Lewis Capaldi‘s episode of the massively popular Hot Ones begins with host Sean Evans pointing out there’s currently a TikTok trend of people crying along to the Scotsman’s new music video for “Wish You The Best” and ends with Capaldi himself in tears. His tears had more to do with the intensity of the hot sauce he was eating.
The First We Feast series is beloved for humbling celebrities’ heat tolerance, and even though Capaldi started out confident – jokingly exclaiming “F__k you, Ed Sheeran!” to mock a famous past challenger – he soon found himself struggling around the halfway point.
Before and after the tears came, Capaldi answered a wide range of questions, covering topics from songwriting, to Tinder, to imposter syndrome. He even responded to that TikTok trend: “Yeah I enjoy it,” he began dryly. “What’s nicest, I always wanted to be viral on TikTok, I never thought I would get there by traumatizing children, but if that’s paying the bills, then so be it.”
When it came to songwriting, Evans brought up Capaldi’s comments dispelling the idea that the best songs are always written the quickest, as we often hear about hits. Capaldi shared that it took him about a year to write his single “Someone You Love,” further explaining, “Songwriting for me, people say it’s like catharsis and all the rest, it’s a really beautiful thing, but catharsis isn’t always comfortable or enjoyable,” he told Evans. “I spend most of my time hating myself when I write songs, and I think that’s fate, that’s my process.”
Concluding the episode, having gone through the chicken wing wringer, Capaldi got existential with some deadpanned “advice” for those with imposter syndrome: “If you’re out there and you feel inadequate, it’s probably because you are. If you’re feeling like your girlfriend doesn’t love you and she’s going to leave you, she probably will. Life is meaningless.”
Buy or stream Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent.