By Natalia Ningthoujam
New Delhi, March 11 (IANS): Popular American TV shows like "The Vampire Diaries" and "Riverdale" inspire 19-year-old English singer HRVY, who says he is yet to experience "a lot of situations" that would influence him to write songs.
Harvey Leigh Cantwell, also known as HRVY, began his musical journey when he was just 13. He uploaded covers of hit numbers by American artistes Justin Timberlake and Trey Songz on the digital platform, but he has his own set of songs too.
Asked about his inspiration, HRVY told IANS over phone from Mumbai: "All my inspirations (for songs) come from movies and TV shows because I am young. I am yet to experience a lot of situations. I watch a lot of movies so, movies and all their stories inspire me."
"'The Vampire Diaries' and 'Riverdale'... the ones on love and break-up kind of TV shows... it kind of sounds stupid as their lives are made up, but if you invest into it, you will see the love stories."
The video of his last year's track "Personal" will take you back to high school days. Did he take cue from the high school drama shows for it too?
"'Personal' happened when I was in school. I had a girlfriend. She used to flirt with all my friends though she never cheated on me. There is a line in the song -- 'She'll flirt with your friends'. So, yeah, shows with American high school kind of a look. The video's idea came from the shows," he said.
Doesn't he fear of getting into a legal battle with the shows' makers?
"No, not really. When you get a lot bigger than I am, then maybe," said the UK artiste, who has nearly 70 million combined video views and over five million global followers across social media.
Considering the strong inspiration from the US, how important is the American market for him?
"America is very big so, people want to break into it. I don't want to break into only in America, but also India and elsewhere," said HRVY, who had made a stop over in India last month for a solo showcase curated by Bottomline Media.
Asked about his experience in India, he said: "Amazing. Everyone is so nice. The fans are incredible."
He will co-headline a UK tour with The Vamps in April. The group had performed here and also collaborated with Indian composers Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani in 2016.
Did the British band give him any tips for his maiden visit to India?
"Yes, they said everyone is very nice... a friendly bunch. Also, it's very hot in India so I should take sunscreen," he quipped.
Ravjiani had also invited HRVY to his music studio. Any collaboration? "Yes. It's happening," he replied without sharing more details.
The youngster is also looking forward to release more original songs.
"Yes, more songs are coming out. It will definitely be a busy year for me. The songs will be summery and happy," he said.