Following months of speculation, Nathan Sykes, previously a member of chart topping band The Wanted, has announced his solo career in an exclusive cover feature for the highly respected style title Hunger TV.
Two years ago, hearts were broken when The Wanted announced they were shutting shop, but it didn’t take long before one or two them started to branch out on their own. We got these lovely underwear pictures from Max for one… But Nathan, the band’s cutie, has announced that he’s about to fly solo. In an exclusive interview with Hunger TV the singer shares all about his new work.
The high fashion, black and white shoot, sees Nathan take a new style direction in sharp designer looks from the likes of Burberry, Joseph and Zadig & Zoltaire as he speaks frankly on going solo, surprising people with his new sound, what fans both old and new can expect from his new record and staying grounded amidst the madness – exclusively revealing exciting news on working with some of the biggest producers and songwriters in the music industry, including Diane Warren, Babyface and Harmony Samuels.
Nathan gives details on going solo, and having the opportunity to be judged as an individual artist
“From being one fifth of a group to being a soloist, there is always the chance to surprise people as they are only now seeing 100% of me for the first time. It’s like a second, first impression and whereas I don’t necessarily think it’s important to change people’s perceptions, I do think it’s exciting that people won’t just see me as ‘the young one in The Wanted’ and can have the freedom to judge me as an individual and not just ‘that bloke from that band’.”
On what fans can expect to hear from the debut single and album
“I’m not going to be one of the those people who tries to claim they are not making pop music when they actually are so whereas parts of my sound may not be traditional straight down the line pop music or the pop music people heard from The Wanted, I’m still classing this as a pop album.
“I have tried to make something for everyone and have elements of soul, funk, Motown, dance, straight down the line commercial pop, some more stripped back acoustic tracks and there are a couple of piano ballads on there as well. I just wanted to make an album that people can really enjoy.”
On working with huge US producers and songwriters Diane Warren, Babyface and Harmony Samuels
“I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the best producers in the industry. At the start of the process I made a list of dream producers and song writers I would love to work with which included Harmony Samuels, Babyface and Diane Warren, all of whom wanted to work with me, which was amazing.”
“Having already worked with Harmony on the track ‘Almost is Never Enough’ with Ariana Grande, he really helped me create the sound and he’s now the Executive Producer on the album and together we have created some of my favourite tracks on the album.”
“Working with Diane Warren and Babyface were two of the most surreal days of my life. There is never a dull moment with Diane and she is one of my favourite people on the planet and the session with Babyface produced probably the most honest and emotional song I’ve ever written.”
On how he stays grounded despite having such a big fan base, including over 1.6 million Twitter followers
“I’m quite a guarded person anyway and can be quite quiet at times but I have always had a great relationship with the fans and I’m looking forward to keeping that going with both old and new fans. After travelling, being on the road and recording in LA, always going back to family in Gloucester makes it quite easy to keep grounded amongst the madness.”
Nathan’s debut single is out this spring and the album will be out later this year.
