Global superstar Lewis Capaldi unveiled yesterday the heartfelt music video for his new single, the piano-led “Pointless” – taken from his brand new record Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent – out May 19th, 2023.
Relatability sits at the core of Capalid’s artistry, and the new music video is another perfect example of this. Directed by Hector Dockrill (Sam Fender, Post Malone) the beautifully cinematic video follows the relationship, and unconditional bond between a mother (played by Niamh Algar) and her son (played by George Jaques), navigating their way through meandering moments of adolescence and adulthood.
The return of Lewis Capaldi has been characteristically disruptive, in the most exciting way. Rocketing straight to the top of the UK singles chart in September with comeback single ‘Forget Me’, his third UK number 1 which quickly became Gold-certified and smashed 100 million streams globally, making him the fifth artist this year to have a single go straight in at Number 1 in its first week, putting him in the company of Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Dave & Sam Smith.
It was just last week Capaldi was announced as one of the headliners for Reading & Leeds Festival 2023. The announcement came after he sold out his upcoming 2023 UK arena tour in seconds, with further shows around the world selling out in record time. The overwhelming demand for Capaldi doesn’t stop there, recently being crowned the ‘King Of Streaming’ with his global hit single ‘Someone You Loved’ becoming the UK’s most streamed song of ALL TIME.
‘Pointless’ arrives as one of his earliest compositions for the new album, written on the first day with Steve Mac. With Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid also on the session, the trio were working on one song (“which hasn’t made the cut”) when Lewis’ collaborators mentioned a verse they’d previously begun writing with Ed Sheeran.
“Ed had that lyric, ‘I bring her coffee in the morning, she brings me inner peace’”, Lewis recalls of the opening line. “And pretty much every other line of that opening was just banging.” Inspired, Lewis got to work, writing a chorus and middle-eight. By the end of the day, ‘Pointless’ was completed.
For album two, the idea is simple but potent: to go in and do the exact same thing. No bells, whistles or starry featured vocalists, and no ruinously expensive stays in distant studios. Like it was on the first album, straight-up, full-force honesty. “I don’t want to create a new sound for myself, or reinvent myself.” says Lewis. “The songs I want to write are emotional songs, about love or loss.”
He soon found a groove that suited him just fine, with a recording setup of just a small interface, laptop, speakers, and a Shure SM7B vocal mic. “I felt like I was sounding better because I was just chilled out in my own gaff. Also, a lot of this record was made with most of the same people who I worked with on the first one: TMS, Phil Plested, Nick Atkinson and Edd Holloway.”
It’s safe to say that debut album Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent was a success. Selling over 10 million copies worldwide, the album propelled Capaldi from bedroom musician to superstar. Few have seen a debut release quite like it, becoming the biggest selling UK album of 2019 & 2020, spawning two UK number 1 singles and a number 1 smash hit on both sides of the globe in ‘Someone You Loved’, as well as bagging a few BRITs and a Grammy nomination along the way.
After selling out headline shows to hundreds of thousands across the continents, Lewis sold out London’s SSE Arena Wembley ahead of his debut album release, making him one of the first artists to ever achieve such a feat. This summer, he re-emerged to headline his first ever festivals, on top of two rapturous sold out nights at London’s O2 Arena.
If his first album made him an international star, with his second it’s nothing less than superstardom that beckons. His return has shown that the insatiable appetite for Capaldi burns as bright as ever.
Lewis Capaldi 2023 UK and EU Tour Dates
JANUARY
Sat 14th Leeds, First Direct Arena (SOLD OUT)
Mon 16th Sheffield, Utilita Arena (SOLD OUT)
Wed 18th Manchester, AO Arena (SOLD OUT)
Thu 19th Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena (SOLD OUT)
Sat 21st Newcastle, Utilita Arena(SOLD OUT)
Mon 23 Aberdeen, P&J Live (SOLD OUT)
Tue 24th Glasgow, OVO Hydro (SOLD OUT)
Thu 26th Birmingham, Utilita Arena (SOLD OUT)
Fri 27th Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena (SOLD OUT)
Sun 29th Belfast, SSE Arena (SOLD OUT)
Mon 30th Dublin, 3Arena (SOLD OUT)
FEBRUARY
Wed 1st Cardiff, International Arena (SOLD OUT)
Thu 2nd Exeter, Westpoint Arena (SOLD OUT)
Mon 13th Warsaw, Torwar – Poland
Tue 14th Vienna, Stadthalle – Austria
Thu 16th Berlin, Mercedes-Benz Arena – Germany
Fri 17th Prague, O2 Arena – Czech Republic
Sun 19th Hamburg, Barclays Arena – Germany
Tue 21st Frankfurt, Festhalle – Germany
Thu 23rd Antwerp, Sportpaleis – Belgium (SOLD OUT)
Sat 25th Amsterdam, Ziggo Dome – Netherlands (SOLD OUT)
Sun 26th Paris, Accor Arena – France
Tue 28th Cologne, Lanxess Arena – Germany
MARCH
Thu 2nd Copenhagen, Royal Arena – Denmark
Fri 3rd Oslo, Spektrum – Norway (SOLD OUT)
Sun 5th Stockholm, Avicii Arena – Sweden
Tue 7th Zurich, Hallenstadion – Switzerland
Wed 8th Milan, Mediolanum Forum – Italy
Fri 10th Barcelona, Palau Sant Jordi – Spain
Sat 11th Madrid, WiZink Center – Spain
Tue 14th Stuttgart, Schleyerhalle – Germany
Wed 15th Munich, Olympiahalle – Germany
