Calum Scott Interview About his Sexuality, BGT, and more

Hey everybody, Adam Greenberg here from Virgin Radio Montreal with the legendary Callum Scott. And because Bellet's Talk is coming up on January 31st, I decided to have Callum here in Montreal to have a very open conversation about, you know, certain hurdles you've gone through, certain things that you want to share. What I would love to start off with is your experience with Britain's Got Talent. A couple years back. Yeah. Because I know that you went through an experience in Britain's Got Talent that very few people have gone through.

It was a complete roller coaster. We had no idea what would happen. My sister is the person who actually got me into singing in the first place, so it was a big day for us, but it was more let's just go together, support each other, and see what happens. I think we was expecting to just get some life experience. That was our, you know, result. And she went on first and she kind of quite harshly got criticized, which she didn't deserve. She goes on, comes off, I have like a second with her to hug her, and then I go straight on. So I'm filled with emotion.

Yeah, like, what is happening?

I was just like, I've gone from really being excited for this one moment to I just need to get out of the way so I can go and give her a hug.

Of course.

So I was angry. I was upset, I was nervous, I was— I went through all these emotions and I just went into my own, my own head, kind of introvertly, just to bring out the best of me. And plus I was, you know, holding it together because I was angry with Simon, I was upset about my sister. So I just tried to harness that and, and use it in my performance. And I think that's why it's so raw, um, and why so many people have seen that video and relate to the video. It's because it's raw emotion. Sure. We all feel, um, and yeah, I, I don't know anybody else who's been through that. Um, and it was quite hard coming out of that, um, audition to relate to somebody who'd gone through it because I was the only one I knew who'd gone through it.

Well, it's interesting because you, you know, on such a grand scale, you went through such a moment where like you said, angry and sad and channeling that. But what you did with that energy, whether it be negative or positive, you went and you triumphed, you know. And so that's an important lesson for anyone who's feeling any kind of hardship and struggle or anger. There's an ability to take that energy and I mean, look at where you are now. Yeah.

Oh my God. Yeah. I mean, you know, Because even through failure and through disappointment, you still are able to harness that emotion and learn from it and become something better for it.

Right. With that in mind, it's 2018. We live in a very different time. There's still absolutely a lot of hate in the world.

Of course.

But there is a lot of, you know, unique and different perspectives from people welcoming people. And I know that you're very open about your sexuality.

Yeah.

And that's something that a lot of people can relate to. What has been your experience in terms of, you know, being openly gay? You know, whether it be with your family or your friends, or, you know, you're under such a magnifying glass with the public. What has been your sort of, you know, hurdles and triumphs in that?

Yeah, I mean, I've never really— I never used to be confident with my sexuality. In fact, growing up, and I know other people can relate to this because I've mentioned it a couple of times speaking about, about this kind of topic, is I used to think that if somebody gave me a pill to be straight, then I would take it, right? And it's a horrible thing to think, especially being on the other side of it now where I'm a lot more confident, a lot more happier. But I went through a really, really rough time growing up, you know, taking it back to when I was a young a young lad, I just thought that it was a phase. And then my friends started bringing girls into— I was like an avid skateboarder and we BMX'd and there was a big group of us boys.

Sure.

And then girls started to come into the equation and I was just never really bothered. Yeah. And I confided in one of my best friends at the time and he was like, well, are you trying to tell me you're gay or what? Like, and that for me was a big like, I climbed up and I was like, well, I don't know, maybe. And unfortunately, he— I saw him tell every guy in our group and they all abandoned me for it. And it was horrible. But looking back, it made me, you know, it's made me the person I am today. I wouldn't change anything.

Right.

But because of that experience growing up, I associated talking about my sexuality as losing people out of my life in a negative kind of way and the connotations and, you know, the stigma. And so I found it really difficult talking about my sexuality all the way through my teens into my 20s and lost a lot of time, sadly. But when I started to— I met a couple of friends, one of my best friends who was gay, and people along the road who've had similar circumstances. As soon as you find people you can relate to, it lessens the burden.

Sure.

And, you know, as I started to enter the songwriting world, I just, I'd started to write very honestly and openly about my sexuality, about the experiences I've gone through, and it started to just make me feel a bit more empowered. And I came to a point where I was like, I think I'm ready to talk to the wider, you know, wider public about my sexuality and make this, make this a talking point, because unfortunately people don't talk enough about stuff. I think, you know, if I can give any advice to anybody, it's that If you can trust somebody, to just confide in them about your sexuality or about any mental health issues. And if not, somebody that's, you know, I know that some communities are still finding it difficult to accept homosexuality. There are still helplines and call lines where you can speak to somebody anonymously. But I think just to share it with somebody just lessens the burden on yourself. And I'm in a position now where I am so happy and proud of who I am. I couldn't care less if somebody goes, "Oh, you're gay, that's disgusting." I'm like, "I don't care." Have you had people, you know, fans or whoever contact you and say, "Your song has helped me." Oh my god, yes.

Really?

So many times.

Oh man, that is literally the best.

I had a— I was touring in America last year and I had a guy who came up to me in the meet and greets and he's like, oh, you know, I really love your music and you know, you're my idol and blah, blah, blah. And I got like a little nod from my tour managers and we got people to—

we gotta move along.

And he started reading about, you know, I had a wife and kids and, you know, after hearing your music and he started going down this route and I was like, I said, I was like, gave my manager a nod like, I need to listen to this guy. And he's going on about how, you know, he's lived his life as a straight man for the best part of his life, and he's got a wife and kids, and he was just unhappy. And it wasn't because they made him unhappy, it was because he wasn't being himself. And I think if that's who you are, there's no escaping it. You are who you are, you love who you love. And he'd said, you know, because of your version of the song and because of the way that you interpreted the lyrics, I told my wife and You know, we have a great relationship now where she understood, she understands, and you know, I'm now, you know, seeing this guy and I'm really happy. And I was like in tears and he was in tears. It was so emotional. Yeah, but to have that impact on people is such a, such a humbling feeling. I'm very honored really, for sure. And that's what I want to continue to do.

So there you have it. I'm Adam Greenberg. This is Callum Scott. New album March 9th, Only Human.

Okay.

Only human, there you go.

There you go, I mean, that's the message is we're only human. You're bound to get upset, you're bound to feel jealous, you're bound to, you know, and just embrace those emotions because we are only human and, you know, we can't get down on ourselves. We should just embrace who we are and love is love.

There you go.

There should be more love in the world.

Absolutely. New single is out now, "You Are the Reason," and I hope that this talk had some effect on you, or maybe you could share this with someone that it could really open their eyes to maybe being open about something and talking about something that's— anything that's on your mind. And of course, Bell Let's Talk Day is coming up on January 31st. Any text that you send, if you are with Bell, 5 cents will be donated. Any time you use the hashtag on social media with the hashtag #BellLetsTalk or using their Snapchat geofilters, anything to do revolving around Bell Let's Talk, use the hashtag #BellLetsTalk and 5 cents will be donated to mental health and different initiatives. Last year they raised over $6.5 million and we're looking to blow it out of the water this year and make it just everywhere. So thank you for listening, thank you for being here, really appreciate it.

Thank you for having me. Cheers, bud. Cheers.