March 17, 2012 14:43

Michael Kiwanuka: 'I never thought I was good enough to be a singer' Michael Kiwanuka Tickets

BBC Sound Of 2012 poll winner says he thought he was so 'rubbish' could have given up

Photo: Press

Michael Kiwanuka has admitted that he used to think he wasn't good enough to be a singer.

Kiwanuka won the BBC Sound Of 2012 poll earlier this year and released his debut LP 'Home Again' earlier this week (March 12) but, in an interview with the Daily Star, revealed that he had never thought he had enough talent for a career in music – and also said he could easily have quit when playing his first gigs.

He said:

I never thought I was good enough to be a singer. Even now, if someone says: 'Sing', I can't do it for shyness. If any of my gigs had gone wrong when I started, I'd probably have given up.

He went on to add: "There were a few dodgy moments, and I'd get really moody. I'd think I was rubbish, and friends had to remind me of the positives."

The singer also said he had already begun thinking about the follow-up to 'Home Again' and was eager to embrace a new direction. "I'd love to do a wholly instrumental album one day," he said. "My concerts have big instrumental sections, so it wouldn't be that big a leap. And I definitely want to play a bit more electric guitar on my next album. I'm listening to Jimi Hendrix's slower songs – they are proving a big influence."

Last month, Kiwanuka teamed up with The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach for a new collaboration. Speaking about their song 'Lasan', Auerbach said: "It was great – really quick. We went and did it really quick at Ray Davies' studio. It was nice. Obviously his voice is amazing the songs are cool. The production on that stuff is great too – I like what the guy is doing." You can hear the track by scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking.

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