Lewis Capaldi has said he is “going to continue taking some time to carry on looking after myself” after his six-month hiatus from touring yielded an improvement in his health.
The Scottish singer-songwriter announced in June he would be taking a break from touring “for the foreseeable future” after he struggled performing during a Glastonbury set.
On New Year’s Eve, he updated fans in a lengthy Instagram post to say he is “working with some incredible professionals to help me learn about and cope better with my Tourette’s and anxiety issues”, and said that it has been going “great”.
“I’m really happy to say I’ve noticed a marked improvement in both since I decided to take some time off back in June,” he said.
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The 27-year-old singer of Someone You Loved said he would also release an extended version of his second album Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent featuring five new songs on Monday.
Capaldi wrote: “For now I’m going to continue taking some time to carry on looking after myself, maybe writing some music and taking a moment to reflect on some of the most incredible years of my life.
“I want to make absolutely sure I’m 100 per cent before getting back out there again properly for more shows and doing what I love more than anything!
“These songs mean the world to me and I’d be gutted if I’d not been able to share them. Hope this tides you all over until we can get in a room and sing them together some day very soon!
“Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent (Extended Edition)’ out at midnight. Happy New Year! Big love Lewis x.”
He also thanked fans to their support, saying their reaction has been “nothing I’ve ever experienced and has made me more excited than ever to return to doing what I love at some point in the not too distant future”.
Capaldi explored how the pressures of fame have affected him mentally and physically earlier this year in the Netflix documentary Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now. It has been nominated for a Grammy for best music film.
On Sunday, Capaldi wrote: “If you saw the film I made on Netflix, you probably know this already.
“But I was absolutely terrified of disappointing you all, afraid of not living up to expectations and in all honesty scared that the whole thing would be a complete flop.
“But thanks to all of you, it wasn’t. It’s mind-blowing to see the songs on this album still resonating with so many of you despite the fact I’ve not been out there promoting it or touring, it means the world to me.”
Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent – which accumulated 95,000 chart units during its first week on sale – held the title for biggest opening of the year until Taylor Swift released her re-recording of her 2014 album 1989. – PA
