Matt Terry rose to fame in 2016 when he won ‘The X-Factor’ and he scored a Top 3 hit with the Ed Sheeran-penned ‘When Christmas Comes Around’.
Following the release of debut album ‘Trouble’ in 2017, Terry parted ways with label home Syco and RCA, and took a step back from the spotlight. After spending time writing for other artists, Terry made a welcome return to music in 2023 with ‘You Don’t Know Nothing‘ and more recently he released the soulful ballad ‘Ghost of Me‘.
With complete creative control, and making the music he wants to, Matt Terry is building his career back up. I caught up with him recently to talk about his post-X Factor experience and discuss the journey he’s been on to discover who he is.
I’m glad to see you’re back to releasing music after some time away from the spotlight. Your new song ‘Ghost of Me’ features a really soulful vocal from you and it shows what you can do as a vocalist. Why did you decide to put that track out as a single?
‘Ghost of Me’ touches on a relationship; once it’s been done, we go our separate ways and time passes. In this case after a year or so I’ve been able to move on and I did a lot of work. It was a really painful kind of love. Then they come running back into your life expecting you to be right where they left you but you’ve done the work and you’ve moved on and you can’t let them back in. I want to start telling my story and just be honest with my songwriting. I’m in a position right now where I can just freely write. I want people to connect with me, because I feel like my first album was very heavily influenced by the record label and by many other people.
At the time, I wish I was brave enough to stand up for myself more and maybe there were some things that I wouldn’t have done. Just silly things like I would never have picked that album cover, I wouldn’t have chosen certain songs and things like that. But at the time, I was in a place where I thought saying yes to everybody around me would be the right thing to do. It’s been seven years, and I’m much more grown up. I’ve had many ‘nos’ and many tough decisions and tough moments, but I’ve learned a lot. I believe in myself and I believe that I know best for me. It’s just about having that bravery to put the truth out there and just tell your true story.
It’s understandable that when you win a show as huge as ‘The X-Factor’, that you must feel pressure to be grateful for the opportunities it presents and do as you’re told. I imagine it’s very hard to push back but, as you said, you’ve got so much more experience now. In more recent years you’ve stepped away from performing and concentrated on writing for other artists. Why did you make that decision?
To be honest, you put it perfectly. Looking back now I had way too many different managers. I had too many cooks in the kitchen, to be honest. Everybody’s got different opinions of what should be done and what shouldn’t be done. In all of that, even though I felt like I did have an opinion but I suppressed it because of what you said, I 15 minutes ago was a waiter so let me just let everybody else who’s been in this industry for a really long time tell me what to do. Let them cut my hair. Let them tell me to wear this. Let them tell me to sing that. Let them tell me to go there. Don’t go on tour with these people. Whatever it was… and there were decisions, I would say a lot of them I would just wouldn’t have made. In all honesty, I just put myself first and it’s one of those things that I don’t think enough people do. It’s a big sacrifice but I’m so glad I did. I just said, ‘no way am I going to let any other human or TV show or record label destroy what I’ve worked so hard for’.
At the time, I don’t think I knew much about myself or who I was as an artist, let alone a human. I felt like I was a very young 23-year-old. I hit puberty on the show. I felt like I was a late bloomer. I just chose me is the simple answer. I just said ‘no’. I and my family, are the most grounded people you’ll ever meet, and I was like, ‘this is not healthy for me. This is not good for me so I need to step away. If I’m ever going to do this again, I’ll come back when I’m ready. If I’m ready’. There was a while where I was like, ‘cool, I’ve done it. That was my time. It was a journey. I’ll see you later’. But when you love something, you just can’t stay away and I think it was writing for other people that really pushed me.
I was told once, by previous manager, that I wasn’t a good songwriter and that I should go into the celebrity world and go on ‘Dancing on Ice’ and make money that way. I’m just not that person. Would I go on a TV show like that if it’s going to help promote my music today? Absolutely. If I got asked today, I’d definitely think about it.
Writing for other people and seeing other artists take my songs, and then those record labels specifically asking me to write for their artists, unfortunately it was the validation that I needed. I know we shouldn’t rely on other people to (validate us) but I needed that. It gave me the confidence. There were songs that I was starting to write that I thought, ‘I can’t give these away. I think these are mine’. That’s how it all began. I slowly started rebuilding, that’s what I’m doing here. I’m starting from zero. I like to think on a higher level, just because of the knowledge that I have today, I’m not starting where I was then, I’m starting over with all of what I’ve learned in the last seven years underneath me.
Regardless of what happens, at least now there’ll be music out there that I truly believe in and that’s come from my soul. It’s been written by me and one other person and the producers of my choice, who are my friends. It’s not been fabricated and then by the end of there’s 20 credits on it because people have changed words and melodies, here and there, and all of a sudden it’s not even your own song anymore.
I hope you sent a letter to that manager to show them how wrong they were about your songwriting?
You know what? It’s so funny, because I think those comments drive you. I will say, very honestly, having that in the back of my head only made me want to just work even harder. When you get there, it’s like, ‘I’m not even gonna give you the time’. I could be like, ‘here’s a list of all the songs that I’ve written that are doing well’ but no, I won’t do that (laughs).
You made your return to music with ‘You Don’t Know Nothing’. For me, I liked the debut album, but I did think at points your voice was lost in the mix. On that song your voice is very front and centre. Is that the reason that you chose to relaunch with that song?
Definitely. It just sounded ballsy to me and raw. It was just me and one of my good friends, his name’s Zorro and he’s a producer/writer. We wrote that song in about an hour. I remember I went into the studio and I said to him, ‘I can hear this (melody) on the piano’. We started playing around on the piano and then the riff came in. It all just started taking over with this big, heavy beat. I didn’t want to over produce it. There’s not much in there. It’s very vocal heavy. I just think the narrative of the song (highlights that) I just feel like no one knows much about me and that is on me because I haven’t felt comfortable to share. If I didn’t know who I was, how am I supposed to tell you who I am?
Now that I know who I am, with this next lot of music that’s going to sort of be released throughout the year, I’m ready to show who I am. I think I’m mostly know as the guy that won ‘The X-Factor’ but it’s it’s a fraction of my entire career. I’m grateful and I look back on it fondly. I learned a lot on the show. It wasn’t so much the show that I struggled with it was after the show mostly. I’m thankful for it but it’s not all of me, it’s just a part of me. I’m too proud and I’m strong minded, and I won’t let anybody else define my life. This is my choice. This is my decision. I make the moves in my life. That was the thought process behind dropping that first. I thought it was a good introduction.
I didn’t expect it to do what it’s done, if I’m honest. It hit number one for a few days on iTunes, which was lovely. In my head, I was like, ‘God, if it gets top 100 that means there’s some people out there still listening’. It’s pretty close to 100,000 streams on Spotify. We’ve just put this out ourselves and there’s no major label behind me on this one. I’m really proud of it and I just love that people have responded and are listening. It’s really rewarding when you do it yourself.
The industry has changed so much since you won ‘The X-Factor’. At that time album sales and hit singles were all people focused on, and if you didn’t have a major label behind you, you simply didn’t stand a chance. Now, if you value artistic freedom you don’t need a label and thanks to streaming and social media, you can find an audience as an independent artist. How have you navigated that new world?
To be honest, I’ve just worked really hard over the last five years. I’ve done many shows, all over the world telling my story. I’ve jumped in and out of musicals. I’ve been writing music for artists around the world such as K-Pop and everything. I believe that I made that happen for myself. I’ve gone out there and looked for it and, and worked for it. I’m grateful that I do what I love for a living and I’m really happy, I have a home and I’m thankful. Working that hard, maybe there are some gigs that aren’t really your first choice, but it’s about sacrifice. I
I’m essentially my own record label so I have to hire my own team and I have to pay my own producers. Luckily, I write my own songs. My best friend happens to be a stylist so I got lucky there. I can put together an outfit and sling it over and be like, ‘mate, check me up’. Having a label you get a lot of perks but you don’t have have the full freedom. Raye is a perfect example. I remember being on the circuit with Raye in 2016/2017 when she’d released a Jax Jones record and I’d released the Enrique Iglesias one. We were on all the summer festivals and things like that. She was shelved on her label and now she’s a superstar.
It’s mad that she was dropped by a label. Look at her now! She was meeting Janet Jackson the other week, which I saw on social media, who was telling her how great she is…
It’s so funny. I can’t believe an industry that has nothing to do with digits is all about numbers. I understand business and I understand money but when a record label is saying, ‘Oh, we think you’re really talented. Come back when you’ve got a million followers on TikTok or when you’ve got a million views on a TikTok’. I am not here for that. I’m here for longevity. If I went viral tonight and a record label said ‘oh, we’ll sign you on this one song’ I’d say, ‘No way. Absolutely not because I’ve grafted all this for this moment. I’ve hustled this algorithm and now you’re just going to jump on it?’ No way? Absolutely not.
So many TikTok stars were signed during the pandemic and unsurprisingly, hardly any of them have gone on to have any longevity. If you’re an artist, you probably should be making music and writing songs, not spending your time trying to go viral on TikTok…
I wish that record labels had that mentality, I think it will find its way back. The world does tend to go in circles and everything comes around. We’ve already seen this Universal (Records) and TikTok business where the music’s not there anymore (note – Universal Records pulled all of their music from TikTok is a dispute over payments). Hopefully, that’s the start of other labels not making deals with TikTok to play their music. I’m too proud but if I was the music industry, would I let an app define how I function? Absolutely not but that’s just me. I’m sure there’s way more to it. I’m not in the thick of the business and the contracts of all of that. Music is all about feeling and how have we let 15-second vertical clips move all of that away? That’s why nothing lasts. All of the songs that are coming out… I don’t want to say a specific song, but any recent hits now; where will they be in 10 years? Where that longevity? Is that even possible anymore? Maybe it’s not.
There’s been such a shift for artists now. We’re not in the 90s when singles were the focus and to be honest, album sales aren’t even a focus now. It’s all about live and for you, that’s your arena. You proved your capability as a live performer week after week on ‘The X-Factor’ and I imagine that must be your favourite part of being an artist?
It makes me feel alive. I’m doing a stint of shows right now and I come down at half 10 at night and I’m awake because it’s just a feeling that you can’t beat. When you’re singing out and just seeing the eyes of people looking up at you and listening, there’s no better feeling. With this next lot of music to come, it’s about time I let people in and I think I’m ready now. The only reason why I’ve never let anybody in before was because I didn’t know myself. It’s about to get real and I’m excited. I’m nervous, but I’m excited and I just can’t wait just to lay it all out there and share my truth and hope that others relate and connect and listen. As artists, you want your music to be heard and you want to help. The best messages that I get (are things like) ‘your first album got me through this and that’. For a while after the whole thing with the label, I was just like, I can’t listen anymore. When I see what it did for other people? I respect it and I think it’s just important because that’s what music is. It’s that simple. It’s there to help, to make people feel and get through life.
Once a song is out there, you don’t own it in the same way anymore. It becomes something else to other people and it belongs to them. It’s so much bigger than you realise…
Absolutely. Having people connect and interpret it their way of what different songs mean to them and those certain little words that maybe have been said to them, and they’re like, ‘Oh, he’s he’s been through it too. He felt that too and he’s okay. I’m going to be okay!’ It sounds silly because that sounds so simple but it’s not. People aren’t connecting the same at the moment. I do say it’s TikTok (laugh) but what do I know? There’s millions of people like me. I just don’t think there’s a right or a wrong way. I just believe that there’s my way. I’ve got a way and I’m finding it. There’s no right or wrong. Do what you feel and that will take you to the right destination.
Matt Terry released his new single ‘Ghost of Me’ recently. It is available to download and stream now.
