Calum Scott

“I'd gone from being a normal HR worker from Hull to being recognised in the street, being on TV. As much as it was exciting, thrilling, and a big, huge adrenaline rush.”

“I don't consider myself a flag bearer in the parade, but I have never felt stronger about who I am.”

“Being honest to who I am led me to write 'If Our Love Is Wrong,' and that allowed me to fully realize the direction I should be heading to - human nature, real emotions, and issues about LGBT.”

“I will continue to be open in my music and in interviews and keep those conversations going about the issues we face as an LGBT+ community until those conversations no longer need to be had.”

“My mates who are younger than me are all slagging me for it - saying I am so much older and my crow's feet are showing.”

“I'd always been a little bit uncomfortable talking about my sexuality just because it took me a while to fully accept it. I had a bit of traumatic time with my friends when I was younger, and it kind of just put me off talking about it.”

“As many of you know, my story begins where most people's in the LGBT+ community begins... with fear. I knew I was different from my peers, my friends, and those around me when I started to discover who I was and who I identified as from a young age.”

“I've tried to write in a way that transcends beyond just sexuality and is more about letting go of our fear and trusting the people around us.”

“'If Our Love Is Wrong' is, quite simply, my coming out song, as I was trying to wrap my head around my sexuality and was starting to learn about songwriting, and that my honesty and my authenticity came from my personal experiences and writing about stuff that genuinely bugged me or upset me.”

“The amount of people that have said, 'You've inspired me to be confident. I've come out to my friends because of you,' that reduces me to tears every time, because I'm just, like, little old me from Hull has had an implication on somebody's life. That's massive to me. Massive.”

“Two gay guys doing a beautiful duet - I think it would just be so powerful, you know.”

“It is important for me to tell my story so that others feel comfortable telling theirs.”

“I was so terrified for so long about what people think about my sexuality, and I didn't wanna find myself in a position where I was losing my fans and couldn't do my job.”

“For a lot of people, music is about the show, the lights, and all that. With Filipino music fans, they genuinely listen to songs.”

“It takes a lot of emotional high and struggles to write songs.”

“I met a guy, and we were seeing each other for about a month or so, but as it got more intense, I started to freak out a little bit. I hadn't been in a relationship for quite a while, and I just said I was going away and not sure if it was going to work.”

“I was suppressed for many years. From the outside, you'd think I had a very normal life.”

“Song writing has been a lifeline for me.”

“I worked in an office for eight years, so I know what it's like to slog through for money, but now to be able travel the world and sing to so many people, it's a complete dream come true.”

“I had told one of my friends that I felt like I might be gay or that I just wasn't into girls, and I was abandoned.”