Paolo Nutini On Returning To The Limelight And Travelling
Paolo Nutini has spoken to Rolling Stone UK about his struggles with fame, his return to the limelight and creativity in a new interview.
Paolo discussed his relationship with performing, “The realities of doing this and the whole experience doesn’t feel entirely natural to me,” he says of performing. “I’m not the most extroverted person, but when you’re on a stage you find yourself opening yourself up in that way. The more vulnerable the better, too, when you’re trying to give your audience a piece of you and you’re hoping to get something back. Once that ends, I’ve always had to recalibrate my fucking brain.”
The singer also elaborated on the way he spent his time away from the limelight, a period in which he was able to travel the world, “Sometimes you’d just get a couple of nights in these places and a small taste of what they’re about. I tried to go back and spend some time there. I’m lucky I’m able to do that. I’d go away on a Monday and say I was coming back on a Thursday, but I’d return two months later, having made some great, mad experiences along the way.”
But despite his extended sabbatical, the singer remained creative throughout the period and the pandemic has given him a new perspective on his work, “I’ve never stopped writing songs and writing ideas and that’s what gives me my kicks. Even if they sit half-finished for a year, I feel like I’m happy regardless of what I’m doing at the time. But over the past two years, watching how it’s affected everybody, that social shutdown, it made me think that it is a real privilege to go out and communicate with people on such a scale. And to have the outlet of release that performing on a stage can give.”