Sam Tompkins finds it a “bit scary” having a public platform.
Sam Tompkins
The 23-year-old singer is “pretty insecure” and finds it hurtful if he’s attacked on social media by trolls, though he acknowledged he’s “lucky” to be in the position that he is and it’s “so rare” that anyone says anything bad.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: “I’m a pretty insecure person, so knowing there is that many people watching everything I do is a bit scary.
“Sometimes if I’m having a bad day or focusing on something that I hate about myself - like I’m sure loads of people do - and try to combat that feeling by putting myself out there by posting something (like a lot of people also do), it hurts when someone says something about that thing I’m feeling insecure about.
“I think cos I’m so open in my music, people think I’m like indestructible or whatever, but I’m really not.
“I’m so not in control of my emotions like that and words hurt because I’m human.
“That being said it’s so rare that happens. I’m so lucky to be who I am and have the platform I have.
“Although sometimes I wish I could know the person I would be without, I wouldn’t change anything.”
Sam has joined Bastille, Ella Eyre and Olivia Dean for a festive edition of Google’s Nest Audio Sessions, which has seen the stars perform exclusive adaptations of their all time favourite Christmas number ones.
And Sam has teased he chose his track – which will be revealed when the sessions launch on 11 December – because he thinks the message is relevant today and it also reminds him of his own past family Christmases.
He explained: “I chose it because I think we can all agree that this year has been MAD.
“Who would’ve thought at this point in last year that we would now be coming off the back off one of the most insane years this world has ever seen? Definitely not me.
“On top of that, I have a very fond memory of my older brother playing it on the piano for my family at Christmas. For that, it’s a very special song for my family. Hope my brother approves.”
To listen to the specially curated playlist, just say ‘Hey Google, play Nest Christmas Number 1s’ and your Google Nest smart speaker or display device will play the festive tunes. You can also find the songs on the artists’ YouTube channels and on Spotify and YouTube Music afterwards.