2015 has been a stellar year for music and we’ve seen many new artists emerge over the past twelve months. Nathan Sykes is one of those artists that’s made a big impact this year – despite being known as part of The Wanted, Nathan has made a name for himself as a solo artist this year and is set to become a massive star in his own right.
Nathan launched his solo career back in March this year, unveiling a sultry sounding track called “More Than You’ll Ever Know”, accompanied by a slick video. It was released as a promo song for fans, giving them an insight into the type of music that Nathan would be releasing in the future.
In April, Nathan went on a six-date sold out UK tour, with the lucky fans who managed to get tickets getting the first listen of Nathan’s new material. The tour was a big hit, with Nathan performing his first single “Kiss Me Quick” for the first time, as well as tracks such as “Money”, “Famous” and “Over and Over Again”. During his Birmingham tour date, Nathan also found the time to pop along to Meghan Trainor’s show for an impromptu performance of “Like I’m Gonna Lose You”, originally sung by Meghan and John Legend.
Credit to Stefan Guillou
In June, Nathan performed at Capital’s Summertime Ball in front of 80,000 people. This was his sixth consecutive time as a performer at the Ball, but his first time as a solo artist (he performed 4 years in a row with The Wanted, followed by a slot as Jessie J’s guest performer in 2014). Nathan got to perform “More Than You’ll Ever Know” and “Kiss Me Quick” to entertain the crowds.
The month of June also saw Nathan sell out his first solo show at New York’s Gramercy Theatre in just ten minutes! This was a great feat for Nathan, which followed his performance and signing at Mall Of America earlier in the month. Billboard also named “Kiss Me Quick” as one of ‘Tomorrow’s Hits’.
“Kiss Me Quick” was released on the 5th of July. This uptempo track charted at number 14 in the UK. The song did even better in America, reaching number one on the Dance Club Songs Billboard Chart. To coincide with the release of “Kiss Me Quick”, Nathan held a competition to win tickets to the first ever Sykes Secret Shows. Tickets were hand delivered by Nathan to the lucky few that got to attend the event, whilst fans from across the globe had a chance to win codes which gave them access to watch the official live stream.
Nathan was also shortlisted in the US Vevo LIFT Campaign. Vevo’s LIFT was launched back in 2011 as a way of celebrating new emerging talent and Nathan was the only UK artist nominated amongst three Americans.
In October, Nathan released news regarding his hotly anticipated second single. Fans who went to his UK tour were thrilled to discover that “Over and Over Again” had been chosen as Nathan’s latest track, which was then released in November. The emotional ballad is a heart wrencher and came accompanied by a video that would make even stone hearted people cry.
Once again, Nathan ran a competition, with tickets to the first screenings of the “Over and Over Again” video on offer. A few days after the screenings were held, the video had its world premiere on Vevo, and subsequently broke every fan’s heart. The video featured Nathan and a girl, following the different stages of their relationship. From their first encounter to a marriage proposal, from their first home to their first child, the video is emotionally charged throughout and is made even sadder when you see an old lady painting different pictures of Nathan. The moment she is pictured crying at a gravestone is when you realise that Nathan has ‘passed away’, which will choke you up no end.
Nathan did a lot of promotion for the song, most notably a stunning performance on The X Factor. He charted at number 8 in the UK, giving him his first solo top ten single.
The song has even been used by a couple as their first wedding dance! The newlyweds tweeted Nathan to let him know, to which Nathan said that he was sobbing.
I'm sobbing. Hope your big day was everything you dreamed it would be https://t.co/BG7Vzq6AmK
— Nathan Sykes (@NathanSykes) December 7, 2015
Nathan has also treated us to some great covers this year. He cleverly twisted bits of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” into Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor’s “Marvin Gaye” to create a spine-tingling cover for us all to enjoy. Nathan has also tackled John Legend’s “Ordinary People“, Drake’s “Hotline Bling” and The Weeknd’s “Earned It“, proving just how versatile a singer he is. Nathan also did what some people would call stupid, and covered not one, but TWO Adele songs! His versions of “Rolling in the Deep” and “Hello” are absolutely sensational.
To end the year, Nathan performed at various Christmas shows in both the UK and the US. One of the shows was Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball, where he stunned a 20,000 crowd with a gorgeous rendition of “White Christmas”. His voice will give you goosebumps, that’s for sure!
We’re so proud of Nathan after his incredible year and 2016 is promising to be just as brilliant for him. With his debut album due at the start of the year, and a support slot on Little Mix’s tour, 2016 is set to be a busy year for Nathan and we can’t wait to see what else 2016 has in store for him!
What’s been your favourite moment from Nathan’s year? Tweet us @CelebMix or comment below.