Lewis Capaldi was reportedly paid “six figures” to perform at Saturday’s (11.12.21) Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Despite postponing his 2021 tour dates to focus on his second studio album, the Scottish superstar couldn’t turn down a mega-paycheque to perform a one-off gig the day before Sir Lewis Hamilton hits the Yas Marina racetrack in a bid to continue his reigning championship, The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column reports.
The ‘Someone You Loved’ singer decided to have a year off touring due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to spend 2021 finishing his new LP – the follow-up to his acclaimed debut record ‘Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent’, which has become a global hit since being released in May 2019 – which he started writing last year.
In a lengthy Instagram post to his millions of followers, Lewis admitted he was pulling out of his live shows with a “heavy heart” but promised his fans he would be back with a new album and new songs to play for them in 2022.
His social media post read: “Hello everyone, it’s Lewis Capaldi here. It’s been a while, hope you’re all staying safe!
“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’.
“I’ve been writing loads of tunes I’m really excited about and I can’t wait for you to hear them. 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.
“I hate the thought of letting anyone down, especially after the year we’ve just had but I know that, more than anything, getting the album right has to be my number one priority at the moment. I hope you understand.
“I’m really sorry I won’t be out there with you this year, but I’ll be back in 2022 with new music and a shit load of shows in as many places as I can possibly get to across the world.”
The singer-songwriter had been due to perform at a number of festivals including the Isle of Wight Festival and TRNSMT – which takes place in his hometown, Glasgow.