Hannah Collisson talks to Brighton success story Conor Maynard about pop stardom and his return to the limelight with a second album...

Conor Maynard, the young musician who burst onto the scene four years ago as a YouTube sensation, has been largely out of the public eye for some time.

When I ask what he has been up to he quips that he has desperately been trying to grow a beard, but with no visible results.

Maybe it will happen in time for the third album, he jokes.

Conor, who grew up in Brighton, is keen to shed his teen icon image, making the point that his music was never intended specifically for a young audience, though he faced the inevitable comparisons to Justin Bieber complete with legions of female fans hurling marriage proposals at him.

In reality he has been away working on his next record, and readily admits that he is feeling the pressure of that notoriously difficult second album.

“It will be three years this summer since the first album, and that second album pressure is definitely real; you don’t have that brand new excitement any more, it really just comes down to the music.

“You need to make sure it’s perfect.”

Conor rose to fame after videos he made of himself performing covers of well-known songs began to get attention outside of his immediate family. The viewing figures rose exponentially, and he was soon being approached by record companies, and the likes of American R&B singer Ne-Yo.

He now has more than 600,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, and Talking About, the first single from his forthcoming second album has notched up almost 800,000 views in the space of a month.

Conor’s first album Contrast, released in 2012, saw him collaborate with the likes of R&B superstar Pharrell Williams, and was successful in the UK and USA as well as Canada, France, Italy, South Africa, and Australia.

The album spawned four top 10 singles in the shape of Can’t Say No, Vegas Girl, Turn Around, and Animal.

As a result Conor headlined his own tour and performed at the likes of the Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Stadium.

At the age of 22 he has already been able to buy a house just outside of London (he describes it as “the most stressful experience of my life”), in which he has installed a home studio.

This is a far cry from the aspiring musician who would tape two Singstar microphones to his bedpost aged 15.

Conor’s first live performances were in Brighton, and he does not exactly have fond memories of them.

“My first show in Brighton was at The Haunt and I didn’t leave the microphone stand the entire night.

“I think now it’s a different story; I like to put on more of a show.

“For me it is always a bit more of a special feeling doing shows in Brighton.”

There is no confirmed date, or indeed title for the release of the album, which Conor is still busy putting the final touches to, but he assures me it will be out this year.

Talking About, the first single from the album, is out now on YouTube, with the official release on April 20.

Again there have been some big names involved. The track was co-written with UK R&B star Craig David and produced by Mojam (Emeli Sande, Naughty Boy, Sam Smith).

The video was shot in Miami, and features a cameo appearance by Craig David himself.

It is overwhelmingly a dance track but Conor says it is the only house track on the album, which is extremely varied, reflecting the diversity of his own music taste.

“There are songs for fans who like different sides to me as an artist,” says Conor. “I feel like with the first album, one thing I noticed when I released the singles was the majority of people were buying the singles as if they were a guilty pleasure.”

Comparisons with Justin Bieber did not help with this, he notes.

“The first album had a lot more substance to it than people realised at the time. We are not trying to make a bubblegum pop record.

“It’s not easy – as I said I can’t really grow a beard!”

The new album has also had input from British singer-songwriter Labrinth and American rapper and producer Timbaland, though Conor admits he did not actually get to meet the latter.

One of the tracks is entirely written and produced by Conor himself, which he is especially proud of, having made his name performing versions of other people’s songs.

“When people hear that it will change people’s assumptions of me as an artist,” he says, explaining that he is taking his time as he is keen not to become “one of these artists that desperately release music.”

Conor cites American singer-songwriter John Mayer as one of his musical heroes, and someone with whom he would love to collaborate in the future.

Throughout our conversation, another name that comes up repeatedly is Justin Timberlake.

He particularly admires Timberlake’s successful transition from teen idol of boy band ‘N Sync to respected solo artist, and hopes that his own career may be heading in a similar direction.

Conor was especially chuffed to discover Timberlake had watched his YouTube cover of Senorita and approved.

Having attended drama school as a youngster, acting remains an ambition and Conor is not ruling out any possible future roles, aiming high with James Bond as his ideal film role.

In the more immediate future he is just concerned with how the new album will be received, and fans can expect a swathe of live shows to follow in 2016.

• www.conor-maynard.com.