Calum Scott Regaled India and He’s Certain He’ll Be Back for More

Calum Scott was handed a prime evening slot at Lollapalooza India in Mumbai on Jan. 25, 2026. Performing before the likes of folk-metallers Bloodywood, the U.K. pop artist’s soft ballads may as well have been a draw, but the festival stage demanded energy.

Speaking over a video call from his hotel in New Delhi before the first of two shows in India, Scott invokes the first time he performed in the country in 2024. “It was Mr. Sheeran that brought me out to India for the first time,” Scott says, referring to fellow Brit Ed Sheeran who performed to an estimated 50,000 in Mumbai as part of his Mathematics tour.

He remembers the nervousness as he approached the venue—also Mahalaxmi Race Course which hosted Lollapalooza India 2026—and wondered if people would like him or even knew his music ahead of his debut concert. “As soon as I walked on stage, bro, I thought they were there for me. It felt like I was the headliner. People would be losing their minds. That was so beautiful for me. It really made me feel so welcome,” Scott recalls. He went on to perform in Shillong as well, all of which ensured he was primed for when he got called back to India.

Last week, alongside an intimate show at The Piano Man in New Delhi and a set at the BudX stage at Lollapalooza India in Mumbai, the artist made an impactful return, this time bringing songs from his latest album Avenoir as well as EDM features like “Where Are You Now.”  The New Delhi club show was more to tell his stories and “really get into the hearts of people” and Lollapalooza India was “huge and massive and crazy” for Scott. “I get to do the best of both worlds this time,” he said ahead of his shows.

The goal with both performance settings is the same. “I want the crowd to know that I’m just as human as everybody else. I’ve been through just as much as everybody else, in terms of the lows and highs in my life,” he says.

While he didn’t get to bring in Indian pop star and collaborator Armaan Malik to perform their song “Always” at his India shows, Scott won hearts when he brought his mother out on stage in Mumbai, serenading her with “You Are The Reason” before launching into his distinctive, soul-laden cover of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” that made him an international breakout star.

The set’s closing track was Scott’s gateway into record deals and tours starting from 2016 when his version of “Dancing On My Own” was out. In 2025, Scott had already released his third album Avenoir, which continues his penchant for quiet and vulnerable piano ballads but also goes beyond. “I’ve just reached a point in my life now where I’m a third album in and I think that’s kind of quietened down the imposter syndrome in my head that tells me that I’m going to end up back at Human Resources at some point soon,” he says with a smile.

With “those barriers off,” he gloriously returned to taking on another beloved hit with Avenoir, Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and turned it into a ballad duet that retained Houston’s iconic vocals. Funnily enough, it came together when he was on tour with Sheeran and a mashup of the song found its way to Whitney Houston’s estate. “It was just a pinch me moment, and to be able to record with her voice was incredible, and I knew that I had to be totally respectful, and that was the top of my priority list,” he says.

Avenoir also gave him a chance to bring together the worlds he was known for, from EDM to ballads and a bit of pop. He’s especially proud of “Peripheral Vision,” a buoyant track that sees Scott break away from the melancholy sad-boy moods. “I call it the sexiest song I’ve ever done. I don’t know if that’s a bit cringe, but it’s so not what I would have done on the last two albums. I think it’s because it requires a little bit of swag and a little bit of that kind of sexiness.” It’s gone on to become among the fan favorites off Avenoir and Scott boasts he even gets to do “a lot of gyrating to that on stage.” He adds with a laugh , “I’ll get texts from my friends. They’re like, ‘What are you doing [on stage during that song]?’ So I gotta choose where I do my gyration.”

It’s that kind of excitement that leads Scott to tell us his creative direction as an artist is wide open now. He’s sung in Portuguese, French and German. “I think Punjabi should be next on the list,” he says. His India visit has led to deeper ties and more potential collaborations. “I’d love to work with a female artist here in India. I think it would be great to hear that blend of our voices,” Scott adds.

Even stylistically, he says he could go in any direction. “I feel like the world is my oyster at the minute. I could come back with another dance record. I feel like I could come back with another sort of Callum Scott ballad straight to the heart, making-the-nation-cry  kind of a vibe, or I could do a cover […] I think that’s kind of what’s exciting about music, is you just never know when that next turn is going to be, so keep your ears peeled,” Scott says.