Daniel Bedingfield “was not enjoying” being famous at the height of his music career.
The 45-year-old pop star enjoyed immense success in the early 2000s with hits like ‘Gotta Get Thru This’ and ‘If You’re Not The One’ but had to take time out of the spotlight in the years that followed, and admitted that he only really “deeply enjoys” the performance aspect of things these days.
He told The Daily Star newspaper’s Wired column: “I am really glad that I did it but actually being in the spotlight is a lot for an autistic kid, it is a lot of information, it is a lot of people wanting lots of things.
“I think I was quite overstimulated for most of it. Yes, I pulled myself together and got it done as it was what I was dreaming of for most of my life, but it was a lot. I was not enjoying the famous aspect but deeply, deeply enjoying being on stage.”
The ‘Never Gonna Leave Your Side’ singer – who has not recorded any new material in two decades – now lives on a farm in Los Angeles and is “really grateful” to the US because it has allowed him to embrace and work on his mental health struggles in a way that is perhaps not as commonplace for musicians in the UK.
“I think going back and forth between doing concerts and farming and trying to save the planet is kind of an exciting life now to be honest.
“I am really grateful to America as I remember growing up in Britain it was like, ‘Oh mental health is whatever’ – you gotta just carry on so I am so grateful for that change.
“And perhaps people can be a little more gracious, I know a lot of sensitive pop stars right now and they’ve had to build these massive walls and massive gated communities to keep them safe, that’s in England and only in England, in America they don’t seem to be having such a hard time.”