Hitmaker Billy Lockett has revealed spending time with James Corden is not what people would have expected.
The musician who is still riding a wave of happiness after beating the likes of Lana Del Rey and Lewis Capaldi in the charts still can't get his head around his success.
Hailing from Northampton, Billy admits jetting to Los Angeles to appear on TV in Hollywood was beyond his wildest dreams – but James Corden made him feel at ease.
Back in 2019, Billy was booked to perform on The Late Late Show in front of millions of viewers, which he continues to describe as a surreal experience.
Dismissing the negative attention which often surrounds James, he told the Mirror: "He gave me a chance before anyone fully did and it was my first TV appearance, my first time in America, my first anything really.
"I had a mutual friend, the drummer from Razorlight (Andy Burrows), who is a friend with James and I wrote the song with Andy, when he was over at James' house in LA, he played the song (Hard Act To Follow) and James loved it.
"He was instantly in touch to get me on the show, it was a very quick turnaround and then after I did the show, me and James sat on the roof and just chatted."
He went on to add: "He was mentoring me in a really, really nice way, he gave me some great advice.
"It was nice to have someone at that level, he didn't need to help anyone really but it showed that he cares, it didn't feel like another job, he was excited about me being there which meant a lot."
However, the star who recently completed a sold-out UK tour explained that a week prior to appearing on the show, his former record label dropped him.
"There were a lot of emotions, really, really worried and upset, then all of a sudden, 'Oh wait, everything's going really well again'," he said.
During their rooftop chat, the pair enjoyed a game of basketball basking in the sunshine of Los Angeles.
Speaking ahead of his London gig, Billy revealed to the Mirror that despite his latest album Abington Grove being a raw and honest album, he admits he felt no issues sharing his life.
"I don't really know how to do anything else," he joked before adding: "If it's not honest, it's pointless/ I just wanted to speak the truth and I find it a lot easier to be honest."
