Sam Fender discusses "personal" new music and why he's not afraid to talk mental health

19 April 2022, 14:28 | Updated: 20 April 2022, 11:41

Sam Fender wins Radio X Best Of British with Greggs

The Geordie singer-songwriter spoke to George Godfrey about the follow-up to Seventeen Going Under after his single of the same name was crowned Radio X's Best Of British with Greggs 2022.

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By Jenny Mensah

Sam Fender has talked about writing new music and revealed why his new record will be just as "personal" as the last.

The North Shields singer-songwriter's Seventeen Going Under single was crowned Radio X's Best Of British with Greggs 2022 this Monday (18th April) and he talked to Radio X's George Godfrey about the results.

Sam's second studio album of the same name came about as the result of therapy sessions, which he's been candid about in the past, and while his mental health is very personal, he's not afraid of revealing his inner most thoughts.

Asked if it's difficult to reveal such a vulnerable part of himself during the writing process, Fender replied: "I think it would be difficult if there were things I was still ashamed about, but they're not now."

The Spit of You singer added: "I mean a lot of the stuff that I'm writing, the stuff that will be on the next album, whatever that is, whenever that happens... It's all stuff that I've worked through and I'm kinda like going [...] 'OK, Everyone makes mistakes and acts like a bit of a knob sometimes,' and I think once you've held your hands up to that and figured out a way a fixing that then to share it is quite cathartic.

"And also if it makes somebody else go, 'Ah, I have been like that and I've been through that similar sort of thing and that tune means a lot to me,' It enriches the experience."

Watch Fender talk about therapy, new music and winning Best Of British 2022 in our video above.

Listen to the RadioX Best Of British with Greggs live playlist here

"I'm absolutely flattered, you know," Sam told Radio X's George Godfrey on hearing the news that he'd won Radio X Best Of British with Greggs 2022. "I mean it's it's lovely that people are voting for it. But there's definitely a bit of imposter syndrome that comes with it! Thank you very much to all the fans out there who voted for us."

After being told that he'd beaten the likes of Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, David Bowie and Queen to top this year's chart, Sam added: "That's mad. I can actually hear people right now, in their cars, going WHAT!? WHAT!? 'He's an industry plant!' What was what we have is an industry plant! I can hear that right now. I'm sure I'll reciprocate in the comments sections at some point. But you know what, the more haters there are, that's normally a sign that things are going alright."

Talking specifically about the success of his Seventeen Going Under single and how it's resonated with fan on TikTok, Same recalled: "I remember the label saying, 'You've got to get a TikTok'. Man, even at 27 I feel old on TikTok. No way I'm going on that thing. I just didn't get it, it was so weird. It just felt like a cesspit of influencers that I could not get involved with."

He added: "And then I did some daft videos on it and bang, Seventeen got taken up. But it wasn't just TikTok itself that blew my mind, it was context in which people were sharing the songs. There were kids who'd overcome, you know, domestic violence and stuff like that in their families and looking back on it from a stronger place. It was empowering for a lot of people. That was that was something that I was really proud of."