Singer-songwriter Sam Tompkins released his debut album, hi, my name is insecure, on July 26, 2024, consisting of a 16-song tracklist. His version of ‘To The Moon’ has over 2 million streams.
Which song on the project do you connect with more personally?
Sam Tompkins: I think it's difficult because a lot of my music is autobiographical so to say that one would stand out more than the rest would be slightly lying. I do think that currently the song that resonates with me the most is probably "phones in heaven." I had a bit of a hard year, I lost my father in November of last year. Although "phones in heaven" wasn't written about that time of my life, it definitely resonated with me. The song is about those lucid moments where you go to call someone and you're like oh wait, I can't anymore. That is something I've definitely dealt with a lot. I have been going through a lot this year and I'm very pleased to have that song. It's helped me in many ways and singing it on tour has been special.
How has creating this album impacted you personally?
Sam: The way that I’d explain how this album has helped me is in the end scene of the movie 8 Mile with Eminem. Essentially in the movie, there is a rap battle at the end and Eminem's character suffered with stage anxiety beforehand. Instead of letting his opponent beat him up with all of these insults. He says them about himself first in the initial rap and after that his opponent can't say anything about him. So ‘hi, my name is insecure’ is me sort of empowering myself. In the hopes of encouraging others to own up to their insecurities because we all have them. Second, it means that nobody can poke me with a stick with it. That's the growth this album has given me. I've realized how important being vulnerable is and how if you own those anxieties, insecurities and feelings of depression then you've made the first step of getting better and dealing with it.
What have you learned from touring with Kid Laroi and what rituals will you implement in your future tours?
Sam: I think I learnt a lot, that was the longest I've been away from home. Making sure I keep in contact with everyone as much as possible because that's what grounds me. As much as I love making music and touring music and my life being music. My true life and what life is really about for me is to have a happy family one day. To do that, I have to maintain my relationships and to do that I have to call them as much as possible. Otherwise, it is easy to get caught up on touring the world and doing this or that. There's people waiting for me at home and it would be very easy to be complacent in maintaining those relationships.
Is there a specific date you’re looking forward to in your upcoming tour?
Sam: My dad for the last 5-10 years of his life lived in Spain and we always spent a lot of time in Spain as I was growing up. This tour is the first time I've been able to play shows in Spain. Which is kind of bittersweet because he's not here to see it. I don't speak Spanish but I feel like I understand Spanish culture more than any other country I've been to that's non-english speaking. I'm just really excited to go to Spain, I feel like it's going to make me very emotional. Madrid and Barcelona are two of my favorite places in the world so to be able to go there feels really right.
What has it been like to be friends and work with Justin Bieber? Would you consider him to be one of your influences?
Sam: He was my favorite artist growing up. Probably my most streamed, listened to and favorite artist ever. So when he followed me and messaged me, I was like a belieber in 2010 crying cause I saw him in person for the first time. I was like a teenage girl. It was that bad. It's become a lot more normal now so now I can talk about it and don't feel like that. But sometimes when I think about it I'm like this is actually pretty cool. He's an amazing mentor and also a really loved and cherished friend in my life. There's not many people I can talk to for advice for certain parts of my job. There's things my mom doesn't understand about the music industry. As much as my mom is wise and my dad was wise there were certain things they couldn't teach me or give me advice on. So having someone who has been on top of the mountain and can pass on guidance and wisdom is really important. Most of all he's such a nice person and good friend, he's a massive influence on me before and after I met him.
What does insecurity mean to you and what does it mean to have your debut studio album titled introducing yourself as such?
Sam: I guess it feels empowering. The word insecurity for me is a power in itself. Once we own up to all the things that make us feel a certain way we can sort of move past them. It is something literally everyone from the top to the bottom, left to right, the whole world, they all feel it. Whether they admit it or not. You can go your life acting like nothing fazes you and you’re secure but people who do that normally are the most insecure inside. Insecurity to me is like pure human feeling.
Listen to ‘hi, my name is insecure’ HERE