Matt Terry talks about his new single Sucker For You and debut album: "Everyone expected me to be a ballad singer"

This week sees Matt Terry release his first headline single since his X Factor win last year.

It's called Sucker For You, and it's a proper radio-friendly pop song that wouldn't sound out of place on a Charlie Puth or Nick Jonas record.

We caught up with Matt to find out more about what he's been up to over past year and what we can expect from his debut album. 

Hello Matt! It's been almost a year since we last spoke to you after your X Factor win. How's life? 

“I’m great! I’ve been travelling all over, I’ve been in the studio a lot and I’ve been writing non-stop. I counted something like 70 songs the other week and I’ve now narrowed it down to the album.”

And you’ve picked a very strong lead single in Sucker For You…

“Siiick, thank you. I wrote it in Sweden about four months ago. As soon as I heard it back I knew it was my first single, I’ve had it in my back pocket ever since. At one point we were weighing up seven different songs for the first single...

Seven?!  

“But I always knew it was going to be this. I just held tight and I’m glad we call came to the same decision.”

It’s a proper, radio-friendly pop song. How did it come together?

“I wrote it with these producers called The Family in Sweden. The whole album is about my life over the last year and a half. It’s about being at the start of a relationship and how everything’s great, then it starts to crack, then Sucker For You comes in just after that. It’s about knowing you love someone more than they love you. Even though they’re f**king up and not being a great partner, you’re sticking with them and basically being a bit of a loser.”

Sucker For You isn’t the closing track on the album, is it? Tell us there’s a happier ending?

“There is! It goes on to figuring it out and getting yourself out and feeling better at the end of it. I want people to relate to it and think, he went through a hard time but look how he came out of it.”

Post-X Factor win, was there any discussion about what sort of musical direction you wanted to make?

“Funnily enough it just happened. I think everyone at my label expected me to be a ballad singer just based on what they’d seen of me on the show. We didn’t sit down and say this is the style of music we have to do. The label asked me if I could write, put me in the studio and the sound just appeared. Now, we have an album!”

Do you think people fans of you from the show will be surprised, based on your Ed Sheeran-penned winner’s single?

“I think a few people will be surprised. The track with Enrique really helped because it showed me in a different light. I think people think I’m going to have a Sam Smith/Ed Sheeran vibe. I just hope they like what I've done instead!”   

Did you record the rest of the album out in Sweden as well? It’s basically pop heaven out there, isn’t it?

“The producers [The Family] were just incredible – they had gold toilets and black loo paper! There was a room just for playing FIFA on the Xbox in front of a massive TV. We made three songs together in three days and two of them have made the album. Sweden was a great place.”  

It’s almost a year since you won The X Factor; what’s the best thing about being a popstar?

“I dunno! Things like, being told the time your car is picking you up and being asked what I’d like for lunch and being ready for me when I arrive. I used to work at Carluccios where I had to beg for a break and scrounge around for a bowl of pasta. Things are very different right now!" 

Matt Terry's new single Sucker For You is out on October 13.