Exclusive Interview: Nathan Grisdale Discusses His New Single 'Miss Understood' And More
To celebrate the release of his catchy new single ‘Miss Understood’, Nathan Grisdale played two special intimate shows in the UK earlier this month. We chatted to the rising star backstage before his gig in Manchester!
With incredible vocals and inspirational lyrics, it’s no surprise that Nathan is making waves in the music industry. His track ‘Lone Soldier’ never fails to give us goosebumps; it’s extremely emotional. Nathan is signed to Boxx Records and he’s currently recording new songs in the recording studio. We literally can’t wait to hear them.
It’s fair to say that Nathan is a master when it comes to social media. In less than a year, he’s found himself with over 600,000 fans and that’s just on Facebook alone. In the past, YouTube helped launch the career of Justin Bieber and MySpace introduced Lily Allen to the world. Now, Facebook is helping Nathan spread the word about his music.
In our exclusive SuprTickets interview, Nathan discussed: his new single ‘Miss Understood’, the importance of social media and more. Check out his answers to our questions below!
Your new single ‘Miss Understood’ is now available. For people who haven’t heard it, how would you describe the song?
“It’s got quite a reggae feel to the song. It’s basically about a girl being misunderstood; people don’t get her. I can kind of relate to that in school and in things like that. So yeah, that’s the reason why I wrote it and that’s the thing behind it.”
And you filmed the official video in Blackpool – how did you find the video shoot?
“Yeah, it were really good. It was a long day but obviously you’ve got to expect that because it’s a video shoot. The weather were good and I love Blackpool because I love rides but I didn’t get to go on the rides that day.”
You’re playing live shows in Manchester and London this month – what do you enjoy most about touring?
“Meeting the fans, getting a great reaction and the buzz that you get on stage – you can’t describe it, it’s just unreal.”
Are there any funny stories that you can tell us from life on the road?
“Probably sharing a bunk with Jack Lavelle. He stayed in the bunk below me and, he’ll hate me for this, but he never like washed his clothes so it kind of stunk a little bit. Yeah, that were quite funny.”
Who would you say some of your biggest musical influences are?
“I like people that have come from the bottom like Ed Sheeran – he was busking and look at him now; he’s absolutely huge. He’s done it all on his own so that’s unreal.”
So if you could duet with anyone in the world – would it be Ed Sheeran?
“Probably yeah. Or Justin Bieber; a lot of people hate him but I think he’s awesome.”
You’re a fantastic songwriter. Are there any lyrics that you’re particularly proud of writing?
“Thank you. Good question. I’ve got a new song coming which I’ve wrote with some band members and I’m really proud of that one. I can’t say much more yet but I think that’s going to be a big one. You can expect to hear that in the next coming months.”
When making a song, do you start by writing the lyrics first or by producing the beat first?
“I’d usually start by putting my headphones on, listening to the beats and trying to get creative. I go into a sort of mind-set where I can relate to certain situations, then start writing and hope that it turns out good.”
Your song ‘Too Young To Die’ tackles the issue of cyberbullying – what advice would you give to anyone being bullied?
“I’d say don’t care what people think, stay close to the people that mean the most to you and be yourself because it’s pointless trying to fit in. Bullies in the long run aren’t going to get anywhere.”
Many soldiers have said that they’ve been touched by the lyrics of ‘Lone Soldier’. Are there any comments from fans that have stuck with you or warmed your heart in particular?
“Going to the ‘Lone Soldier’ thing – usually it’s young girls who like my music but it’s spread out a bit to guys that can relate to that who’ve served on the front line and in the army. Yeah, I’m glad that I could write that song to help them in their life and that they can relate to it as well.”
You’ve got a huge presence online and many of your videos have gone viral – how important is social media to you?
“Well, without social media, I wouldn’t be here. I hope they don’t delete Facebook. *laughs* Yeah, it’s very powerful. I never thought I’d be doing gigs. Not even supporting people – doing my own gigs in Manchester with a lot of people watching which is crazy. So yeah, it’s very powerful.”
A lot of singers now take the talent show route to break into the industry – is that something you’ve ever considered?
“No, I don’t have anything against people that take the talent show route but I can’t really say because I’ve done it through Facebook and have a fanbase. If I didn’t have a fanbase, I’d probably go on a talent show. I’ve got nothing against that.”
What does the future have in store for Nathan Grisdale?
“Hopefully, I want to be getting top 40s. I want to be playing in front of more and more people. Hopefully that can happen and people keep supporting me.”
And if you could leave a message for everyone who’s supported you on your journey so far, what would you say?
“I would say thank you very much and I hope they keep supporting me. Hopefully I can keep writing bigger and better songs that they can relate to and yeah, hopefully they can carry on this journey with me.”
2015 has certainly been a massive year for Nathan Grisdale so we can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store for him. The Blackburn born singer-songwriter received a fantastic reaction from an adoring audience in Manchester and his concert is one that we’ll never forget. Nathan’s legion of fans is growing day by day.
‘Miss Understood’ is currently available here on iTunes and you can also purchase physical copies here on Nathan’s official online store. The single follows Nathan’s previous tracks: ‘Lost‘, ‘Lone Soldier‘, ‘Smile‘ and ‘Only One‘. There’s also tons more original tracks and covers here on Nathan’s Facebook page.
