Lewis Watson...

A little while ago, I wrote about my true arts hero, Lewis Watson. I tweeted him a link and within minutes he had read it and replied to me, this just proves my point about how much he much he appreciates his fans.
Here is his response...

Lewis Watson, my true arts hero

My true arts hero is Lewis Watson, a 20 year old singer and song writer from Oxfordshire. He taught himself to play guitar at the age of 16 after receiving a guitar for his birthday and in 2010 he started uploading covers of songs onto youtube. Since then he has produced 2 EP's called "It's got four sad songs on it btw" and "Another four sad songs" including seven original songs and a cover of Lamplight by Bombay Bicycle Club and has recorded a third EP set for release later this year. 

When talking about his first EP, Lewis said "I set the songs on that EP out like a story. 'What About Today?'  was about quite a rubbish situation where I was being used, and that was the tail end of a relationship; 'Windows' was looking back after the relationship ended; 'Bones' is about meeting someone new; and 'Nothing' is about being happy with that person". This inspires me because he is so open and true to himself in his songs and you can hear the emotion in his voice, he said "I'd never want to write a song that wasn't really personal to me, but at the same time it can't be too personal. It's like telling 45,000 people a secret that I didn't want to tell anyone.". His second EP was just as personal as the first, again including songs close to his heart. 

I can listen to Lewis's songs no matter what mood I am in, because whether I am sad or happy, they inspire me. The emotion and truth in his voice makes his songs so relatable. 

On December 13th 2012, I went to see Lewis Watson perform live at the Borderline in London. The atmosphere was amazing, with around 150 people  (I was probably the most excited) all waiting in anticipation for Lewis to come onto the stage (which was only a metre away from me!). When Lewis stepped out onto the stage and introduced his two band members (one called Rob, at which point I had to shout "He's Rob and I'm Robyn!" much to the embarrassment of my friends) every person in that room was in a complete state of shock, he was there, just a short distance away and soon he would start singing the songs that we all longed to hear. For months I had been looking forward to it and he didn't disappoint. When the crowd sang each and every word to his songs, he would take a moment to stand back and marvel at how unrealistic it seemed. After the show he even came and met every fan by the merch stand and admitted that he was shy on stage and apologized for mumbling. He is one of the most lovely people I have met and agreed to take pictures with his fans, sign anything handed to him and hugged his fans.

This is another thing that inspires me about him, he may not be the biggest singer right now but he has tens of thousands of fans and he hasn't let that affect him. He still appreciates each and every person that listens to his music and he stays true to himself. Every time I listen to his music I am inspired all over again and that is what makes a true arts hero, someone that can inspire you.