I could've gone rootsy or go pop but I thought, ‘F*** it I'm going to give pop stardom a real go, says Tom Grennan

Scottish Sun

2 days ago

The singer says he's done a lot of growing up in the past few years and you can hear it on the most revealing album of his career
'AIMING HIGH' I could've gone rootsy or go pop but I thought, 'F*** it I'm going to give pop stardom a real go, says Tom Grennan
TOM GRENNAN has turned heartbreak, hard lessons, and his mum's wisdom into the most revealing album of his career.
It was his mum who told him his sensitivity was his superpower.
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Tom Grennan lays his feelings bare on his new album
Credit: Supplied
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Tom has turned heartbreak and hard lessons into the most revealing record of his career
The down-to-earth singer from Bedford lays his feelings bare on his new album, the aptly titled Everywhere I Went, Led Me to Where I Didn't Want to Be.
'I've luckily had a mum, who has always seen the sensitive side of me and told me to never shy away from it,' he says. 'My mum is the best. She is like an angel, and my rock.'
We meet in Brighton, where he's preparing for an intimate acoustic album launch at the city's Chalk venue. Outside, fans — mostly young women — have already been queuing for hours.
It's no surprise though as following the success of his previous albums, his most recent two — Evering Road (2021) and What Ifs And Maybes (2023) — both crashed in at the top of the UK album charts.
Now age 30 the singer says he's done a lot of growing up in the past few years and you can hear it on his fourth album which Grennan says was an 'intense period of three months of writing'.
He says: 'I literally had to face my demons head on, and revisit things as well and have the acknowledgement of who I was and who I don't want to be. And my mum was one of the people who made me see it was OK to wear my heart on my sleeve.'
He smiles and says: 'I'm comfortable being me now.
'I'm always battling against myself'
'I have a good fanbase and I've always made albums that have different colours and sounds in them.
"So, for this one I sat down with my producer, Justin Tranter, and we talked and talked. He was really on board with the music I wanted to make and the message I wanted to put out.
'I could've gone rootsy, where I started, or go more pop. And I thought, 'F*** it. I'm going to give being a pop star a real go'.
Tom Grennan surprises fans at local Tesco store
'I wanted to make anthemic songs which were still the essence of me — I'm a deep thinker. And I've done that. I've made songs which you can have a dance to or you can sit and relate to them.'
Shadowboxing was the first of the album's songs to get things moving for the singer.
'It's probably not my favourite song on the record, but it's got a story that really shaped and was the DNA of the record,' he explains.
'I was like, cool. This is the lane I'm in now. This is where my vision is and this is where I'm going. And I got to work with some of the biggest songwriters in the world, and they understood my vision.'
This first release also influenced the artwork for his album cover which shows an overhead view of a boxing ring where two versions of Grennan appear to be fighting each other.
"One wears blue shorts, the other has red gloves, suggesting a confrontation between different versions of himself.
He says: 'That's why the front cover is what it is. I'm always having that battle against myself and I think I always will have it.
'Revisiting things and having to acknowledge who I was and who I don't want to be from the ages of 21 to 29 was tough.
'I have an addictive personality so with drinking, if I have a drink now I see a glimpse of who I don't want to be.
'All I'm looking for is peace of mind. For a long time, I felt like I was drowning whereas now I just need to keep treading water. This album revisits all the emotions in me, who I am and who I'm not.
Boys Don't Cry was another song where Grennan dug deep emotionally and was written after he met up with his oldest mates from home.
'That song came after a liberating conversation between friends about 18 months ago,' he explains.
'There's still a stigma about men and feelings'
'I went back to Bedford, and, as a friendship group, we probably had the most adult conversation we've ever had about being men and having feelings.
'I'm from a working-class town and a working-class background and my friendship group are boisterous lads. We've never ever spoken about actual emotions or cried in front of each other, unless somebody died.
'We were talking about the sh*t we were all going through and how it affected us, and it was the first time we'd ever opened up like that.
"We all went, 'Wow! Why didn't we ever speak about this when we were younger? It would have brought us closer as friends' — even though we're tight anyway.
'The idea for Boys Don't Cry stemmed from that. There is still a stigma about men and feelings.
'London is different — everybody is who they want to be and not afraid to show it — but when you leave London and visit little towns in England, they are still very behind the times. A lot of my friends are still in these towns.
I had to reflect and understand how sometimes you think you're going to be best friends forever but unfortunately people change
Tom Grennan
'I come from a building background — my dad is a builder — and if you go on to a building site and even sniffle, you're looked at as being weak.
"It's like football — in the changing room, you can't show weakness. Man up, and all that kind of stuff.'
The theme of friendship also runs through the next track, Somewhere Only We Go, which reflects on how relationships can change over time and the impact that can have.
Grennan says: 'I had to reflect and understand how sometimes you think you're going to be best friends forever but unfortunately people change.
'I had to accept that I've changed and so have some friends and if either of you holds a grudge or if there's anger then you have to let go of it — it's the first step towards peace of mind.
'Somewhere Only We Go is that story about me and a friend and being able to let go of a friendship and that change is a part of your journey.
"That song is saying that one day I hope we can go back to the place that only we know. Thankfully, we are friends again now. He's had kids and they change you.'
A big part of Grennan's life now is his fitness and sobriety, along with his wife, Italian Pilates instructor Danniella Carraturo, who he married on Majorca last year.
'Talking therapy helps. I'm so hard on myself'
'My fitness has saved me,' says Grennan proudly who completed the 2024 London Marathon in an impressive three hours 45 minutes, tackled the London T100 Triathlon the same year, and finished the Ironman 70.3 in Marbella last November.
He says: 'I got into Hyrox [an indoor fitness competition] before it was Hyrox, so I've done a few of them.
'I've also done some triathlons and then Iron Man. I've had an injury this year — I tore a tendon in my foot and not been able to train the way I'd like to. I have got an Iron Man booked for October and then I'm doing the New York Marathon.
'Cool With That is about how me and my wife met, and that feeling of euphoria and that feeling of, 'Wow! Nothing else really matters. And I am cool, because I am with her'.
He adds: 'My wife has been a great influence on my sobriety. The way my brain is tuned is I can't sit there and enjoy a glass of wine. It's like I'm drinking to get hammered.
'Being married is the coolest thing and my wedding was amazing — you get to be with your best mate and have everybody who loves you there at a big party to celebrate.
'My wife looked a million dollars and I was blown away by her beauty — I'm very lucky.
'But I'm definitely on the right road. And talking therapy helps me.
"At first I thought I didn't need it but I've started speaking to somebody frequently and I've realised there's beauty in speaking and in humbleness.
'And I'm understanding that I am a nice person and I'm not all bad, but in my head, I think I'm bad — I'm so hard on myself.'
Grennan has also been opening up on his BBC podcast You About? with Roman Kemp.
'Roman is a very, very, very lovely boy,' he says smiling. 'He's smart and genuine. And I think me and him, we've been mates, and we got the opportunity to do a podcast together.
My dreams are to be able to do this for a very long time. Wembley Stadium has always been in the forefront of my mind
Tom Grennan
'I don't really have many friends in this celebrity world. Like, I'm not that person who goes looking for that. He's probably one of few that I'd chill with, outside of all this sh*t.
'The podcast has gone really well. It's just two boys having a chat about the things and sometimes that goes deep. Nah. Me and him, we chat daily.'
Next month Grennan kicks off his arena tour, which he is looking forward to. Though he's got his eyes on stadiums.
He says: 'My dreams are to be able to do this for a very long time. Wembley Stadium has always been in the forefront of my mind. I'd love to be able to say that I sold out Wembley Stadium at one point in my life.
'I went to see Oasis there recently and I saw something special happen that night. I was like, 'Wow! This is going to be hard to beat by anybody'. It was emotional. Men were f**ing crying — it was cool.
'Wembley Stadium is a dream of mine. You have to always keep aiming high as when you get comfortable, you've lost it. I'm always striving to do better, and I have the biggest ambitions to where I see this going.
'I just want to keep making music — good music and hopefully have a long career. Longevity is my mantra.'
Everywhere I Went, Led Me to Where I Didn't Want to Be is out today.
TOM GRENNAN
Everywhere I Went Led Me to Where I Didn't Want to Be
★★★★☆