11 things we love about Scotland's sweetheart Lewis Capaldi
Such a beautiful voice!
Lewis Capaldi shot to fame after releasing his debut album 'Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent' in May 2019, and his ever-catchy songs like 'Someone You Loved' and 'Forget Me' have helped to make him super-successful here in the UK and across the pond.
The Scottish singer released 'Forget Me' in September 2022, further thrilling fans with the release of his second album ‘Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent’. Despite taking a break from touring at the moment, Lewis has had a great career so far, so let's take a look at 11 things we absolutely love about the singer!
1) He's an incredibly talented songwriter
So far, Lewis Capaldi's most successful single is 'Someone You Loved' - having spent seven weeks at Number 1 and being certified 2x Platinum in the UK. It also performed well in Europe and the US.
'Hold Me While You Wait' has also been very successful, reaching Number 4 in the UK and Number 1 in the Scottish charts, as well as being certified Gold in the UK - and 2018 single 'Grace' peaked at Number 9 in the UK, and was certified Platinum in the UK. He also co-wrote 'How To Be Lonely' by Rita Ora and his second album reached Number 1 in the UK and Scottish charts, and has been certified Platinum.
2) He has the voice of an angel
Sorry to state the obvious, but we couldn't leave out the fact that Lewis Capaldi's voice is seriously stunning in a list of reasons that we love him. It's a really unique voice, and lends itself well to his beautiful songs.
Proving just how talented he is, Lewis showed off his incredible vocals at The BRIT Awards 2023 with Mastercard. Performing his hit 'Forget Me', Lewis was accompanied by House Gospel Choir.
3) His Instagram profile is hilarious
Of course, we all know how brilliant Lewis' social media presence is, but just as an example, read all about Lewis explaining how he managed to block a toilet... If you're not aware of this story, here's what happened in a nutshell:
During a trip to Hollywood where he stayed in a hotel, Lewis documented his sheer shock when he used the toilet (for a number two) and it wouldn't flush. Not panicking, the singer decided to look for the toilet brush, but there wasn't one, driving him into a hilarious rant to his Instagram followers.
Lewis told us, "I wouldn’t lie about that! You should have seen me when I walked into the toilet and saw what I left myself in the night, it was like a dirty Santa Claus. There are some weird people on Hollywood Boulevard, people getting photos and stuff with me, a plunger in hand."
Watch him explain the hilarious story...
Lewis has also used his Instagram profile to mess with his friend, Niall Horan. Lewis, who previously toured as support for the former One Direction star, gave a hilarious commentary on Niall's music video for his single, 'Nice To Meet Ya'.
In December 2020, Lewis shared some hilarious posts from a family chat group where his sister shared some of the top search results on the internet for her world-famous brother.
4) His obsession with sunglasses makes us laugh
Another of Lewis' quirks is that he's always posting about all the sunglasses he receives - and even told us about it recently! He said, "It’s getting ridiculous! I’d say I have at least 125 pairs, there's a suitcase that we take with us because people keep bringing me sunglasses as a present.
"That’s the thing, the joy of it - I go to the bathroom with sunglasses on, everywhere I go I take sunglasses. This is who I am now, apparently! They’re not designer at all - I have one pair of designer sunglasses, but as soon as you wear real sunglasses, everyone's like, 'Look at this guy!'
"People bring me sunglasses and ask for a picture, basically people want me to be a performing animal, it’s like a zoo - this is what fame is, this is what notoriety is."
Lewis made sure he was wearing some spectacular sunglasses in his celebrity singalong music video for 'Bruises'. Lew got some of the biggest names in showbiz to mime along to his emotional song, and put them together in a hilarious montage video!
5) He's such a kind soul
There are many ways in which Lewis has proved what a genuinely nice bloke he is, but the kindness he showed to one of his young deaf fans was particularly heartwarming. After performing at the Belladrum Festival in Scotland on 1st - 3rd Aug 2019, Lewis then met one of his young fans, a 10-year-old girl called Niamdh Braid who was born deaf, after her parents set up a campaign for Lewis to meet the little girl.
But not only did Lewis take time out to meet her and spend time with her, but he then made her dreams come true by doing a very unique duet with Niamdh. Whilst he sang his hit single 'Someone You Loved', Niamdh translated the song in British Sign Language as Lewis sang.
Fans were incredibly emotional after watching the video, and took to Twitter to share their thoughts. One wrote, 'Yes! I love this!! Everyone needs to see what a beautiful language British Sign Language is !!' as another added, 'Waw what a beautiful gesture! Lots of respect and <3.' sic
Her mum Sam told The Scotsman, "Niamdh was absolutely elated that Lewis took the time to sing with her. He was such a down-to-earth guy, he even admitted he was nervous and he was great with the kids.
"He even posed for pictures in the glasses he is famous for wearing in videos and gave them to the kids as a gift. All Niamdh wanted to do was raise some awareness, and show other deaf children that you can do anything you want to do."
6) He's related to Doctor Who
It's true - Lewis Capaldi is related to actor Peter Capaldi! Lewis discovered that Doctor Who star Peter is his dad’s second cousin, and he even enlisted the help of Peter to star in his music video for hit song 'Someone You Loved', which was made in partnership with charity organisation Live Life Give Life in order to raise awareness for the issue of organ donation.
Speaking at the time, Lewis said, "Despite being related, prior to the video I’d only met Peter once when he came along to a show of mine in London last year. It was such a massive honour getting to work with him and director Phil Beastall over the two days we shot. He’s absolutely incredible in the video and I’m so proud of how it turned out."
7) He doesn't take himself too seriously
If you're a fan of Lewis Capaldi - and let's face it, why wouldn't you be? - you'll probably have heard about his falling-out with Noel Gallagher of Oasis fame. To recap, Noel started the feud in June 2019 after despairing over the state over modern music in an interview, later calling Lewis an "idiot".
Not batting an eyelid, Lewis took it in his stride and took to social media with a video, saying, "What a day. It's Father's Day and I'm getting slagged off by a man who's old enough to be my da'. I've never been more happy. Happy Father's Day, Noel."
After a bit more back-and-forth, Lewis then dressed up as Noel's brother Liam - with whom Noel also has a famous feud - for his performance at Glastonbury Festival 2019, even using Noel's initial interview as the lead-in to his show.
Noel then launched a foul-mouthed, expletive-riddled tirade about Lewis, rudely calling him 'Chewbacca' - but of course, Lewis just used this to his advantage once again, and came on-stage to his performance at TRNSMT Festival in July 2019 wearing a Chewbacca mask.
Since then, fellow Scottish singer Paolo Nutini bought the mask and started a charity fundraiser to raise money for mental health charity, Tiny Changes, which was set up by the family of Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison who took his own life in May 2018.
Tiny Changes takes its name from a lyric from the Frightened Rabbit song 'Head Rolls Off' ('While I’m alive, I’ll make tiny changes to Earth'). Paolo Nutini said, "I really wanted to find a way to help out the Tiny Changes Charity.
"Not only am I a big fan of Frightened Rabbit but I was lucky enough to share the stage with them on various occasions - most memorably for me on Hogmanay in Edinburgh 2017. Scott was such a great and honest songwriter who was not afraid to convey what he was going through in such a beautiful and honest way."
Lewis announced his Christmas jumper in December 2019, The Lewis Capaldi "My Big Fat Sexy Christmas Jumper" - which you can buy from his website for £45!
He also shut down a Twitter troll who criticised him for drinking at the BRIT Awards, and gave a hilarious acceptance speech in which he clarified that his song 'Someone You Loved' was NOT about his ex-girlfriend Paige Turley, who later commented on it. The pair are friends now though, as Paige revealed Lewis congratulated her for winning Love Island!
8) He's humble despite his huge fame
Lewis Capaldi spent the day with Elton John in August 2019 telling his fans ‘My life is f---ing mental. Thank you for the free food @eltonjohn.’ Fans of the singers commented on how similar they looked in the photo, with one joking they were ‘Dad and son’, and another saying, ‘Lewis you look a bit like his love child’, to which he replied, ‘haha he’s a handsome man’.
Elton shared the same photo with the caption, 'Spending the day with the next British superstar.'
He also told us about how he still lived at home with his mum and dad in November 2019: "I still live with my mum and dad, Carole and Mark. I’m never really there, rent free, my mum does all my washing." He confirmed in October 2022 that he'd since moved out - and wasn't enjoying the experience!
Lewis also showed off his unique mixture of humility and humour in January 2020, when he became BFFs with none other than Justin Bieber!
9) He's proud to be Scottish
Lewis is always mentioning how much he loves being Scottish! After performing at TRNSMT festival in July 2019 in Glasgow, Lewis took to Instagram to share a set of photos and videos of himself at the festival, writing, 'glasgow thank u all so so f---ing much this was the best moment of my life, can’t believe this happened!! 😠don’t chewbac in anger 🎉.' sic
10) He surprised fans at an open mic night in Glasgow
While he's toured around the world, it seems as though Lewis Capaldi is just as excited to perform at gigs in Scotland, no matter how small.
Just after retuning to music with 'Forget Me', Lewis appeared at Box Bar's open mic night in Glasgow to perform the new track. He addressed the crowd to say: "Alright, my name's Lewis. I've not done an open mic in many a year," before playing a couple of tracks.
Revealing his dream venue to play in Scotland, Lewis also told us: "Hampden would be great, I would love to do Hampden. It depends on what’s happening. I saw Gerry (Cinnamon) played it recently and it looked incredible. I think for me it would be Hampden."
11) Lewis surprised passengers on a flight to America
Taking passengers on a trans-Atlantic flight by surprise, Lewis decided to give the cabin crew a help by pushing a drinks trolley through the plane, before stopping to chat to some passengers and playing his new song for them.
Scroll through some of Lewis Capaldi's biggest career moments:
Career beginnings
Lewis learned to play the drums and guitar when he was just two-years-old, and started off singing in pubs at the age of nine. At 17, he decided to pursue a full-time career in music, and was discovered by his manager through his SoundCloud account.
2017: 'Bloom EP'
Lewis released his first EP 'Bloom' in October 2017, having worked on it with producer Malay and released 'Bruises' in March that year. He was then signed to Universal Music Group, and was long-listed for BBC's Sound of Music 2018, later supporting Rag'n'Bone Man on his European tour in November 2017.
2018: Supporting Niall Horan
After supporting Rag'n'Bone Man, Lewis came to the attention of former One Direction star Niall Horan. The pair became friends and Lewis joined him as a support act for his 'Flicker World Tour' in March 2018, before going on tour as support for Sam Smith two months later.
May 2019: The toilet brush incident
We caught up with Lewis in May 2019, and he explained the story behind the toilet brush incident from his Snapchat Story... "I wouldn't lie about that! You should have seen me when I walked into the toilet and saw what I left myself in the night, it was like a dirty Santa Claus. There are some weird people on Hollywood Boulevard, people getting photos and stuff with me, a plunger in hand."
Summer 2018: Festival appearances
Lewis took to the stage at various music festivals in the summer of 2018, playing Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Reading & Leeds Festival and TRNSMT. He also supported Kodaline in August 2018.
November 2018: 'Breach' EP
Lewis released his second EP 'Breach' in November 2018, containing songs 'Grace' and 'Someone You Loved', which became Lewis' breakthrough single and was Number 1 in the UK for seven weeks.
2019: Debut album and BRIT Awards
Lewis released his debut album 'Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent' in May 2019, and it became the best-selling UK album in five years. He was nominated for the hugely coveted Critics' Choice Award at the BRITs 2019, which has now been renamed to the Rising Star Award, and was won in 2019 by Sam Fender.
August 2019: Elton John
Elton and Lewis became firm friends, and Lewis shared this super-cute photo of himself and Elton having lunch together.
2019: Headline tour
The album was certified Gold two weeks after the album was released. Lewis' tour was announced before the release of his album, and he became the first artist ever to sell out an arena tour before his debut album was released.
2019: 'Someone You Loved'
In October 2019, 'Someone You Loved' reached Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, which made him the first Scottish solo artist to top the US chart since 1981. The video for the song was released two months beforehand, and starred actor Peter Capaldi - who is a distant cousin of Lewis'. The singer was also announced as the opening act for Niall Horan's 'Nice to Meet Ya Tour', which will start in April 2020. In December 2019, Lewis recruited celebrities all over the world to help make a hilarious video to his song 'Bruises'.
January 2020: Grammy Awards
He was nominated at the Grammy Awards 2020 for the category of Song of the Year for 'Someone You Loved', unfortunately losing out to Billie Eilish for 'Bad Guy'. Lewis also had a hilarious moment at the Grammys in January, taking to Twitter with the story that he'd been mistaken for a seat filler!
When his ex-girlfriend Paige Turley went into the Love Island villa, reports surfaced that his song 'Someone You Loved' was about her - but Lewis revealed it was about his late grandmother.
2020: Justin Bieber and Lewis become BFFs
Taking to Twitter in January, Lewis treated his fans to one of his classic selfies - something we all love him for - and wrote the caption, 'I've decided that I'm equally as handsome as Shawn Mendes and Bieber.'
Justin then actually replied, saying, 'You are', before Lewis retweeted it and wrote, 'Bieber approved'.
February 2020: BRIT Awards
Lewis was nominated for four awards at the BRITs 2020: Male Solo Artist, Best New Artist, Song of the Year for 'Someone You Loved' and Album of the Year for 'Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent'. He went on to win Song of the Year and Best New Artist.
January 2021: Social media break
In January 2021, Lewis announced he would be taking a break from social media to focus on creating his second album, the follow up to 2019's 'Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent'.
March 2021: Lewis gives second album update
Lewis broke his social media silence in March 2021 to reflect on the previous year. He also announced he would be rescheduling his tour to 2022 due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
2022: Lewis Capaldi returns to performing live
After a break from live performances for two years, Lewis got back on stage at Parklife in Manchester in June 2022. The following week, he headlined at Isle of Wight festival, which was his first time ever headlining a festival.
The Scottish singer also headlined TRNSMT Festival in Glasgow and Latitude festival.
August 2022: Lewis teases an upcoming announcement
Although he had previously disclaimed to fans that he was 'too lazy' to finish his second album, Lewis got us all talking when he teased some sort of announcement on his TikTok, happening on 2nd September 2022.
It turned out to be the announcement of his new single 'Forget Me' which he played for the first time to fans at his show at London's O2 Arena before revealing that the full song would come out on 9th September.
September 2022: Lewis Capaldi releases 'Forget Me'
Following his exciting song teaser, Lewis released his new track on 9th September. It was the first single to come from his second album and the first music he has released in three years.
He said of the song: 'This is it… My first new music in nearly 3 years. Couldn't be more nervous! This is... 'Forget Me' 🥀' before taking to his Instagram Stories to thank fans for their support.
On 12th September, he also released a music video for the song which he described as being his: "Favourite video that has ever been made by anybody ever". Fans of Wham! might think the music video looks familiar, as it is a recreation of their 'Club Tropicana' video.
October 2022: Lewis Capaldi announces album release date and tour
In the update we were all waiting for, Lewis Capaldi revealed that his second album is called 'Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent' and will be released on 19th May 2023.
He went on to reveal that the album will include a love song with Ed Sheeran called 'Pointless'.
That's not all, as he also surprised fans with the announcement of a tour! He'll be playing several shows across the UK in January and February 2023.
October 2022: Lewis films documentary with Niall Horan
Lewis and Niall Horan are good friends and fans have been eagerly hoping for a collab between the two. While they haven't released a song together, they have created a documentary travelling around Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Called Homecoming: The Road to Mullingar, the documentary was released on Amazon Prime Video on Friday 21st October and follows their road-trip and visit Niall's hometown Mullingar.
December 2022: Reading and Leeds Festival headline announcement
Lewis took to Twitter in December 2022 to announce the incredible news that he would be taking a headline slot at Reading and Leeds Festival 2023! In classic Lewis style, the expletive-riddled post was equal parts self-deprecating and hilarious, with a smug selfie for good measure as he called it a "dream come true" to be a headliner at the festival.
December 2022: Lewis Capaldi performed on Strictly Come Dancing
On 12th December, Lewis Capaldi performed his song 'Pointless' on Strictly Come Dancing, during the Semi-Final of the show.
December 2022: Lewis Capaldi performed on Hogmanay 2022
Lewis saw in the New Year with a special performance on BBC Scotland's Hogmanay 2022, presented by Edith Bowman.
February 2023: Lewis Capaldi was announced to perform at The BRITs
On 1st February Lewis Capaldi was announced as the final performer for the 2023 BRIT Awards. He said of the announcement: "Last time I played The BRIT Awards I was so scared that I had a panic attack before I went on, and then got hammered afterwards. Looking forward to more of the same this year."
February 2023: Lewis Capaldi meets his waxwork
Lewis Capaldi came face-to-face with his waxwork at Madame Tussauds Blackpool. He joked fans could: "Come and touch my bum!"
February 2023: Lewis' breathtaking BRITs performance
As The BRIT Awards 2023 with Mastercard took place on 11th February, Lewis took to the stage to perform at the ceremony for the first time since 2020. Performing his hit track 'Forget Me' alongside House Gospel Choir, it's fair to say that his beautiful performance was unforgettable.
Lewis was also nominated for Song of The Year at the 2023 BRITs, for his song 'Forget Me', however lost out on the win to Harry Styles and his hit track 'As It Was'.
March 2023: Lewis Capaldi announced his Netflix documentary
Lewis Capaldi announced his Netflix documentary in March 2023. The programme is called Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now and was later released on Netflix on 5th April 2023.
March 2023: Lewis Capaldi entertained a flight to America
Lewis Capaldi was travelling to America to start the North American leg of his tour and he decided to help the cabin crew!
Lewis was spotted walking down the aisle of the plane offering the passengers drinks, before getting out his guitar and giving them a little performance. The passengers couldn't believe what was happening on their flight, with many of them getting out their photos to record the moment.
May 2023: Lewis releases his second album
Lewis released his highly anticipated second album 'Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent' on 19th May 2023.
June 2023: Lewis cancels commitments in lead-up to Glastonbury
At the beginning of June 2023, Lewis shared a statement announcing that he would be cancelling his upcoming commitments in order to prepare for his performance at Glastonbury Festival. In the statement, he wrote that he needed time to 'rest and recover' before the performance that was three weeks away. In the difficult message, he also revealed: 'I haven't been home properly since Christmas and at the moment I'm struggling to get to grips with it all.'
June 2023: Lewis performs at Glastonbury Festival
On Saturday 24th June 2023, Lewis took to the stage at Glastonbury Festival! He performed a selection of his greatest songs, including 'Forget Me', 'Pointless' and 'Before You Go'.
Towards the end of Lewis' set, he began to struggle with his Tourette's Syndrome. Due to his tics, the singer struggled to sing his hit track 'Someone You Loved'. In an emotional moment, the adoring crowd began to sing the song at the top of their lungs, helping Lewis finish his set.
June 2023: He announces a break from touring
On 27th June, three days after his performance at Glastonbury, Lewis shared a statement to announce he would be 'taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future.' In the emotional statement, he thanked the festival, as well as his fans for 'singing along when I needed it and for all the amazing messages afterwards'.
Lewis didn't reveal when he would return to touring, saying: 'The truth is I'm still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette's and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order, so I can keep doing everything I love for a long time to come.'
September 2023: Lewis wins a National Television Award
In September 2023, Lewis won the National Television Award for Best Authored Documentary for Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now. In a video message following his win, Lewis said: "Thank you so, so much if you voted, or even if you just watched the documentary. Thank you so much for voting and thank you for everyone who made it. A massive shoutout to my fellow nominees. You're all incredible. Making a documentary is not easy in the slightest, from what I've learned. It's an honour to be nominated alongside you. I'll see you soon."
December 2023: Lewis shares an update on his health
Taking to Instagram, Lewis explained that he has been working with professionals to help manage his Tourette's and anxiety, adding that he has noticed a 'marked improvement' in his symptoms since taking a break. He also announced the release of 'Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent' (Extended Edition)', which includes five extra songs.
You can hear Lewis Capaldi's biggest hits on the Clyde 1 playlist!
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