Tom Ball, a rising star who gained fame from his appearances on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and ‘America’s Got Talent: All Stars,’ expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to have a song written by Gary Barlow for his debut album, ‘Curtain Call.’ The 26-year-old singer collaborated with the Take That legend and renowned record producer Eliot Kennedy on the track ‘Winter Song.’
In an exclusive interview with BANG Showbiz, Ball shared his excitement: “The song written by Gary – ‘Winter Song’ is a stunning song that I am so privileged to be able to sing and bring to life. When Gary and Eliot first offered me that song, they told me that they were waiting for the right voice, and I’m so honoured to be that voice and to work with them.”
Ball’s debut album draws from a wide range of musical influences. He mentioned that his inspirations include musical theatre icon Michael Ball, known for his role in ‘Les Miserables,’ as well as contemporary artists like Jack Garrett and Joe Stilgoe.
“It’s a real mixture,” Ball said. “You’ve got the people like Michael Ball, who was a massive influence on me when I was growing up [watching ‘Les Miserables’] and musical theatre. And then you’ve got people like Joe Stilgoe and Jack Garrett – people that I listen to now and listen to their albums [which] I love.”
One of the biggest challenges Ball faced in creating the album was narrowing down the song selection to just ten tracks. He emphasized the importance of cohesion and quality throughout the album.
“We had so many options that could have ended up in the album, and making sure that we are 100 percent happy with every song that is in there, and getting it to sound the right way so that it feels like a complete body of work, and not just 10 songs thrown onto an album,” he explained. “While that was probably the biggest challenge, that is actually one of the things I’m most proud of. It’s got that through-line, it’s got that consistency across the whole album.”
Ball aimed to create a cinematic feel with his album, infusing it with a sense of positivity and feel-good energy. He stated, “The message moves and changes. If there’s a theme for the whole album, it is cinematic, because every song is in there – whether it’s originally meant to be like that or something that we’ve added and changed and made it our own. It’s got that cinematic, movie feel, and that’s what I’m really, really proud of. [They are] quite epic sounding songs and feel-good. Most of the album – not all – is just a feel-good, positivity.”
Looking ahead, Ball expressed his desire to collaborate with Grammy-winning jazz artist Gregory Porter, whom he admires greatly. “He always comes to my mind because I love his music and I’d love to do a duet with him and that’s Gregory Porter. I think he is a sensational jazz singer and I’d love to do a duet with him. And then you’ve got lots of other artists – whether that be [in] musical theatre or pop that I love and I’d love the opportunity to meet. But I think in terms of like working with, Gregory would be up there.”
Tom Ball’s debut album, ‘Curtain Call,’ is set for release on May 24.
