British pop star Calum Scott has discovered the power of nouns.
As a contestant on Britain's Got Talent in 2015, he sang his own version of the song Dancing On My Own by Swedish pop star Robyn, and with one simple noun substitution he changed the song's reach.
"With Dancing On My Own, I specifically changed the nouns to reflect it being from a gay man's perspective," Scott told AAP.
As a gay man, he wanted to make the song relevant to his own experiences. Scott's performance was so popular, he released his own version which climbed higher in the charts than the original and has since been streamed more than 670 million times.
His version of Dancing struck a chord with the LGBTQ community. There was something about this simple, stripped back song that made an unrequited love story seem more universal.
"The amount of people who have written to me and said my interpretation of the song has allowed them to come out and to feel confident and happy, it's amazing to be an inspiration," Scott said.
Since he finished as a finalist on the TV talent show, Scott has been writing his first album, Only Human.
He's also realised since releasing Dancing, the power of music and its impact on the LGBTQ community.
"It's enabled me to tell a story and be relatable, and gives me the chance to hopefully inspire kids to be brave and not face their teens and 20s in fear," he said.
"I feel so much more empowered. The feedback I'm getting about my music is that people don't care about gender anymore, it's just about love."
* Only Human is released on Friday.
Australian Associated Press
