Elyar Fox: ‘G-A-Y was really cool – obviously the dog was there’

A new year calls for a new perfectly-preened pop package, and that’s exactly what we’ve got ourselves in internet sensation Elyar Fox. Following in the footsteps of Bieber, Maynard et al., the 18-year-old Londoner saw record labels fighting for him after his cover versions started attracting millions of hits on YouTube. Now Elyar is finally launching his pop career proper with the release of Do It All Over Again, so I met up with him to find out how he’s getting along.

So it’s an exciting week for you with the release of Do It All Over Again. Can you tell us a bit about the song itself?
Do It All Over Again is kind of funny. I call it a ‘nostalgic club song’, which sounds ridiculous. It’s basically about one of those nights where you go out to a party or a club and it’s a brilliant night, you meet someone great and the next morning instead of feeling all hungover and crappy you think ‘I want to do it all over again’!

And congratulations are in order: it’s already right up in the Top Ten on iTunes…
Well, we just found out it’s at number three in the midweeks! It’s pretty nerve-wracking until the end of the week when you know it’s going to stick! But I’m really grateful to everyone who’s downloaded it and supported it. It’s my debut single so it’s a pretty big moment but I’ve just been trying to enjoy it, you know? Obviously I’m thinking ‘Aaaah, how’s it going to do?!’.

Do you hope it climbs even higher?
Well, obviously everyone wants a Number One. Even if you’re not a musician you want a Number One! Maybe that can be my next single! But to be honest what I really would have wanted was a top five. Top five is just amazing for a first single for me so hopefully I can try and keep it there!

You’ve been bubbling under the radar for a while now, so how does it feel to finally have your music out there?
It feels good, man. Everything’s happened a bit slowly, it hasn’t been overnight and each thing’s been a step at a time, which has been really cool. Each thing I do I’m like, ‘Now I’m ready for the next thing,’ which is cool, but it’s so crazy hearing my music on the radio.

When did you first hear Do It All Over Again on the radio?
I was in Capital FM – that’s where I debuted the single – and I was like, ‘It sounds different on the radio!’ I was so used to just listening to my music on my phone in a train station with my headphones on! So yeah, it was weird hearing it for the first time.

Are you going to be celebrating come Sunday night?
I will celebrate but it depends if I’ve got to be up early the next morning! But I do plan on celebrating somehow. It might be a non-alcoholic beer. Maybe a Diet Coke.

Do you have to rein in the nights out now you’re a hard-working popstar?
Yeah, definitely. Any time off I like to go catch up with my friends and family, so I definitely haven’t been doing as much, like, ‘crazy stuff’ as you’d call it! But while I was working on the album I was going out a lot more… Although I was too young to be going out then!

How long have you been working on the album?
I wrote over 120 songs for it and spent, like, over a year and a half working on it. It’s been a long process but I’m actually glad it took so long. I feel like all the songs have developed over time – you have new experiences and you grow and you have new sounds. So I feel like finally it’s got a bit of everything I like and everything that’s influenced me that I’ve grown up with.

So what sort of artists have influenced you and what do you have on you iPod? (Other portable music-playing devices are available – Ed.)
Oh you know, S Club 7, Barbie Girl… Haha no! I mean the first two albums I bought were a bit on the rockier side – Nirvana’s In Utero and the first Good Charlotte album. That’s what inspired me to take up guitar. The album’s like a triangle – a triangle of sound in the circle of pop! There’s a side of the album that’s a bit more edgy and bit more guitar-based and maybe a bit more One Direction-ey: it has more of a rocky sound. And then it’s got the more clubby, party side which is like Do It All Over Again. So that’s the sort of stuff I grew up listening too, a mix of all of that.

So if you could pick your dream collaborators, who would they be?
I would love to work with Miley Cyrus. I’d love to have a record with Miley Cyrus, it’d be sick! And I know Miley Cyrus will be reading this so, you know, get in touch Miley! And Bruno Mars. Whether it was a feature or just writing a song, I’d  love to work with him. He’s an idol of mine.

What did you make of Miley’s antics this last year? Would you be her new Robin Thicke?
Haha why not! I think she can do whatever she wants because her music’s good. I think if she was being a bit crazy and cool and her music was rubbish it would be like, ‘What the heck are you doing?’ But I rate her because her music is so solid and you can’t really have a go at her.

I did see on Twitter the little parody you did of the start of the Wrecking Ball video. Are you tempted to do a Greg James and go the whole hog?
Yeah, maybe I should have done it for the Do It All Over Again video! Haha no, I mean I like her but I don’t usually put on lipstick and try to look like her!

Obviously there have already been a lot of comparisons to Justin Bieber. As an 18 year-old guy do you find those comparisons as annoying as I would imagine?
I mean, I don’t find it annoying. Obviously the comparisons are going to happen because I’m young and I’m a pop artist, but I’d never compare myself to anyone. I don’t see myself as the next Justin Bieber or anyone. It sounds cliché but I’m just the first Elyar Fox! I think I’m different – and my hair’s different!

What went through your mind when you started getting all these thousands of fans on YouTube?
Yeah, it was weird. I mean, I can’t remember what I felt about it really, it was just quite overwhelming. For about eight months I didn’t want to call them fans, ’cause I thought ‘Oh I’m just a guy on YouTube who makes bedroom covers, I don’t deserve fans!’.

How have you enjoyed touring with Attitude’s former cover stars, the Union J boys?
It was my first ever tour so it was wicked! It was so exciting to get out there and perform after such a long time as a studio rat. It was a really good tour, I couldn’t have asked for a better tour, and I’m so grateful to the Union J boys for having me on board. They’re really cool guys – we got to know each other before we went on tour. I like that all of us young artists are supporting each other. It’s a good vibe on the pop scene right now.

And you performed at G-A-Y on Saturday night – how did it go?
Yeah, it was a really cool gig. It was wicked. Obviously the dog was there.

The dog?
Yeah, the dog which the owner has; it gets everywhere in the club!

Did he make it onstage?
I think he tried to, but I told him not to! There’s a dance break in Do It All Over Again and you can’t look down so it would’ve gone so wrong! But it was a wicked gig, I performed the single and I did Roar as well. I was performing with Nicholas McDonald from The X Factor. He’s really cool. When I first met him, everything he said I had to ask him to repeat at least three times! That Scottish accent! Also I don’t think he was even old enough to be in there!

Yeah, how does that work when you’re a performer?
Well, I always had that problem. I used to be in this pop-punk band when I was, like, 13 and we were always playing clubs and pubs that I actually wasn’t allowed to be in. I used to have to be kicked out after we’d played, it was really annoying!

Has all that changed now you’re going to glam celeb events?
Definitely! I met Lady Gaga last month which was really cool! I met her at the Jingle Bell Ball. We only briefly spoke because she was going to play a show but she was really cool. She’s really short! She’s actually pretty normal, she’s a really nice woman.

So what can everyone expect from Elyar Fox in 2014?
I’d love to do a tour of my own at some point. I love touring and performing live. I really want to just show everyone me. Though if the single does go top five, I’ll probably just retire and sit in a cottage somewhere!

Finally, we’re desperate to know why pop has been dominated by foxes in the last few months! We’ve had The Fox by Ylvis, Foxes, and now Elyar Fox…
I’d noticed that! I said that to Foxes the other week! There’s always a lot of confusion between us two. One time I was at a rehearsal studio and she was next door. She hadn’t arrived yet but she was getting loads of gear, instruments and stuff sent to the room. The guy came in and was like, ‘Are you Fox?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, Elyar Fox,’ and all her stuff was getting sent to my room! I was like, ‘What is all this?’ So it’s very confusing. I think me and Foxes should do a song at some point, that’d be brilliant wouldn’t it?

Elyar Fox’s debut single, Do It All Over Again, is out now.