Gavin James has joked he is 'still tired' after his last gig in Belfast, despite the fact it was three years ago.
The Dubliner is gearing up for another string of tour dates across Ireland which includes Millennium Forum in Derry on September 25 and a return to the Ulster Hall on October 2.
Speaking to Belfast Live, the 31-year-old told recalled a memorable moment for him when he last visited Belfast to conclude his world tour.
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"The last time I was in Belfast was also at the Ulster Hall in 2019 and it was the last night of the tour and we got to finish here which was class, just incredible.
"I'm still tired from it because we ran all the way to the back of the room and it was long, the Ulster Hall is long I forgot how long it was and I ran to the back of the room to see my mam and dad and started playing for them, so I'm still tired from that," he laughed.
"And we downed a pint as well, when I ran back to the stage, that was the worst part, it was horrible. The lads were like buzzing and like 'yeah let's down a pint' and I was in bits, it was Guinness in a plastic cup as well so it wasn't great," he added.
After releasing his brand new album, The Sweetest Part, just last month which went to number one in Ireland, Gavin revealed he made quite a lot of changes to it throughout the process.
"The last album I released was 2018 so it was a long time ago with the two years in between [with Covid], so it felt good to release a new one, I had a lot of time to write it as well, re-write it, write, re-write it again, think it was terrible...so I had loads of time to think about it. It was great that it went to number one as well.
"It took a long time to pick what songs were going to be on it, like the second album was done, finished in like two months, it was very quick and everything was done really fast whereas this one was a really long graft.
"With this album, I just had a lot of time to do it, usually I'm not like that and I'm just like 'ah that'll be fine' and once it's out it's great, it's like the Leaving Cert, it's out can't do anything about it...deadly!"
Reflecting on his favourite track of the new album, he revealed he also honed his piano skills during lockdown.
"The opening track is called 'Only Love' and it was one I wrote back in March 2020, and it was when I started to get into production and playing piano because I couldn't really play piano before, not properly. I could play 'Always', just that one song which is only four chords so it's easy. So when I wrote that song it just kind of aligned the whole sound for the rest of the album."
With so much talent on the music scene at the moment, Gavin said he has a few favourites who he would love to collaborate with.
"I love Sam Fender, he is my favourite at the moment, because I love Bruce Springsteen, he's class. There's a few actaully, Luz, she is from Ireland, she has an incredible voice. Rachel Grace is awesome too, there's loads. Lyra too, she played the last show with me in Dublin so she's class."
Asked about his rituals before going on stage Gavin admitted he does a lot of 'pacing' around backstage to help the nerves.
"I get really nervous and then I don't talk for like 40 minutes, I'm like stroking the walls and stuff, freaking out and then it just goes away," he said.
Having started his career as a busker on Grafton Street in Dublin, he admits it's still amazing to play for thousands and have them sing his songs back to him word for word.
"I was in Whelan's the first time it happened and I was like, 'wow, that's mad', and then I went back to my mam and dad's box room and write another song there. But it's always mad, we did a gig in Portugal recently they were all singing Always, and it was just mad, it's a mad feeling."
Tickets for Gavin James at Ulster Hall and Millennium Forum in Derry are available now.
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