Out, English singer/songwriter Calum Scott first grabbed our attention almost 10 years ago with his striking cover of Robyn’s dance hit “Dancing On My Own.”

Scott’s transformation of the song, from club classic to arresting ballad, was astonishing. The nuanced rendition gave listeners a new way to listen to the song while also introducing us to a talented artist. Scott, who is coming to the U.S. for a multi-city tour in support of his latest album “Avenoir” (Capitol), works similar magic with the Whitney Houston standard “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me).” In Scott’s reading, the song becomes one of emotional longing, in which the performer is likely to bring his fans to tears. Add to that the fact that this song is performed as a duet with the late diva, and you can already feel your cheeks dampening. Calum generously made time for a Zoom interview mere days before crossing the Atlantic.

Calum Scott performs at Revolution Live on April 14. 

Calum, I first interviewed you in 2018 at the time of the domestic release of your debut album “Only Human.” When you reflect on that time, is there something that stands out about your experience? 

My debut album [was] something I had absolutely no foresight that I would ever be able to do. Growing up, music was a hobby, music was something I enjoyed. It was a pastime. It was never something that I took too seriously. I remember when I appeared on “Britain’s Got Talent” and then subsequently had released my version of “Dancing On My Own,” it just went crazy. All the labels wanted to speak to me. I signed to Capitol Records and then it was like, “Right! I'm writing an album! How the frick do I do that? Where do I even begin?” Writing was such a new thing for me. I was placed in the in the wonderful hands of Fraser T. Smith who's worked with Adele, Ellie Goulding, Stormzy, and other amazing artists. He held my hand through that whole process. Putting the album together, even though it was something new, something I could have never dreamed of doing, and that was both terrifying and exciting; I think to be standing, with that album in my hands, felt monumental to me. It felt like I had arrived, professionally. My own body of work. It makes it feel purposeful and intentional. It didn't feel like I'd fallen into this, and “Oh, well, now I've made an album.” All the things that I'd been through in my life up to that point, that I'd drawn experience and inspiration from, suddenly felt like it mattered, in a sense. It was quite profound. 

Did you ever hear from Robyn about your cover version of her song “Dancing On My Own?” 

Obviously, when it first happened, that was the only person I was seeking approval from. It was not my song, and it had opened so many doors for. I was like, “I need to know what this lady thinks of this cover!” She might hate it, but I never knew. We reached out a couple of times. Being an artist now myself, I understand you get busy, you don't always see your messages. For a few years, there was nothing. Then, I got into a room with Patrick Berger, who was her co-writer on the song. I got to sit with him in Sweden. We had dinner and talked all about it. He was telling me how painstaking it was to make that song with Robyn. She would call him and be like, “Is it ‘stilettos and broken bottles’ or is it ‘stilettos’?” She was fine-tuning the song, and you can tell because it's stunning. Then I thought, “Well, I'm that much closer to her with the other writer of the song.” Then we just sort of happened to bump into each other in London at a radio station here. I was like, “Oh, shit, Robyn!” My radio girl was like, “I used to look after Robyn, let me introduce you.” She introduced us, and I was just in shock. I said, “I'm just so grateful to you, and what you've done, and everything you do for the community, and what you've done for me.” She was like, “You know what? I love the song. I love your version of it. You've opened me up to a whole new fan-base and the song’s had a new journey. I can’t thank you enough.” I was just holding it together, and then as soon as I got into the lift and the doors closed, I started crying. It meant a lot to me to have Robyn’s approval. I'd never want anybody to think that I was taking the song and making it mine. I was simply trying to reimagine her beautiful work. 

On your new album, “Avenoir,” you give the dance track “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” a tune made famous by Whitney Houston almost 40 years ago, a similar ballad treatment. What was it about that song that made you want to slow it down for your interpretation? 

It feels like I have got some sort of a curse, Gregg, where I take an upbeat pop song and make it depressing as hell [laughs]. I’m a massive fan of Whitney Houston. My mom played Whitney Houston all the time when I was growing up. “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” was played around the house a lot. When I was singing “Dancing On My Own” when I was touring in 2024, it seemed the most appropriate time to do a bit of a mashup from “Dancing On My Own” into “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” The songs are pretty much the blueprint of each other; unrequited love, looking to find your soulmate. I was like, “I'm going to throw this in (the set) and the crowd went crazy for it.” Both Robin and Whitney – two absolute powerhouses, two incredible women. That became a bit of a trend, and I would sing it every night. A video had been recorded, and it made its way over to the Houston estate. Pat Houston, Whitney's sister-in-law, who controls Whitney's catalog and estate and all that kind of stuff, reached out personally, and she said, “This is phenomenal! Would you want to do an official duet?” I checked my schedule [laughs]…She gave us creative control. She was interested to see what I would do. As I said, I wanted to reveal the nature of the lyric and that yearning and that wanting to find that person who loves you spoke to me. Stripping down the production and putting strings on there really highlights the incredible lyrics by Shannon (Rubicam) and George Merrill. What they've composed was so beautiful, and I think stripping it down emphasized it. We sent it to Pat and the Houston family, and everybody loved it. It became an official duet, and it still blows my mind. It blows my mind that I get to sing with this absolute icon. I think the biggest thing for me, Gregg, was putting that song out; it was the fanbase that I was so wary of. It was the reason why I didn't put it out. It was a passion project. The fact that Pat asked if I wanted to do an official duet was something that I would never have been able to dream about doing. I thought, I've been given this wonderful opportunity, but the song belongs to Whitney's fans. I wanted to make sure that I did it justice. We painstakingly put that song together, making sure that we didn't change Whitney's vocals. We didn't take away anything. There's little artifacts of her voice that were recorded from the tape that we left, which was so special. Even though it was tricky, it was worth every minute. The best thing for me to see was the comments online of people saying, “Whitney would have loved this.” It was big for me, Gregg. 

It does sound great. Earlier, you mentioned “Britain’s Got Talent.” On the new album, you recorded a duet with “American Idol” alum Lauren Alaina on the song “One More Drink.” Am I on the right track that, because you both sang on competition shows, it had something to do with you teaming up to record? 

Yeah! We reached out to the label and said, “I love country music and have been wanting to dip my toe in for a long time.” We had reached out to a bunch of people, and Lauren was one of the people who messaged us back, saying, “I love this guy's voice. I would love to do something with him.” I had a song called “One More Drink” that was a solo record. In the songwriting session, we played it with a guitar, and we were coming up with the idea of when you're in that state where nothing can get that person off your mind. Not whiskey, not wine, not a whole case of beer. The way that story kind of wrote itself felt very organic to country music. We gave the song to Nashville producer Ben Johnson, who was incredible with how he arranged the song, and getting the band in, and doing a real traditional recording of all the instruments. Lauren, when we reached out, was just so on it. She sent us a version back. One-take wonder! She's incredible. The thing that I love about Lauren is that it's a journey we both understand. Coming from a talent show, then trying to put your stamp in the music industry, trying to keep your foot in the door, and be taken seriously as a music artist. 

You mentioned “Avenoir.” What can you tell the readers about the instrumental title track? Is that you on piano? 

Jesus Christ, Gregg, I wish! I can't play “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star!” It was an extension of the song “Mad,” which is a song about me wanting to become a father. My dad wasn't around much when I was younger, so I wanted to write a song that spoke to what I want to do with my future, how I see myself in the future, music aside. (Zak), the piano player on the record, after we'd finished recording “Mad,” he was obviously inspired and taken in the moment, and started playing this really amazing interlude. He looked over at my producer, who was just like (gesturing to) keep going. He played this really beautiful journey, and for me, when I got that piece back, I was so moved by it because I felt, as an instrumental piece, that it visualized what “Avenoir” was about. It's about reflecting on time. We all worry about the future, and we all have regrets about the past. “Avenoir” is this body of work that hopefully serves as a reminder for people to be present. To think about all those people in your life that are right now here with you; the journey that's got you to this moment. I feel like “Avenoir” embodied that. My producer (Jon Maguire) had taken a voice clip of my nephew saying to me, “Wow, that's good Calum, well done.” I sent that to Jon and he put it in the track. Then my best friend, Jess, had a baby on Christmas Day. I thought it would be so beautiful to add baby Jax’s cry at the end. It brings it all back around to me being a dad. It's got really beautiful Easter eggs hidden in the song that make it so special. 

Have you had the experience of being at a Pride Festival or in a gay club and hearing a DJ spinning one of your dance numbers, such as “At Your Worst”?  

I haven’t. But I do have a really beautiful memory from when I played one of my first Pride festivals. It was in Montreal. I think it might have been the first time I'd been there. It was just my keyboard player and me, and we rocked up to the venue, and there was joy everywhere. There was vibe, there was music, there was personality.  I turned to my tour manager, and I was like, “I'm about to go on and sing a lot of ballads to these people. I'm gonna kill the mood!” I’d spoken to a couple of drag queens who were there. I told them I'm so nervous, I'm going to be singing a lot of ballads. They were like, “Honey, they're here for that!” I went on stage and I started singing my ballads and, sure enough, there were people in tears and people that were cheering me on. I said to the crowd, “I'm so sorry this is a little bit sad.” Everyone was like, “This is amazing!” I remember feeling so accepted. Not only for my music, but for me being there, as well. It was awesome. 

Now, you are embarking on a multi-city tour of the States beginning in late March and continuing through early May. What are you looking forward to most about those concerts? 

For me, America has always been one of my favorite places to tour. It's so vast! It still blows my mind that you can be on a tour bus driving overnight and you're still in the same state. There's so much variety in America, which I love. Each state is different to the next. The common theme is the people. We've always said that America tends to have the most vibiest audiences. They're not afraid to tell you when they find it incredible, that the show’s amazing. They'll be vocal about it, and yet, in the same way, you've got that incredible pin-drop silence where everybody's hanging on every word. To have that kind of relationship with your audience is so beautiful. It feels so respectful and it means that they give you this extra percent for you to perform with. There's some craziness going on in the world right now and, for me, my shows feel like 90 minutes of complete security where people come to feel seen and heard and valued. We have this section of my show called The Crying Corner and, let me tell you, Gregg, there's not a dry eye in the house. I make it my sole mission to get people in their feels. I have a song called “Gone” which I always dedicate to people that we wish were still with us. I've got Whitney Houston’s song. I have a song called “No Matter What,” which was my coming out story and is incredibly important to me in the set. Because of my new music, like “Roots,” “At Your Worst,” and “Lighthouse,” we can blast everybody full of positivity, as well. The biggest thing is creating an environment where people feel that they can just escape and feel safe for 90 minutes. 

I was fortunate enough to attend your August 2018 concert here in South Florida. You’ll be back here, in Fort Lauderdale, on April 14. Do you think you might have time to explore our gay city of Wilton Manors while you are here? 

I would absolutely love to. My tour manager runs a tight ship. He'll be cracking the whip, and not the whip that I like. I will do my very best to get on about. I don't know if you've seen it, but my mom joined us on tour in Asia and Europe. She's going to be in Fort Lauderdale, as well. It would be incredible to go around the bars with mom. She's the life and soul of the party. She’s more famous than I am. She’s started charging me for her time. It would be amazing to do that with her. I've got my fingers crossed.