When Lewis Capaldi was invited on the road with Niall Horan, he probably didnt expect to inherit a whole new fanbase.
Were not talking about the One Directioners who, in following Niall into his solo career with feverous love also latched onto Lewis and his soulful sounds, were talking about Niall himself, and rumoured girlfriend Hailee Steinfeld.
And whether or not the celeb fanbase has worked, Lewis is definitely a one to watch right now.
Hes been on the BBC Sound of 19 and BBC Brits List, has sold 100,000 tickets and clocked up 200,000,000 streams in just his first year as an artist. Not a bad shout.
So it might not have come as a crazy shock when the former 1D-er asked Lewis to join him for two dates in Glasgow on his tour. But what did Lewis learn from the lad?
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Just the fact, hes so nice, do you know what I mean? he told Metro.co.uk. The way someone whos that successful and had done massive things on his own and with One Direction, to still be as humble as he is and as sound as he is is a big thing for me.
You might get big and become an asshole and there is no reason for it. Hes one of the biggest pop singers in the world and you can just sit with him in the pub. The way he treats people around him, no matter who they are, its all the same soundness. Thats all I took away from it.
So, dont be a dickhead?
Dont be a dickhead, he laughed. You put in a much nicer way that I ever could.
The two are still in touch and Lewis said hes well up for a collaboration should Niall ever want to get in the studio. But its interesting he also got some shout outs from Hailee – who may or may not be dating Lewis former tour partner.
Its not news that Hailee repped her reported BF during his Flicker tour earlier this year, seen backstage in branded merch, not hiding the fact she was shipping his tunes behind the scenes.
However, she also revealed her close ties with Lewis, who recently revealed his tongue-in-cheek, laugh out loud music video for Grace (behind the scenes clip for your viewing pleasure in this here article…).
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Posting to Instagram, she pouted to the camera during a shoot, thanking Lewis for his expert modelling tips she obviously gleaned from the 22-year-old Scot as he toured with Niall.
Capaldi taught me everything I know. #model @lewiscapaldi she wrote to her 10.6million followers, while Niall has also thrown some mentions of Lewis onto social media.
Following the social media shout out from the alleged girlfriend of Niall, we were keen to ask whether Lewis was OK third-wheeling backstage.
But as all good mates are, he was keen to pivot, pivot, pivot away from dishing the deets.
I dont know whats going on with that, if its me I feel like Im in my own relationship with myself, he said, evidently missing our third-wheeling mention. More power to him.
Theyre all celebrities and theyre all supporting me.
Friends in high places and all that…
A lot has changed for Lewis – who started releasing his sounds to the wider public last year – after he joined Niall on tour.
Following their shows, he was asked by Sam Smith, THE Sam Smith, to support him on his Europe tour.
These are some big names, but when asked about the star power of the superstars, Lewis, in his usual cool, calm and collected demeanour, manages to not get too fanboy.
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Except about the backstage perks, or as he called it: These fucking massive dressing rooms…catering…
He has picked up many a 1D fan though, after being exposed to the fandom supporting Niall. And hes not too mad about it: Ive got a few people who follow me – its cool cause I never played a gig to people in that younger age group. There are people at his gigs that are five-years-old. Its so cool his music can span that age range. Its mental.
On Twitter we do have people with one direction in their Twitter name. They have a good laugh, they get it. I have support from those people.
A good laugh comes in handy with his latest effort, Grace – a hard-hitting ballad that has been juxtaposed by a music video set in a strip club.
Taking inspiration from Napoleon Dynamites epic Canned Heat dance number, the clip sees Lewis take to the stage not to perform with an acoustic guitar, as you may expect, but to be joined by a throng of male dancers as they all entertain the crowd of stereotypical strip club punters.
[I wanted to] see how far we could push it, he said of his comedic efforts. I thought it would be fucking hilarious to do, but put it in a strip club…because of course thats what youd do.
Im surprised my managers and the label let me do it, my hat goes off to them.
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He added: This is the first proper, proper, proper video, where it was on the line and if they didnt like it, it would be the nail on the coffin.
More: Niall Horan
Its all about reading the fans, though, who needed to get his sense of humour: People who listen to my music get my sense of humour and have a similar one – they get I would do that, “of course you would fucking do a video like that”.
We all have a laugh and this video is like an inside joke with people saying how fucking stupid is this?
If this is stupid, though, well then we dont want to be smart.
Grace is out now.
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