Latest news with #Piscean
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
And Mysore pak be like, aiyyo, what did I do?
Radhika has been writing since her college days and has contributed short witty articles to magazines and regional English newspapers. She is a humour blogger and has just published her first e-book of humorous short stories. She is a Piscean which puts her in league with Daniel Craig, and others. Like most Pisceans she is amiable, imaginative and a dreamer - that probably explains the Daniel Craig bit. She could go on about herself forever but she prefers her writing to do the talking. LESS ... MORE So much of pak, pak, pak-ing going on, I tell you! All for a name! That too half of it! And to top it all – a name which has already been changed from its original, to suit the pronunciation standards of people who have no clue how to say it properly! A sweet dish from down south has just been dragged under the microscope for no fault of its own. People from Karnataka recently woke up to the news that their favourite sweet Mysore pak has just been re-named as Mysore shree! Shrieeeeek! Whyyyy? The poor thing was simply minding its own business since donkey's years, in hideous shades of yellow, orange and brown in sweet stalls around the country and suddenly someone thinks its name reminds them of the neighbouring country! Ouch! Who would ever have thought that a dastardly act of terror unleashed in the north of the country would bring about a re-christening, somewhere in the west of the country of a sweet which originated from the south of the country! What a web of convoluted tangles we live in. So, let me tell you a story. A real one. Once upon a time, fairly long ago … ok, in the early 20th C, for those insisting on a time frame, there lived a king – Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, of Mysore. Working in the smoky depths of his large royal kitchen was his talented royal cook, Kakasura Madappa, whose job it was to cook up innovative dishes for the royal dining table. One day, running short of ideas of what to serve, the ingenious chef put his mind to work, and had an aha moment when he put together some gram flour, equal amounts of sugar, unhealthy amounts of pure ghee, and what bubbled up at him from a deep cauldron was a frothy, buttery, melt-in-the-mouth bit of heaven, which he then cut into small rectangle pieces and had them dispatched to the king, on a golden platter. The king, on tasting just a bit of the thing, was instantly transported to paradise and back. Reeling from the heady feeling as if celestial dancers had just done a mesmerising jig on his tongue, he summoned the cook forthwith and asked him, 'Yenappa Madappa, yen idhu adhbutha sihi baksha?' Oi, dude Madappa, what is this amazing sweet? To which the latter, not having had time to give a name to his invention, thought fast on his feet and came up with, 'Mysore paka!' And I like to imagine that he was immediately rewarded with a gold chain from the king's neck. Thus, my friends, was born that most famed sweet from Mysuru, the royal state of Karnataka, a royal sweet that has travelled across the country and far beyond. In its different avatars – the soft, moist, drenched-in-ghee version which slides down your throat like ghee on a hot spoon, or the dry crunchy version with tiny moon-like craters on it, it has withstood the winds of change around the country, and stood strong and proud as Karnataka's gift to the world, a sweet made with and named after the sticky sugar syrup referred to as paaka or paka in Kannada. Point to be noted, m'lord! And now some over-zealous restaurant owner decides to demonstrate his patriotism through an innocuous item on his menu card. Just because the poor guy and many other guys like him are not aware that we southies (unlike the rest of the country who chop off the tail end of words abruptly), like to add a little sing-song alaap to the end of our words and thus Kannad is actually Kannada and Karnatak is really Karnataka! And as for Mysore pak? Definitely not shree, puhleese! All ye movers and shree'kers … just add an aaa to pak and I promise the poor sweet won't remind you of that country, ever! In the meantime, can we chill and have some mysore paka and hot pak-oras please? I would like some chai too, but somehow, it reminds me of China! And we can't have that now, can we? Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Jab they met, in the Met Gala wash room!
Radhika has been writing since her college days and has contributed short witty articles to magazines and regional English newspapers. She is a humour blogger and has just published her first e-book of humorous short stories. She is a Piscean which puts her in league with Daniel Craig, and others. Like most Pisceans she is amiable, imaginative and a dreamer - that probably explains the Daniel Craig bit. She could go on about herself forever but she prefers her writing to do the talking. LESS ... MORE Now that the much-talked about Met gala event is done and dusted with and all who attended it are out of their outlandish outfits and back in their comfortable old night gowns, let me share my 2 cents on it. And why should I not? My Fb feed has been bombarded for the past month or so, with unwanted information on exactly how our own SRK has been preparing for it and why should I suffer alone? For the uninitiated, the Met Gala is an annual gathering of the who's who of celebrities from various walks of life, who converge on the red carpet in Manhattan, in bizarre outfits, one more bizarre than the next. It is touted as the world's most glamourous event, after my son's wedding, that is! Fine, fine, after the Ambani wedding, ok! Happy? Invitations to this fashion's biggest night are highly sought after and you and I will never get one anyway, so let's just have fun bitching about it. This year India's fashion and glamour world went into a tizzy with the debut appearance of King Khan on the red carpet, and thanks to my FB feed, I am up to date with the tiniest teeniest detail on SRK's iconic look designed by no less a personage than the celebrity dresser Sabyasachi Mukherjee himself. SRK owned the red carpet, according to reliable sources. Owned as in, he rocked it, and not that he brought his own carpet from his house. Just clarifying! Apparently, the Khan was clothed in an all-black ensemble – consisting of a floor length coat made from Tasmanian superfine wool paired with a black silk shirt and black tailored trousers. He axes … asaxx … uff tauba, let me start over, he accessorized it with a layered talisman, a crystal studded 'K' pendant, a diamond brooch and an 18 K gold cane … wait, was it chain? No, cane it is – a gold Bengal tiger-head cane! Hmmm … add a black eye patch and he would have nailed the pirate look, in my opinion. Eyewitnesses report that his Rs 21 crore watch had its own fan following at the show. Complication watch, indeed. Arre baba … according to me, the entire outfit seemed to be a complication. But who am I to comment? If Ms Anna Vincour approves, then there's nothing more to be said! Now, you may well ask, who might this Vincour female be? Well, Mama Vincour is the grande dame of the magazine Vogue, and she's in charge of orchestrating the whole event. According to reports, it's all in her hands as to who enters the event on which side of the red carpet and when; who will sit where and next to whom and so on. And if you think one can simply hop onto a plane and land directly on the carpet, think again. The entry ticket for this Met Gala event is a whopping 75,000 US dollars, excluding GST, and chai-paani too, I guess. Now, you will obviously ask, and so you should, what is this glamour-shamour tamasha for … what is it in aid of. Well, it's a … hold your breath folks, it's a fund raiser in aid of … hold your breath one more time, dears … it's in aid of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in Manhattan. Don't tell me you've never heard of this Institute. Well, join the club, I never heard of it either, until now. Meanwhile, a fun fact – the event has a no-selfie rule and to counter this some celeb regulars have started the annual tradition of taking a selfie in the Metropolitan bathroom, yes you heard it right, the wash room, the WC, the His and Hers part of the museum and believe it or not, it's a prestigious thing, to be seen in that selfie! Now we know why we cannot have a gala event in our country. Can you imagine our celebs posing for a selfie in any of our stinking, blocked, wet, hell-hole of a wash room in India? We dare not pee in one, forget taking a selfie! Hah! Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Pisces, Weekly Horoscope, May 4 to May 10, 2025: Curiosity, Creativity, and Flourishing Connections
Pisces, your week begins with eager curiosity on Sunday, 4th May—ideal for planning leisure outings or creative pursuits with family. Monday (5th) shines on academic and romantic fronts: students absorb lessons with keen interest, lovers discover unexpected delight, and entrepreneurs make key decisions with confidence. Your health feels robust, fueling both study marathons and passionate endeavors. Tuesday (6th May) continues this momentum: educational achievements and work successes earn recognition, while family or social functions bring joy. Business expansions and athletic honors may land in your lap, amplifying your sense of possibility. Read Also: Pisces Daily Horoscope | Pisces Weekly Horoscope | Pisces Monthly Horoscope Thursday (8th May) offers a shift to leisure and romance: family picnics delight, unmarried Pisceans receive heartfelt proposals, and lovers bask in affectionate gestures. Yet the day also demands health mindfulness—steer clear of rich or unfamiliar foods to avoid digestive upsets. Friday (9th May) brightens again: spouse or partner becomes your strongest ally, studies advance smoothly, and business opportunities with new collaborators emerge. Savings thrive while speculation remains ill-advised—embrace steady growth. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo Saturday (10th May) rounds out your week with relational and legal blessings: proposals and property deals gain traction, in-law support enriches your finances, and children exhibit courage in their endeavors. Students must still buckle down, but results promise to reward diligence. Keep an eye on minor health signals—rest when needed, and maintain balanced meals. By weaving high-energy days with cautionary pauses, you craft a week of both joy and steady progress. Love and Relationships Piscean hearts swell early in the week. Monday's lucky alignment for lovers ignites sweet exchanges; if you've been waiting to express your feelings, the stars now favor vulnerability. Partners share affectionate support, and singles may find a connection blossoming in academic or social circles. Tuesday's upbeat atmosphere sustains this romance: joyous gatherings provide the perfect backdrop for playful interaction and deepened emotional bonds. Thursday transforms your love sector into a romantic haven: plan a picnic or an intimate outing that celebrates both comfort and novelty. Offer thoughtful gifts—handwritten notes or meaningful tokens resonate deeply now. Weekend proposals and property discussions gain momentum on Saturday; if marriage or cohabitation has been on your mind, laying these foundations now feels both practical and inspired. Throughout, balance Pisces's dreamy idealism with grounded communication—open honesty seals the deepest bonds. Education and Career Your innate curiosity drives academic and professional gains early on. Monday's focus in studies delivers breakthroughs, while service-oriented roles proceed with confidence. Businesspersons can make decisive moves, and competitors in exams find the clarity to excel. Tuesday echoes these successes: presentations, meetings, and sporting events all favor you, bringing medals, honors, or positive feedback. Wednesday's vigilance reminds you to protect intellectual property and confidential strategies—avoid volunteering your plans to casual acquaintances. If you're preparing for tests, concentrate on accuracy and avoid last-minute cramming that increases stress. Thursday's leisure vibe still permits subtle progress: tackling creative projects or research from a relaxed setting sparks fresh insights. Combine study sessions with gentle breaks to maintain momentum without burnout. Friday's dual focus on partnership and learning yields networking gold: mentors and collaborators surface, offering guidance that cements your career trajectory. Saturday's flurry of proposals may include business mergers or property acquisitions; ensure all legal and logistical details align before signing. Students finalizing course selections should verify prerequisites and deadlines to avoid missteps. This blend of focus, discretion, and strategic networking propels you toward long-term success. Money and Finance Monday's promising outlook for students and lovers also extends to your purse: a major decision for business or investment now carries extra potency. Monday and Tuesday bring notable inflows—bonuses, honoraria, or stipends—that enhance both enjoyment and security. Yet Wednesday's cautionary message about hidden opponents applies equally to financial matters: protect your assets, avoid high-risk speculation, and confirm all contractual terms before proceeding. Thursday invites measured leisure spending—picnics and outings cost money but yield emotional dividends. Keep these expenses within a preset budget to prevent overshoot. Friday's partner-powered segment offers co-investment opportunities; discuss joint ventures only after aligning on goals and risk tolerance. Saturday's property and in-law-assisted deals can augment your long-term portfolio; consult a financial advisor or trusted elder to verify feasibility. By combining bold decisions with protective measures, you'll cultivate both growth and resilience in your finances. Health and Well-Being Pisces's sensitivity underpins your health narrative this week. Monday and Tuesday's high energy support robust activity—engage in sports, long study sessions, or creative workshops with confidence. However, Wednesday's hidden-enemy caution signals minor health vulnerabilities; watch for signs of stress, such as headaches or digestive discomfort, and honor your body's call for rest. Thursday's picnic and leisure activities refresh both mind and body, but stay mindful of food hygiene and balanced nutrition to avoid unexpected ailments. Saturday's flurry of proposals might tempt late nights; ensure you complete your week with restorative sleep, gentle stretching, and nourishing meals. By balancing dynamic pursuits with attentive self-care, you'll emerge from this week feeling centered, inspired, and ready for whatever lies ahead. Discover everything about astrology at the Times of India , including daily horoscopes for Aries , Taurus , Gemini , Cancer , Leo , Virgo , Libra , Scorpio , Sagittarius , Capricorn , Aquarius , and Pisces .
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Thinker tailor doctor lawyer, teacher banker Indian beggar!
Radhika has been writing since her college days and has contributed short witty articles to magazines and regional English newspapers. She is a humour blogger and has just published her first e-book of humorous short stories. She is a Piscean which puts her in league with Daniel Craig, and others. Like most Pisceans she is amiable, imaginative and a dreamer - that probably explains the Daniel Craig bit. She could go on about herself forever but she prefers her writing to do the talking. LESS ... MORE The other day, the husband and I dressed in our Sunday best, booked an Ola and sallied forth for a luncheon date with our sambandhis in Bangalore. The cab halted at a traffic signal and I idly watched as a panhandler weaved his way dexterously amidst the traffic holding his begging bowl in front of him. The pan seemed to be empty and a faint stirring of sympathy began surging up within me. 'Poor fellow,' I remarked to the husband, 'must be having a rough day at work.' But before the feeling could take over my entire being and make me open my purse strings, the man came by our window and then I saw it. A mid-sized chart, with a QR code on it, dangling from his neck. Scan to pay, it informed prospective alms-givers! Aha! The husband and I, we nodded our heads appreciatively. Way to go! If a country's progress is determined by how its beggars beg, then our country is right on top. Our beggars have gone digital. And professional too, if you go by the newspaper article of a couple of months back on India's richest beggar – Bharat Jain, with a net worth of approximately 7.5 crores gained primarily through begging. With his income of over 40 years of begging away, the man now owns 2 flats, a stationary shop and 2 other shops, all in Mumbai, that real estate gold mine, mind you! This out of the box entrepreneur is quoted as saying that he still continues to beg despite his wealth, because, well … he enjoys begging. Finally, we meet someone who actually loves his job! More than can be said about the majority of people, what say! Makes me think that beggars can be choosers after all! And to validate this point, there was this one time, when a supposed beggar clanged the gate of my parents' home in Ambalpady, Udupi and begged for alms. Amma, normally a generous woman but a no-nonsense one, looked the young man over critically and told him severely to stop begging and 'go do some work … you are young, able-bodied and with all your limbs intact,' I remember her saying. The beggar in his turn, looked at amma and said in tones loud enough to carry over half the colony, 'Madam, if you want to give alms, give, don't give lecture!' While amma gaped at him, for the first time without a suitable comeback, the young man sauntered off, to try his luck elsewhere, presumably. And while we're on the topic, I'm still searching for that man who coined that phrase in the first place – beggars can't be choosers indeed! If I meet him, I have a thing or two to say to him. Where was he when I was accosted unceremoniously at the Udupi bus stand by a robust woman with a child dangling precariously at her hip? She came at me with her arm out-stretched and I gave her a generous sum. Generous by my standards, obviously, because the next thing I know, the female follows me around town tugging at my sleeve and whining in an embarrassingly shrill tone. Till date, I am unable to understand if she was asking for more money, food, clothes, milk powder … she could have been begging me to adopt that bawling baby of hers for all I know! I didn't wait to find out but jumped agilely into a passing auto which bore me off to safety. That was one beggar who very clearly wasn't too excited at what she got. Begging your pardon, but I wonder if that QR code thingy would have helped in such a situation! Anonymity, undisclosed sum at source and all that! It certainly begs the question, doesn't it! Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
The Independent
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
James Arthur: ‘I've never had to kiss arse – I got here on merit'
I don't know if you're going to be strong enough to deal with the monster that the industry can be,' The X Factor mentor Nicole Scherzinger told her 24-year-old charge James Arthur in 2012. It did seem unlikely. Throughout that ninth series, Arthur was the saddest man you've ever seen. He didn't want to go back to the bedsit he couldn't afford, he just wanted to perform raspy but technically pristine pop-rock versions of anything from Frankie Valli's 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' to LMFAO's 'Sexy and I Know It' to live and televised audiences. Even when he won the show, and was piled on by his fellow contestants to joyfully celebrate with him, only the tiniest of smiles escaped. But the morose, shy singer did have the strength to endure more than Scherzinger and viewers expected – specifically the many controversies in which he embroiled himself. When I meet the 37-year-old at a hotel restaurant in Soho, he approaches in a trucker hat and huge jacket that cocoon and enlarge him, making him seem taller than his 6ft 3in. Once he's seated, Arthur's cornflower blue doll's eyes rarely make comfortable contact with mine. 'I'm a very, very sensitive person I think. But I was tough. I am tough. I'm resilient, I think is the word for me,' the 'Say You Won't Let Go' singer tells me. Arthur gravitated towards Pisces as a name for his new tortured emo-rap-meets-pop-rock album because he relates to the astrological sign, he says. He felt it explained him; just as when he received his ADHD diagnosis a few years ago. He's 'caught between reality and fantasy' (very Piscean), he notes, although also 'a fighter, ready to scrap' (not very Piscean at all, in fact). 'I'm a bit of a loner or sort of an independent thinker,' he adds, in his broad North East accent. It probably comes from 'abandonment issues. I've always felt that way. It's just that I have quite extreme feelings.' Arthur's life growing up on the North Yorkshire coast was fragmented. After his parents separated, Arthur was 'bats*** poor', living in a two-bedroom house shared with his mother and two siblings. His mother's new partner – whom she met when Arthur was nine – got a job offer in Bahrain, so they all moved there. 'Working-class Redcar is a lot different to the Middle East,' he stresses. ' I got ripped at school. People were like, 'Oh, you're moving to the desert and you're going to be friends with camels.'' It turned out to be a revelatory and nurturing experience. The class sizes were small at his expat school and he benefited from the extra attention. When his mother got divorced after a couple of years and Arthur and his family had to return to the UK, he felt alienated from his peers, possessed of a different worldview. 'I'd lived in a place where it was predominantly white people, and they were all pretty chavvy. Whenever I saw any form of racism that really affected me. I had Black friends or brown friends and I'd been around a lot of Muslim people. In the North East, the attitudes towards those people was really bad. And so I ended up getting in a few scraps because of that.' He describes the school he returned to in the UK as rough. His family was poor again. It felt like 'coming back down to earth with a thud'. Though his Middle Eastern adventure was beneficial, he thinks it was a catalyst for everything difficult that came afterwards, so many of his problems in life, even his striving for fame, 'because maybe I got a taste of what a better life could be like'. He tells me this as a fancy oat latte in a glass beaker inside a silver goblet is presented to him by a waitress. He hesitates over how to drink it, nudging at it self-consciously, like Paddington Bear might. Then he offers me the biscuit that comes with it, because he's on a diet. 'I'm overweight, yeah… BMI is not where it should be,' he mutters, as he drops two sugar cubes into his coffee, stirs, then adds, '…he says, while putting two sugars in his coffee.' We both laugh. Shortly after returning to the UK, his mother had a nervous breakdown. Arthur couldn't settle amid that chaos and ended up going into foster care. It was terrifying, he says, though it provided stability through a daily routine and being forced to go to school, after he had frequently played truant. 'It was mostly badly behaved boys who were in there and they would come and go and it was that kind of prison mentality where you've got to prove how tough you are.' He took as much in his stride as he could. 'Something happens to your self-worth or self-esteem when you think, 'Oh, my own parents don't want me.' And then you feel like you have to prove yourself.' That is what drove him to pursue success, he laughs bitterly. It's why he pressed the self-destruct button once he got the validation, too, because he realised the validation was empty. By the time he applied for The X Factor, he was living in that bedsit, unable to pay for it. He'd had a few possible ins for a music career, namely Richard Rashman, who managed pop-rock bands like The Vamps and Busted, apparently telling him he could be the 'next big thing'. What held him back, Arthur says, was money: he couldn't make music videos or pay for proper producers. ' X Factor is or was for people like me – that's the only chance you've got. I truly felt like there was no other way I was gonna get in unless I was, by some miracle, spotted at an open-mic night in Saltburn-by-the-Sea.' As long as he can remember, he's been able to do vocal acrobatics; he could mimic any trilling or warbling vocal lines he heard a singer do. An obsession with working on his craft was born from a desperation to get his parents' approval. 'Particularly my mum, because she was always quite unpredictable. I didn't know whether she was going to hate me one day or love me the next. So I was like, 'Right, if I can do this then…'' he trails off, presumably before he can say she'd love him. She could be 'over the top with her praise for me', he says. 'She'd be like 'You are the best in the f***ing world, you're a prodigy' and all that. I suppose that's where people's delusions start. Even if I wasn't good to begin with, my mum's encouragement, and my desperation for her not to be mad at me, was why I grafted at it.' That approval-seeking morphed into anxiety when he was on X Factor. His dad was a rock fan, shaping Arthur's aspirations to sing with raw grit like Kurt Cobain (a fellow Piscean) and the energetic range of The Who's Roger Daltrey (also Pisces). Once on the show, he quickly realised that his participation in a pop music singing competition was not really that rock'n'roll. He challenged the show's producers to give him heavier songs, constantly paranoid that he was blowing his shot at being a 'credible rock star'. Halfway through the show, he realised he might have a chance of winning and his determination kicked in, at first from fear of being branded a loser. He thought, 'I'll forever just be a guy that just failed on the X Factor.' Why should he be embarrassed of being on X Factor, he thinks now. 'I don't think it's actually possible to win a show like that and to expect that doors aren't going to be closed for you, because there is a snobbery attached to it,' he says. 'People's views are that it's a shortcut – actually, when you look at the music industry, it's not people who went on X Factor, it's people who come from rich families or nepotism or whatever. The whole landscape, 90 per cent of it, it's 'Oh, I heard her dad owns McVitie's,' or 'he knows f***ing this [person].' Working-class people aren't doing so well in the landscape of things. I used to feel ashamed of it but I've managed to avoid being manipulated or controlled by those things.' What does he mean? 'I've never had to lick arse, basically. I got here on merit; I got here by going through the Squid Game of music. That's how I see it.' It didn't take long after he'd won the show to run into problems of his own making, from criticising his promotion team online, to calling other male X Factor winners 'puppets'. This escalated in late 2013 when he used a homophobic slur in a diss track aimed at Mickey Worthless, a Croydon battle rapper, and compared him to the Taliban. LGBT celebrities like Matt Lucas and campaigners such as Frankie Boyle responded with indignation, as did the wider queer community. Arthur apologised at the time and left Twitter but the backlash continued. iTunes had to offer refunds for his album due to so many complaints from customers. By the next mini-controversy (another rap battle lyric) Arthur was dropped from Simon Cowell's label, Syco. Arthur is apologetic about this, 12 years later, and says he was just showing off, trying to live up to the rock star image he so desperately wanted to embody. 'I'd grown up with Eminem and thinking that that was OK; it wasn't. And so I've paid the price for it,' he says of the homophobic slur in particular. 'It's really sad for me to see that there's still people today that I made feel alienated or [who] maybe think I'm homophobic. It's heartbreaking. I think maybe that's why some doors have been closed for me for sure.' He believes that some people's unwillingness to forgive may come from the same classism that judged X Factor contestants. 'I thought, maybe 10 years on, that I might get invited on The Graham Norton Show, for example,' he says. 'I know there's probably gay people in positions of power that might be like, 'No, he's an awful t***.'' He thinks he's done enough to deserve his opportunities. He's the fourth biggest male singer-songwriter in the UK, he says (later when I email his team to ask where this metric is coming from they aren't able to get an answer). 'I don't feel I get treated that way. I'm a pretty level-headed person, quite a humble person I think. But I've got to the point where I feel ignored.' This feeling of having been abandoned by an industry that was supposed to love him was cemented by his commercial success last year, when he had a No 1 album and played Wembley and The O2 in the same week. Why doesn't the entertainment business and media respect those accomplishments, he wonders, suggesting that it could be down to that troubled early period. Our conversation drifts to Liam Payne, the One Direction star and X Factor alumnus who died last year in tragic drug-fuelled circumstances. 'When I first came off X-Factor, he heard that I was struggling and he requested to meet me because he had similar problems when he first came off the show,' Arthur remembers. 'He was really kind to me and anytime I've seen him over the years, he's always been quite concerned with my wellbeing.' Becoming a father to two-year-old Emily is what has transformed him into a more stable person. 'All you have to worry about is making sure that she doesn't end up with [abandonment issues],' he says. Would he have another child? 'I'm so obsessed with my daughter that I don't know if I could love anything else more. Maybe when she's not a baby, I might get that itch to bring up a baby again. But I don't know. I would never want her to feel like there's anything more important…' Many of these complicated feelings are communicated on Pisces, his deep crooning now autotuned and reticent, as he purposefully refuses to give Middle England the full soaring James Arthur vocals they know and love. 'You left your antidepressants on the dresser/ It's a freezing cold reminder of all of the pressure,' he bemoans on 'Cruel', a song clearly inspired by The 1975. Then he warns on muted Eighties-inspired rock jam 'ADHD': 'I'm a walking red flag.' It's not his usual pop – there's even a Nickelback interpolation – but it's reflective of the type of music he actually loves to listen to, he explains. 'I think that it's really credible and tasteful and all the things that I would be impressed with as a music fan,' he says, and pointedly adds, 'And that I would think deserves flowers.' Whenever I think about Pisces as an astrological sign, I remember that their fate is either to be the victim who seeks salvation, or to be the one doing the saving, often through their artistic creations. As our interview peters out because he's off to spend time with his daughter, I wonder if he has read about that, and relates to either destiny.
