Lewis Capaldi has said “it’s a very real possibility” he “will have to” quit the music industry.
The singer-songwriter made the admission in an interview while promoting a new Netflix documentary, which is out now.
Despite Capaldi selling millions of records, amassing a dedicated fanbase and winning multiple awards in recent years, he has been open about the imposter syndrome he suffers.
“It’s only making music that does this to me,” he told The Sunday Times, adding: “Otherwise I can be fine for months at a time. So it’s a weird situation.”
He continued: “Right now, the trade-off is worth it. But if it gets to a point where I’m doing irreparable damage to myself, I’ll quit.
“I hate hyperbole but it is a very real possibility that I will have to pack music in.”
Capaldi, who wrote his song “The Pretender” about the imposter syndrome he experiences, also discusses the subject in the documentary.
He explained that, after Capaldi had discussed his feelings of inadequacy over beers with Ed Sheeran, Elton John got in touch to share some encouraging words for the singer.
Capaldi told the outlet he was surprised that the documentary ended up being such a “sad watch”.
He says what started out as a film that would have followed him a she toured, the pandemic happened, and “it turned into a film about me making the second record”.
“Then it became a deeper look into aspects of my life that even I wasn’t aware of,” he said, stating: “In a way, it ended up like my career – it just got away from me.”
Capaldi has also opened up about the Tourette’s symptoms he experiences on stage, saying they have been “getting quite bad” recently.
Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now will be available to stream on Netflix from Wednesday (5 April).
Capaldi’s record, Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent, will be released on 19 May.
