Shayne excited about Belfast return

Shayne won the hearts of the nation in 2005 with his performances on X Factor. He had the looks, he had the charm, and most of all, he had the voice. Dubbed the ‘British Justin Timberlake’ by many, Shayne had two hit albums and arena tours under his belt before he seemed to disappear from our radar’s. Not so, however, as the Manchester-born star was busily working behind the scenes, writing and producing a new album, which was released late last year, as well as finding himself a new manager, Alan Edwards, who has managed none other than David Bowie. Not bad work from the 26-year-old.

With a new tour of the UK and Ireland just announced, where he will play the Waterfront Hall on March 22, is he looking forward to getting back on the road after so long in a studio? You bet he is.

“I’m so excited just to be getting back to performing live,” Shayne said. “All the fans on Twitter have been telling me they can’t wait to see me, so I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll be rehearsing late February and early March so it will be fun sitting down picking the songs I want to do. I also want to get the fans involved and hear what they would like me to sing from my albums.

“I have a massive loyal fanbase in Belfast. It’s weird, because I’ve played there before I can imagine the sound of the crowd, there’s always a massive reception in Belfast.”

For Shayne, making his latest album ‘Obsession’ was a different experience to his self-titled debut and the follow-up ‘Breathless’.

“Obviously, I’ve been involved in the business six years in total so I’m so used to it now, I’m professional with it. I was seeing it differently this time around with the recording process. It was three years from my last album so I was just enjoying it, it’s a bigger buzz this time around.”

Shayne also threw himself into the writing and producing side of things and dedicated himself to finding the best songs for the much-anticipated third album.

“I’ve been given a great opportunity to write and one of the songs I wrote ‘Waiting In The Wings’ is on the album which hopefully shows fans what I can do with my writing.”

Whilst his new album has only just been released, and despite not wanting to rush into releasing another one this year - “I don’t want to mass produce an album each year, it’s important to go away and focus on the material coming in,” he says - there is one artist he would love to collaborate with.

“I’d like to sing with Adele, she’s got a great voice, it would be cool to do that, I think it could be good.”

Last November also saw Shayne return to the X Factor stage when he performed his single ‘Gotta Be Somebody’ live on the show.

“I loved it,” said Shayne. “I loved going back to do the X Factor, feeling the buzz backstage and meeting the contestants, knowing what they were feeling and going through. I came back and performed as an artist. To be given a slot, which are so hard to get as it’s such a massive show, I was really proud.”

Speaking about working with new manager Alan Edwards, who has managed David Bowie, Amy Winehouse and Naomi Campbell, to name but a few, Shayne added: “It’s been brilliant. We both have this great focus and belief. We have got a lot of drive and already feel we are onto something special.”

Shayne is preparing to release his new single ‘Obsession’, which he says is a “Purple Rain influenced” track, on February 14.

“It’s a beautiful song,” he said. “I’m excited about that.”

Whilst Shayne will be spending most of 2011 on the road, he says there are a “couple more exciting projects” being lined up, although he remained tight-lipped as to what fans could expect.

Sending a message to his local fans, Shayne said: “Thank you for your support over the years. It’s great you’ve been so loyal and welcome to new fans who wouldn’t have known me because they were too young. It’s going to be a fantastic night.”

Shayne will perform at the Waterfront Hall on Tuesday March 22. For tickets contact The Waterfront Hall on telephone 028 90 334455 or book online at www.waterfront.co.uk.

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