mvm.

“Stay humble and stay hungry.”

Lewis Capaldi is quite possibly the most original, diverse artist in the music industry right now.

Since his explosion on the music scene back in August, he has become a household favourite across the UK, thanks to his charismatic charm, lovable personality, his down-to-Earth manner and of course, his damn voice.

Operating deep within mainstream music, Capaldi seems to be a breath of fresh air compared to the other artists that are churned out from the hit factory. His social media presence is one to be admired too, with his Instagram videos showing that he is still just a funny lad from Scotland.

His lovable nature on social media has allowed him to access such a huge fanbase in such a short amount of time. Soon enough, you start listening to his music thanks to the individual behind it, simply because you want to learn more about him.

The team behind Capaldi have done a wonderful job, in allowing his personality to sell his music. This allows us to connect with him more as a person, and less like a global artist who is on the corporate hamster wheel. During the time when everyone is fighting to shine their top man in the light, and when everything is available to everyone nowadays, it is certainly a bold move on their part. Even when Capaldi is doing promotional ads or paid sponsors, it doesn’t come across as a cringe-fest or desperate. But rather, just damn humorous.

There could be some learning to do with Capaldi.

Has Capaldi paved the way for the future of the music industry?

Through the Internet, does this allow you to be discovered far better through your individuality and quirkiness, as opposed to your music? Well, in the case of Capaldi, its a matter of both, as he not only delivers himself through his personality, but his music can holds itself on its own too. As the chances of being discovered as an artist becomes greater thanks the accessibility of the Internet, does this allow more and more down-to-Earth artists to come forward and become the new faces for the Industry? Capaldi is a clear example that it works. It certainly seems that just being yourself can take you a long way.

Something different is what music consumers are craving for, nowadays.  I think it’s fair to say that Capaldi has stayed true to himself, shying away from the assembly line of music artists; who all seem to be politically correct and stay within the line.

This is why the Gallaghers’ were a testament for their time. Showing the biggest middle finger to the consumerism of the music industry through their erratic personas that made them outlandish and ultimately, stand out from the rest of the pack.

Love or hate them, they have shaped and shifted the way we view the music industry we see today. The corporate powerhouse that sees dollar bills over genuine talent, with these corporates an actual chance to help talented musicians pursue a meaningful career.

“The challenge is that while more people than ever listen to popular music, its ubiquity means that less people than ever want to do the deep dive.” – Caryn Rose, Vulture 

This comes with its own challenges of course, because due to the nature of popular music being so (cough) *popular*, less people want to look further at the different – and stay within the comfortable. This is why Lewis Capaldi has broken this barrier. As he operates within popular music and the mainstream of music, it has taken a young, funny Scottish lad for the music consumers to turn their heads slightly toward the musicians within the “deep dive.” And that’s great. I just hope we have more Capaldis’ in the future.