Rhydian
Rhydian has just been sunbathing topless in London when I speak to him. He's certainly enjoying his life at the moment, 'I'm excited every day, I get up and it's always a new opportunity', and understandably so.
The former X Factor contestant came runner up in 2007 and has since become a double platinum selling artist, Classical Brit nominee and 2008's best selling male newcomer. Now he's releasing his fifth studio album, One Day Like This. Speaking about his career he says: 'It's challenging but it's supposed to be isn't it. Work is challenging at the best of times, how you make it fun and interesting'. So how did he enjoy making his new album?
'I took a conscious decision this time around to go back to my roots with singing, and go back into the classical crossover world where most people associate me with and that's the kind of training I had anyway. Classical crossover, it is used a lot that term, but it perfectly describes what I am as a singer because I was classically trained but I still sing covers of pop songs'.
He lists Freddy Mercury, Tina Turner, Pavorotti and Justin Hawyward amongst his diverse musical influences, and even bursts into a chorus of Simply the Best during our chat. Other big inspirations are Bonnie Tyler and Jim Steinman: 'My dad used to listen to her album in the car [...] I used to listen to all of that and think what a voice'.
One Day Like This certainly has a wide variation of songs, and many of them are deeply personal to Rhydian. 'I chose them all, I didn't have anybody from a record label dictating what I had to sing and many of the songs have stories behind them.' The track Litanei got him into music school after he sang it at audition, and Ombra Mai Fu was the first aria (that's a long accompanied solo song to you and me) he learnt in a singing lesson at 14, 'I know this music inside out'.
I want to be known first and foremost as a good singer
So how would he decide his style and this new album? 'I like drama and beauty fused together, especially with vocal delivery and so that's what I aim for. I aim to move an audience when I'm recording or singing and I am dramatic, obviously to look at I'm quite edgy. This album has quite an epic feel to it, especially the first 8 tracks... well and the last ones, there's Nessun Dorma!, you can't get more dramatic than that!'
His enthusiasm for the album is palpable as he streams off song after song and the inspiration behind them. 'I sing a completely different song, The Blowers Daughter by Damien Rice because I was on a beach in Mexico two weeks after the X Factor finished back in 2007 and I was listening to the Damien Rice album O, I heard that song and I thought I could do a good cover of that. It nearly went on my first album, but [Simon] Cowell decided not to put it on for some reason.'
The lead track, Nights in White Satin is another important song for Rhydian, he explains: 'It's mainly in Italian now and I've changed the tempo of the song. I was lucky enough to do a tour with Justin Hayward who wrote the song with the Moody Blues. [...] I learned a bit about the song and thought I'd love to sing it, so it was kind of a surprise to him, I sent it over and he loved what he heard.'
The accompanying video for this track was funded by Rhydian himself, 'I quite enjoy doing videos, it puts together a good portfolio of work and they're a promotional tool when you're selling it internationally, it's nice for the fans. I did it for the fans so they can see something on the website that's new and fresh'.
So how does creating a new album compare to the recent string of theatre performances he's been giving? 'It's a lot more pressure I think on making your own album and doing your own tours because of course you're not behind a mask, you're not behind a costume, it's you and essentially it's you that's being judged. I've gained an awful lot of experience in the past 7 years so it's amazing how quickly people learn in the music industry when you're thrown into the deep end.'
Rhydian prides himself on having a varied career and it is this he hopes will carry him far into the future. 'The trick is to sustain a career and a lot of X Factor people have proved that's not easy but I still get a lot of work which is great and I think being diverse helps that because in one season I can do theatre, the next I'm recoring an album, the next I'm doing my solo tour, I speak Welsh and I've got my own TV series in Wales, so I like having the varied career.'
He explains that it's a small world in the classical crossover charts, while there are quite a few tenors he can think of only four other high baritone singers in the world. "So it's quite a small pool and I just thought to myself, why can't we just get back into that world, keep training, produce the right music and see what happens. I think I would have been a fool to turn my back on an industry that I love."
'It'd be nice to have another 10-15 years at the top of that world if we can and that's a lot more attainable that the pop world which has kind of get a five-year shelf life nowadays. [...] I want to keep on singing, and the classical world is that door for me, that I want to go through'
When asked if he thinks the X Factor was actually a hinderence to the classical aspects of his music? 'I think possibly, but what that did was give me a different angle for the classical world which many don't have. It gave me profile, [...] people know my name and they know my image and so it was a good launch pad and it enabled me to do crossover things like the theatre for example. The X Factor is great but it's a bubble and you've got to be prepared to know how to carve out a career post X Factor and many don't. I work hard at it, I think carefully about my decisions, I don't do reality TV, I've turned down all the Big Brother's and Dancing on Ice because I want to be known first and foremost as a good singer'.
'I am proud of that show because it's a huge TV show and it was good fun at the time and the association with Cowell, I learnt a lot from him. [...] So it was a risk that paid off I think and the challenges get people's respect in the classical world in the long run and I'm starting to do that which is great.'
He's clearly excited about the future and is focusing on his career: 'I really want a number one in the classical charts. I'm really praying we can do it this time. I think we can, we've got a good album.
'My goal this year is to secure a number one and hopefully get a classical Brit award in October, so if I get that, and my tour goes well I'm happy with that year.'
Check out the Nights in White Satin video below:
The album One Day Like This and tour dates are released on sale April 14th.