Lewis Capaldi has postponed all his 2021 live shows to focus on recording a follow-up to his chart-topping debut album.
The Scottish singer-songwriter released Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent in May 2019, spawning the number one single Someone You Loved and spending 10 weeks in the album chart top spot.
Now, the 24-year-old, who was born in Glasgow, has announced he will only return with new music and a supporting tour in 2022.
Sharing a lengthy Instagram post with his 5.5 million followers, he wrote: “Just want to start off this wee note by saying how class it is to see things looking more hopeful for the world after an absolutely horrible year.
“I’ve been looking back at the madness of my life for the last little while and feeling really grateful to be able to call this music carry on a job for the past few years.
“I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been terrified about making my next album since the moment I finished Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent.”
Capaldi said he had been writing “loads of tunes” and was excited to share them with his fans.
He added: “I really want to make sure whatever I put out next is the absolute best it can be, partly for my own sanity, cause I’m going to have to sing these songs every night for the next few years on tour, but ultimately for all of you who made the first album everything it was.
“Despite having all this extra time to write, all the Covid restrictions have made it harder to go and record stuff I’ve been working on or even be around all the people I loved working with on the first album.
“For that reason, it is with an extremely heavy heart that I’ve made the difficult decision to reschedule this year’s shows and put all my effort into making the best album I can for you.”
Capaldi said “getting the album right has to be my number one priority at the moment” and asked listeners to be understanding as took time to work on his songs.
The singer had been scheduled to play at a number of festivals and live events, many of which were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
TRNSMT festival in Glasgow Green was recently pushed back to September with Capaldi replaced on the line-up by The Chemical Brothers.
