We interviewed Matt Cardle and here's what he said

By Louise
15 SEP
Category: Pop News
Read the comments

Matt Cardle is back, so we met up with him for a chat about his new album, his fans, and liking James Blunt... oh dear.

matt cardle

Gary Barlow wrote your new single Run For Your Life, did you feel honoured he was thinking about you?
Yeah! Especially the fact he’d pitched me a song that good. It was a gift! But he let me come in and just tweak the melody a bit – I did it my way.

What classic Take That song would you like to perform live?
If I had to do one, it’d be Back For Good.

Who else have you been working with on the album?
I’ve been working a lot with Eg White, he’s done a lot of stuff with Adele and James Morrison. He’s a genius, no two ways about it. We did four or five songs together; there’s All For Nothing, and Slowly, which closes the album. I also worked with James Walsh from Starsailor – I’m a huge fan of them. When I found out I had the chance to work with him, I was like, ‘Absolutely yes!’ I did a couple of tracks with Guy Chambers (Robbie Williams) too but they didn’t make it onto the album.

Did you meet Robbie Williams?
Yup! He came down to the Fountain Studios and gave me some really good advice about the industry – we email each other. He’s just been really supportive - such a great guy. He’s just finished his tour too so he’s been super busy.

Your music has all-round crossover appeal...
The album feels like an honest route for me to take; it’s from the heart. Sonically, the way the songs are produced is honest too. There’s some very poppy stuff on there, some rocky stuff, some soulful stuff – quite a mix.

What are Matt fanatics like?
The fans are great. I have people coming up to me who are like four, five, six… Well, not four because they don’t come out on their own, but I get people saying to me ‘Oh my daughter loves you, she’s only five!’ or ‘My grandma loves you, she’s 95!’ I guess what I was doing on X Factor appealed to that real mixed bag of people.

Was there pressure to get something out sharpish so people didn’t forget you?
Well, when it comes to that, I always reference James Blunt – no one really knew on a worldwide scale who he was, then he brought out You’re Beautiful - an amazing song by the way – and it went to Number One. I don’t think you necessarily need a profile before you release your record. Sure, you need a bit of build up, a bit of hype, but that’s the same for everyone. Even if you fade away into complete obscurity, if you come back with an amazing enough song, that’s all you need.