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Interview with teen sensation Elyar Fox in Sheffield Motorpoint Arena


Elyar Fox is set to release his expectedly next huge single, “A Billion Girls”, on the 13th of April. Fans, or better known as Foxers, have just a few more days to eagerly wait for the highly anticipated single that they’ve been teased with on Youtube and during his tour. Elyar’s first single, “Do It All Over Again” made a mark on the UK charts by getting into the Top 5. SHUlife Music was able to catch up with the charming and talented teen sensation during his stop with The Vamps and The Wanted at Sheffield Motorpoint Arena.

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SHUlife: Hi Elyar! How do you feel about supporting The Wanted today?

Elyar: I’m not bothered..no I’m just kidding! It’s amazing as I’ve never played arenas before so it’s been crazy.

SHUlife: So what’s it been like touring arenas?

Elyar: It’s fun you know and it’s been no problems or anything, it’s literally the most fun I’ve  ever had.

SHUlife: It’s definitely a huge deal, were you star struck when you first went on tour with The Vamps and The Wanted?

Elyar: No it’s just so fun, that’s all it was, like I was telling my mum whenever I give her a little update through texts that I’m just having nothing but a fun time. Like during the tour with Union J, it was a bit more worrying and stuff because it was my first time and I wanted to make sure it was going right but this one has just been amazing.

SHUlife: What was it like touring with Union J?

Elyar: It was actually really cool and they’re really cool guys. It was a really good tour. They do wear a lot of hair spray.

SHUlife: That’s true. So do you get to wear a lot of hair spray?

Elyar: Uh no the thing is, I’m really bad with hair products, I’m always asking everyone else. I used to be good and carried one around with me but my hair starts to fall whenever I use it. I even used to style a quiff all the time but I just let it fall down now as I got lazy.

SHUlife: Don’t you have anyone else to do it for you?

Elyar: Well we do, but when I don’t then I don’t style it and I’m always like “ahh I cant do it by myself now”. My hair stylist does it really well so I feel like I can’t do it without her now as it’s not as good, but I do like to look after my own hair.

SHUlife: When you used to do your Youtube videos, did you expect it to be this successful?

Elyar: No- I had no idea that I’d be doing what I’m doing now. It’s kind of surreal and I just want to take a step back sometimes and I’m just like, I’m so grateful to be where I am right now.

SHUlife: What would you have done if you had not been successful?

Elyar: Nothing else because I’d still be doing music, always

SHUlife: Is it all you have ever wanted to do then?

Elyar: Yea, since I was 6 years old I just knew whatever it is, I knew I wanted to write music or even performing it and being an artiste. I didn’t know what exactly it was I wanted to do with music but it had to be music related. I guess I had an ego and I wanted to be out there. I like to be out there and inspire people and eventually make a difference with my music so it’s what I have always wanted to do.

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SHUlife: So what was the reception like for a Billion Girls?

Elyar: The reception? Well, the wedding was great but…no that was an awful joke.

SHUlife: Sorry! That was a bad choice of word in my part…

Elyar: I know what you meant. It was really great and the video will be released in the next few days. We’re playing the video exclusively for the tour audience. It’s really cool as it was directed by Nigel Dick. He’s really fun but he’s also very iconic as he did the big Britney Spears videos (Oops I did it again and Baby One More Time) So yes, it’s a really cool video so the response for it has been great.

SHUlife: Do fans tweet you some really weird things?

Elyar: Yea definitely but you kind of get used to it. I think that if someone who tweets something weird and says it in person then it would be even more weird. People say some horrific things but it’s usually just funny. The people behind the screens are probably quite young as well, sometimes you gotta think, just wow, the things they come up with!

SHUlife: So what kind of tweets did you get that you felt was very weird?

Elyar: I can’t think of one at the top of my head specifically…

SHUlife: Are they all weird?

Elyar: For every tweet I receive, there’s always a really weird tweet to go with it but it’s just funny.

SHUlife: So what do you miss about home?

Elyar: The food. My family cook really good food! It’s kind of the obvious things you miss and just hanging out with friends as well. I kind of do miss having free time sometimes because obviously I’m always doing something music- related. The thing is that when I get home and hang out with my family for a bit and it feels great, and then after that it’ll be like, I’m kinda bored now, I want to get back on the road, but obviously I do miss hanging out with my friends and stuff. I also grew up in London so it’s not like I had to move to London for music so I can see my family whenever I want. A lot of people kind of have to leave home for things like this.

SHUlife: What have your friends said about your career?

Elyar: I don’t know because it has not really happened overnight for me as I have been working on it for awhile, so for me it seems like it’s quite a normal thing but I guess it’s the same for my friends too as they know it’s my job and it’s what I do. I think they do find it kind of weird when they hear me on radio and stuff. I only keep friends who I know are actual friends as I’d like to think I’m a good judge of character.

SHUlife: Did you get new friends all of a sudden?

Elyar: No because I didn’t want any new friends. You know what I mean? It’s like I kind of knew who my friends were. Obviously, I had to make friends on the way like my live band and music crew; they’d kind of be my friends regardless.

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SHUlife: What inspires you to write songs?

Elyar: Literally everything. I feel like if you locked yourself in a room for a week or in a studio, you’d probably run out of inspiration. I think travelling inspires me the most, like when we went to Nandos earlier today and we had an hour before we had to be on radio (Capital FM) and I asked my tour manager if I could go back to the van and write a song and I just wrote one. I think it’s kind of the fact that I like travelling; it definitely inspired me a lot to write.

SHUlife: So you actually wrote a song earlier on today?

Elyar: I haven’t finished it yet but it sounds really cool.

SHUlife: Will it make it to the next album?

Elyar: I hope so; I’m really excited for the next few singles to come out. Hopefully that’ll be one of them.

SHUlife: Are you looking forward to your next album?

Elyar: No.

SHUlife: No?

Elyar: I’m kidding!  of course I am, I’ve been saying every night to fans how grateful I am to be there and I’m so excited to get the album out as it’s a really good album as it came together perfectly. It’s wicked. That’s all I’m going to say right now. I think everyone’s gonna love it.

SHUlife: What songs should we expect to be blown away by?

Elyar: There’s a song which I love called “Smiles” and I’m looking forward to that. There are loads of songs but I won’t go through the track listings.

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SHUlife: As you supported Union J who is a product of the X Factor, what do you think to the X Factor?

Elyar: It’s really good but there’s a lot more pressure that comes with it as it’s a popularity thing so it can be quite difficult. I still think it’s great especially when you look at what’s happened to One Direction and all the other acts that come from it.

SHUlife: What advice to you have for young people as you obviously worked hard for your success?

Elyar: Try just to not be discouraged as there’s always going to be people who are gonna say you’re not good enough and try to put you down. You should actually just keep going and not give up. If you’re really passionate you kind of do whatever you can to get to where you want to be as I had no idea that I’d even be contacted by a record label when I was 16 as I’m just a kid from West London. I felt like it was impossible. It just happened and I was like wow- it can happen. If you really want it to happen then just keep trying and things will take form. That’s not just music; it’s with everything you want to do.

Interview by: Catherine Christy and Lucy Butler

 


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