Nathan Sykes took inspiration from his break-up with Ariana Grande for his solo album.
The 21-year-old singer was one fifth of hit boyband The Wanted and since their hiatus began last January, he has been working hard on his first standalone record.
He and Ariana dated for several months before calling time on their relationship at the end of 2013 and collaborated on track Almost Is Never Enough during their time together. Being such a prominent part of Nathan's life, he looked back to that period while penning tracks for his upcoming release.
“The time we broke up was really tough. The Wanted decided to take a break and I lost my granddad. I was not in the best place," he recalled to British newspaper The Sun. "She was my first grown-up relationship. But sometimes you have to go into a place like that to be able to find the best music out of it.
“The most emotional song is about me telling myself not to be angry at the break-up because sometimes things just don’t work out. That’s life.”
Asked whether Ariana knows about him writing a song about her, Nathan admitted she doesn't but that he hasn't included any detailed versions of events. He also insists there's "no bad blood".
It was the long-distance aspect of their relationship that eventually made it impossible to continue their romance.
Nathan talks similarly about The Wanted going their separate ways and insists it was a decision which came naturally.
“I certainly wasn’t thinking about any sort of solo career until we all decided to have a break.
“But when we did split I was only 21, so I thought, ‘I’m too young to stop doing what I love,'" he added.
"We all just felt it was slowing down a bit. We had an honest conversation and said we should have something to come back to.
"We didn’t want to be one of those bands that go on and on and people think, ‘God, are they still here?’"
