Beverley's Calum Scott on going from Britain’s Got Talent to partnering with Take That

The following year he released his version of the track which soared up the charts to number two and later appeared on his 2018 debut album Only Human, alongside singles You Are The Reason and What I Miss Most.

However, his 2021 collaboration with Belgian DJ Lost Frequencies on Where Are You Now saw him depart from his tried and tested piano-driven ballad style as it featured an electro-pop dance beat.

The leap paid off as it received a Brit nomination for best international song, going up against smash hits including Taylor Swift’s Anti-Hero and Beyonce’s Break My Soul, which took home the prize.

Amid producing a number of other club hits, including Whistle with DJ Jax Jones, Scott released his sophomore album Bridges in 2022 which returned to his trademark style.

“Not to pigeonhole myself, but I do love being the ballad guy, I love singing my ballads.

"Put me on stage with just a microphone and a piano and that’s my happy place,” admits the 34-year-old, who was born in Beverley, East Yorkshire.

The singer’s new solo single At Your Worst shows that he is ready to push his sound further as he pairs a pulsating beat with his warm vocals and honest lyricism.

“I think probably because of the work I’ve done with Jax Jones and Lost Frequencies and all these incredible artists on their projects, it’s sort of inspired a bit more versatility and a new way of writing and performing songs,” he muses.

“So when we went into the studio and were writing on this third album, I’ve had those experiences of touring, collaborations, and that’s influenced the songs I’m making for myself.”

Scott explains the track was inspired by a day in the studio when he was frustrated and taking it out on the wrong people.

“I was just getting a bit on top of myself about stuff and I just said ‘I know sometimes I can be difficult to love’ and the guy was like ‘Oh, say that again’ and started writing things down,” he recalls.

“I just said, ‘I know I can be difficult to love, I’m a sensitive boy and I’ve got my insecurities and I’m away a lot and it’s hard to maintain the relationships I’ve got’.

“And we started in that field for the writing and it ended up being a love letter to yourself, almost.

“‘I’m going to love you at your worst, I’m going to love you when you’re crippled with anxiety, or even if your worst is you’ve just got out of bed and you’ve not brushed your teeth yet and your hair’s a mess. If that’s your worst, then I’m going to love you through that as well’.

“And I think it’s nice because it’s a feelgood song and it can be as deep or as light-hearted as you want it to be. I just wanted to do something that showed a little bit more confidence.”

Alongside his collaborations, Scott has been building this belief in himself while touring the world in support of his second album, which has seen him perform more than 60 shows in countries across the UK, Europe, America, Asia, Oceania and South Africa.

“Being able to go around the world and have all these moments with people all across the world, it’s just been so magical,” he says.

“Because the audiences have lived with the album, and they’ve lived with the songs and they’ve soundtracked the songs to their lives in some way.

“So to all be stood there, singing the songs back to me, all individually having their own moments with the song and their own reason for loving the song so much, seeing all that happen in real time is my favourite thing.”

Scott also emphasises how Take That taking him under their wing has been a major source of his surging confidence of late.

He worked with the veteran pop group to rework their 2008 hit Greatest Day for their musical film, with the song being tweaked so Scott would duet with frontman Gary Barlow.

They later performed the new rendition at Windsor Castle for the King’s coronation celebration and during the band’s headline performance at the British Summer Time (BST) festival in London this summer.

“That was probably one of the most surreal moments of my career ever,” says Scott as he reflects on performing at the Coronation Concert.

“To sing in front of actual royalty at His Majesty’s coronation celebrations with pop royalty was the most surreal feeling.

“I just couldn’t believe it. I was looking and I was like ‘Oh my God, that’s the actual King of our country’ and then I look and I’m like ‘Oh, my God it’s actually Gary Barlow’.”

He adds: “Everything I’ve experienced and all the stuff I’ve done in those Lost Frequencies and Jax Jones and being back in mainstream media, I feel like I’m really secure in my place again.

“I just feel more confident and more content than I’ve probably ever been as an artist. It’s been a real amazing journey in the last 12 months.”

Calum Scott’s new single At Your Worst is out now.