No.1 for Interviews - Darius Campbell
Darius Campbell

Fresh from his win on Popstar to Operastar, the Scottish singing sensation took some time out to pop into the No.1 office to tell us all about it...

Darius has come a long way since he first burst onto our screens in TV talent show Pop Idol. Since then, he has notched up five UK top 10 singles (including a No.1 for his debut track ‘Colourblind’), a platinum album and has landed a number of prestigious roles on the West End stage including Billy Flynn in Chicago, Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls and Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. But it has been his most recent success that has thrust him right back into the limelight. After appearing on ITV’s Popstar to Operastar, in which eight pop stars were trained to perform opera arias, Darius swept to victory. Fresh from his win he took the time to pop into the No.1 office. We quizzed him on all aspects of the show, found out why he has changed his name from Danesh to Campbell and discovered how it feels to perform opera live on TV while your fly is down (yes he really did that!)

How does it feel to have won Popstar to Operastar?
It’s just amazing. I would never have imagined that I could have so much fun and work so hard in such a short period of time. I was really emotional on the last night because I was just so moved by the strength of the public’s support – it just felt magic.

Did you enjoy the experience?
I loved every minute of it. It was very daunting though, especially to think that I was going to be sharing the stage with the number one tenor of his generation, Rolando Villazón. When Rolando opens his mouth something happens in the room that sends shivers down your spine. There was one point when I was on stage with him and we were walking towards each other; I had been so nervous but in that moment any sense of fear completely disappeared and it turned into an amazing
energy.

Do you like opera?
I have always appreciated opera, largely thanks to my mum and dad whose favourite radio station was Classic FM. When I was in the car on the way to school Dad would play little snippets of Carmen or Tosca so I was definitely given a sense of classical appreciation of music from a young age.

Was it a challenge for you?
It was the most difficult experience I have ever been through as a singer as I had to unlearn everything I had learned as a pop singer and a singer of musicals. It’s a completely different technique that you need to sing opera.

You had a little embarrassing incident on the show. Your fly was down the entire time you were singing…
It wasn’t a little embarrassing incident – it was a huge one! I did find it hilarious as I thought to myself, ‘I have actually managed to perform one of the most respected arias in the world and do the whole performance with my fly down!’ That was the one time in my entire life that I was really glad that I wasn’t dressed as a true Scotsman. If I had it would have been an all-together different show and one that wasn’t suitable for a family audience!

There has been a lot of talk recently about you changing your name from Danesh to Campbell – why did you decide to do that?
For me it’s not really a name change, I’m just using the name I was born with, which was Darius Campbell-Danesh. When I did my first audition that was the name I used but because my surname was quite long and they ended up dropping it so I just went by ‘Darius’. When anyone did use my surname they dropped the Campbell and, I have to be honest, I never really thought about it. It was only when I went to see my grandfather in hospital recently and he said to me, “Wherever you go in the world, you’ll always be a Scot, you’ll always be a Campbell and I’ll always be proud of you” that I decided to become a Campbell again. 

Did your family mind you changing your name?
I spoke to my mum and dad about it and contrary to anything you might have read they were both really supportive. It is my name after all!

There has been a lot of talk recently that people who take part in reality talent shows don’t get enough support to deal with the sudden attention they get. Would you agree with this?
The process that I went through was really the very first search for a star so there was no support. I had no agent, no PR, no manager and no idea how to deal with the pressures of going from an Edinburgh student one moment, to someone whose name and face was recognised over night. I really was thrown in at the deep end but my upbringing really helped. Every time I got knocked down I had that inner courage to get back up again.

With the current popularity of reality singing shows like The X Factor it is being said that Simon Cowell controls the record industry. What’s your take on it?
I think anybody that is involved in the music industry right now, whether they like Simon Cowell or not, has to be grateful to the man who has reinvigorated the music business. UK record sales are driven by two sources: by new acts that are coming through and by popular entertainment culture like reality shows that help sell millions of records. That money is then being ploughed back in allowing artists that would not necessarily get discovered to be discovered. Love it or hate it, the music business would be struggling without the changes that Simon has brought about. It’s very easy to take potshots at someone but the fact of the matter is that he is one of the greatest ever British businessmen – I’m also very lucky to call him my friend.

Is Simon a nice guy?
He is such a nice guy – and I’m not just saying that because he always picks up the tab at Robert De Niro’s restaurant!

So what’s next for you?
I really want to give back to those people who have allowed me to be where I am and I’m going to do that through a new album and tour and a really exciting 2010.
I’m so excited about my new album – I’m working on it right now and it’s a much more mature record. It’s fits somewhere between Michael Bublé and Josh Groban and it’ll hopefully be ready by the end of this year.

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