When Lewis Capaldi isn’t onstage performing his breakthrough Billboard Hot 100 hit ‘Someone You Loved’, he can be found posting hilarious videos on his Instagram or cracking jokes. in interviews – like when he said Billboard‘s Pop Shop Podcast in 2019 that he could “kick a lion in the mouth” he was so happy to be #1 in America.
But in his new Netflix documentary Lewis Capaldi: How I feel now – arriving Wednesday, April 5 on the streamer – the Scottish singer/songwriter is getting much more serious than we’ve seen before, opening up about his own mental health struggles, his Tourette syndrome diagnosis and generally feeling the “impostor syndrome” for his seemingly overnight success in the music industry.
“I didn’t want to do a documentary, if I’m being honest,” Capaldi said in a new interview with the Pop Shop Podcast (listen below). “But the idea was pitched to me and it sounded really fun. … I never sat down and was like, ‘People need to hear my story,’ you know? That wasn’t my thought process. … It was never a lifelong ambition. But I’m really glad it was done.
In fact, he had a very different view of the project when it was presented to him. “We are at the end of 2019, before COVID,” he recalls. “So I think in my head, ‘This documentary is going to be fireworks! I’m going to be on stage in front of hundreds of thousands of people! I’m going to be on tour! I’m going to kill it! My life is going to be amazing!’ And then obviously COVID came along, and all of that went away. But we were still committed to doing this documentary, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is going to be a really, really boring documentary!’ »
The film is far from boring, however, taking fans on a rollercoaster ride of the epic highs and unimaginable lows Capaldi has experienced over the past four years. “When I saw the first draft, it was so depressing,” he said. “I was like, ‘Do I die at the end of this? Is that what’s going on here? It was so sad. But I’m really proud of it and I’m really happy that it’s coming out and people are seeing it. It’s a very nerve-wracking thing, because it’s quite vulnerable.
In the film, fans also get a glimpse of his friendships with Niall Horan, Ed Sheeran, and even Elton John, who sends Capaldi a sweet note to reassure him that he deserves all of his success.
“I had told Ed about the ‘impostor syndrome’ thing and then Ed told Elton – which makes me think Ed Sheeran and Elton John have a conversation about me when I’m not around” , Capaldi told the Pop Shop. “And then Elton texted me, like, completely out of the blue.”
As for Sheeran, Capaldi recalls having “the most open, honest and amazing conversation” with him last week, while Horan “went from ‘Niall Horan, One Direction’ to a very dear friend, and I love him. He’s been amazing for everyday stuff. Niall is great if I want to buy a sofa, you know what I mean? He’s a very keen eye for interior design, isn’t it Niall.
Listen to the full podcast to learn all about Capaldi’s second album, Broken by the desire to be celestial sent, which is slated for May 19, and his experience working with Swedish pop mastermind Max Martin for the project. Plus, we hear about the monumental kickoff of his US tour last week (find dates here), starting at the Ryman Theater in Nashville where the Grand Ole Opry films (“I was sitting in the bathroom, doing a drain, and I was like, ‘Whoa, Johnny Cash probably took some shit here!’” Capaldi joked).
Also on the show, we have chart news on how BTS’s Jimin debuted straight to No. 1 on the Hot 100 with “Like Crazy” and how his album FACE starts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Plus, the Billboard 200 top 10 is full of debuts, as the latest albums by Lana Del Rey, Luke Combs, and Fall Out Boy are all coming to the region. We also discuss Dua Lipa’s just-announced role in the upcoming Barbie movie and remember legendary record executive Seymour Stein who passed away at the age of 80 on Sunday.
THE Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one stop shop for everything happening Billboardweekly charts. You can always count on lively discussion of the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and people from the pop world. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear BillboardWest Coast Executive Digital Director Katie Atkinson and BillboardSenior Charts Manager Keith Caulfield weekly on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)
