you enjoy it, listen to it every single year when it comes around, and it gets you in that Christmas-y winter mood

[Home Again]
So this is my last original song and I'm so happy to have it as my penultimate song for the entire album. This song flowed out of me one Friday morning in the early months of 2023. I remember waking up, Hannah was lying next to me, and I just knew I had to write the song. I had the lyrics in my head, I had the melody in my head, and I had to go downstairs and put it down on a recording. So I did, it was 2 a.m., I went downstairs, and I think I had a finished draft sent over to management by 3 a.m. It only took me about an hour to get this out of me before I could finally go back to bed. It is a song to stop, breathe, and reflect. And it's one of my favorite moments performing this song live because I sit behind the piano, everything else fades away, and I focus on a song that I adore singing and has such an incredible meaning for me. I really hope you enjoy it

[I (Who Have Nothing)]
My last track on the album, but it was my first single release announcing the album. Of course, I'm talking about "I (Who Have Nothing)". We started the whole album with "Writing's on the Wall", my first appearance on TV, and we're finishing it with "I (Who Have Nothing)", the last song I sung on that time on Britain's Got Talent. A song that, for me, made all of this possible. From that moment, I got invited to go sing with Michael Ball at the iconic London Palladium and that evening, I met my manager and my whole new and exciting career just took off. It all seems to come back to that night on TV, singing the epic and Bond-like love song. And I knew I wanted this song on the album from day one. I'm so happy to have it as my last track and it's the perfect way to finish my debut album

[Outro]
So I guess the last thing to say is thank you. Thank you to every single one of you for supporting me and allowing me to live my dream. It has been the most incredible two years and by purchasing my album, coming to see me on tour, it allows me to do this for as long as I possibly can. So I hope you listen to this album for many, many years to come and thank you so much again. Take care. So much love