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ROCK ON, CRAIG
Craig David reveals massive collaboration with singer-songwriter as he give huge update on his new album Commitment
Meanwhile, an A-lister pair are said to have split just weeks after they were expecting their first child
CRAIG DAVID says his debut, chart-topping album is the “gift that keeps on giving”.
As he belted out hit after hit from Born To Do It — which next year celebrates its 25th anniversary — it is easy to see why he is one of our best loved singers.
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And when he plays me two tracks from his upcoming new album Commitment, it’s clear the hitmaker has not lost his touch.
As we chat backstage at Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball with Barclaycard, Craig tells me: “When I went out and performed, I could see in people’s eyes when I hit certain songs.
“Rendezvous, Rise & Fall, 7 Days — they got the full package.
“I see people’s eyes widening and remembering where they were and what was going on, what they were doing when those tracks came out.
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“Rewind was 26 years ago but it feels like yesterday.”
When Craig came on stage at the O2 on Sunday night for the second of his secret Barclaycard Out Of The Blue performances, the atmosphere peaked — with kids and adults of all ages word perfect to every single track.
It’s testament, I tell Craig, to his songwriting abilities that he created music that transcends time.
“It means the world to me,” Craig adds. “It truly is the gift that keeps giving.
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“I’m humble, I came from a council house in Southampton.
“I just wanted to make the best music and be out there and get on Top Of The Pops.
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Silky smooth vocals
“You’re like, ‘Wow! I’m on the other side of the TV screen.’
“The kid in me is always giggling and enjoying those moments.”
There is a lot more for the multi-award winner to enjoy in the coming months.
His 11-date Commitment tour kicks off in Leeds on February 2 with his ninth studio album following in the summer.
I pinch myself as Craig and his manager Colin Lester secretly play me two tracks from the collection — including lead single Commitment, which is a collaboration with Tiwa Savage.
The R&B star’s voice still sounds remarkable and, from across the table, Colin tells me: “I honestly believe this is Craig’s best record since Born To Do It.”
I agree, with the second track — I promised to keep its name secret — a nailed-on hit.
Romantic and catchy, it shows off Craig’s silky smooth vocals at their best.
“It touches my heart when I hear this song,” he says.
“That’s the litmus test that I’ve had with any of my songs.
“There’s some tracks where I think, ‘I love this’, and there’s other songs where I play them constantly.
“I was like that with Rewind. When I was leaving the studio and I put my headphones on, walking home listening to this new song, I knew it was the one.”
His track with Tiwa will, I have no doubt, blow up on social media and be remixed across all the clubs in Ibiza next summer.
“Tiwa is an incredible artist,” Craig adds.
“When I’d finished Commitment, I felt like the song needed her. It’s an Afro beat type of song and that’s her world. She lives, eats and breathes it.
“I reached out and I wasn’t sure if she’d be up for it but she was.
“I gave her the licence to do her own thing. I told her not to feel constrained by the song I’d sent and asked her to do her own verse.
“She came back with it and I was like, ‘Yo! This is the one.’”
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The album is now completed and ready to go.
Craig explains: “Unless something comes in at the eleventh hour, it’s finished.
“It was a good eight months of locking it in.
“I started at the top end of the year. And then I went out to Ibiza Rocks because the season started, so there were a lot of festivals and pool party stuff going on.
“It was hard to get it done but it feels good.”
Craig’s legacy in the industry is not just down to his ability to create amazing tunes — including appearing on a remix of Jorja Smith's Lately in October.
It’s also due to how genuinely kind he is.
When I sat down to speak with him, he started by asking about my career and life, before recording a personal video for my super-fan mum and offering me the chance to bring her to see him on tour.
After telling a friend how much I liked him, I was reminded of when an old colleague was flown out to interview him in Los Angeles.
He personally drove her back to the airport and saw her safely on her way.
All of this unprompted and without agenda.
Craig is just a genuinely lovely man.
The fact he is still working with Colin, the absolutely wonderul boss of Jem Music Management, is testament to that too.
“I went to meet Craig in Southampton and he warned me I’d lose the wheels of my car,” Colin explains.
“I signed him to Wildstar Records that day. When I met Craig, I also met his grandmother and mother, they are such lovely ladies. I told them I couldn’t promise him success. But what I could promise is that me and everybody that works for me would work 24/7 to make sure the best happens for him.
“I said I would always do the right thing.”
Smiling over at Colin, Craig replies: “You’ve honoured that all the way through my career.
“My grandmother was so protective of me, and Colin allowed her to relax. He’s a good man. He’s really looked after me.”
With the album wrapped, Craig is looking ahead to the tour which will see him play venues across the UK including in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Nottingham and Birmingham.
He will finish with a huge show back at London’s O2 Arena, where we are sitting now.
“I know how it feels to watch an artist perform and they sing all the notes you wanted them to sing,” Craig says.
“I really like to honour that when I go on stage. If I’m going to sing 7 Days, I’m going to perform it like you know it.
“I honour the songs. It brings it all back to commitment.
“Everyone has paid hard- earned money to come to these shows, they’ve paid for hotels and trains — it’s huge for people.
“I’ve made this commitment to my fans and I’m going to keep it.”
Paris's opera plans
PARIS HILTON struck an all-white pose outside of the Today show in New York.
The heiress was in the Big Apple to promote the one-off special of her Simple Life TV series with mate Nicole Richie.
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The new show, Paris & Nicole: The Encore, will see the pair returning to Arkansas and creating an opera based on their Sanasa song.
Nicole said of teaming up again with Paris: “We were talking about it and we decided, you know what, it’s been 20 years, we are excited to do it and celebrate a reunion.”
Paris added: “Nicole and I always like experiencing things that we have never experienced before.
“The opera world, obviously, is very new to us. But that’s what makes our shows funny.”
Rod's feeling well chuffed
HE has made no secret about being a model train fanatic.
And after spending over £70,000 moving his incredible set from the US to his home in London, Sir Rod Stewart has now shown off his layout to Railway Modeller magazine.
He admits he’s got lots of work still to do. Rod said: “I’m not happy with the lights – we’ve got to work on that. We’re going to add uplights on some of the buildings and skyscrapers.
“Then we’re going to have thunder and lightning, everything but rain put in for effects.”
Rod’s model set, which is based on a 1940s scene in America, features 275 metres of track – and it took him 23 years to build.
Gun fired by irate Megan
IT’S all over for Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly.
The pair are said to have split just weeks after she revealed they were expecting their first child.
According to our pals in the US, Transformers actress Megan gave the rapper the boot after finding something “upsetting” on his phone.
He had been on holiday in Colorado when it all kicked off and left the trip early.
As they are so hot and cold, I’m sure they will soon be back together.
Cyn's nailed on
CYNTHIA ERIVO picked up the first of what is likely to be many awards for her role as Elphaba in Wicked.
Let’s hope she didn’t break one of those fabulous nails as she was handed the Actress Award at the 7th Annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television in Los Angeles.
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Cynthia, who stars with Ariana Grande in the new film, is also nominated for a Best Actress gong at the Golden Globes on January 6.
We’ll be bringing you all the gossip from the night after the swanky bash – including who has the worst hangover and who gave the best speech.
Gaga channels Bowie 'N Freddie
LADY GAGA has opened up about her forthcoming seventh record and confessed it’s her darkest to date.
She said: “The album is kind of an exercise in chaos. It’s different sides of who I am as a person – whether that is who I am with my friends, when I am depressed or when answering questions about life.
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“But to me there is some kind of chaos in all of the ways we try to analyse ourselves and try to figure out who we are.”
Of the album’s lead track, Gaga added: “Disease is kind of the beginning of that. Some of the joy of recording was like, ‘OK, what does my inner demon sound like?’.
“I wanted something big. Putting Queen-style background vocals in these harder hitting records, that is definitely something that is a bit of my style.
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“One song in particular has these big Freddie Mercury sweeping vocals and some David Bowie guitars. You pull from things that you love.”
The record is out in February, so just two months till we hear it . . .
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