George Ezra reveals why he'd like to re-record his smash hit 'Budapest'
It was released in 2013
It's been quite the month for George Ezra, releasing his long-awaited third album 'Gold Rush Kid', and celebrating his 29th birthday just days after performing in front of the Royal Family for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Now, as 'Gold Rush Kid' is climbing high in the charts, along with his second single of 2022 'Green Green Grass', George Ezra spoke to Metro.co.uk, where he opened up about this music, tour and how he'd like to re-record one of his biggest hits.
"Of an evening, I sit down and play the guitar and it doesn’t feel connected to being a musician," George explained: "It feels like a hobby still and that’s a really beautiful thing."
He went on to say he'd like to re-record his hit song 'Budapest', which he released nearly a decade ago. The song reached Number 3 in the UK, but George admitted: "When I hear Budapest, I always wish I could re-record the vocals because since then I’ve learned to… sing better?"
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The singer, whose previous albums both hit the top spot, says that he wrote about 50 songs for his debut album 'Wanted On Voyage', before cutting it down to the final 12 on the standard release.
"On the second (album), we recorded probably 25 songs," George explained: "And on this one, it’s more or less the 12 songs on the record."
Earlier this year, George announced he would be going on an arena tour, admitting that they don't have any dancers yet, he said: "There are eight of us on stage, there’s brass, a lot of group vocals. I really love our gigs. They’re the best they could be. The word I would use is 'fun'. It’s not the coolest word but when I’m there, I think that’s what this is, it’s fun."
And, despite being a Number 1 artist, it seems that George can still go on public transport unnoticed! "People come to the shows, people love the music but they never seem too fussed about me," the singer admitted.
George's album 'Gold Rush Kid', including a 'Gold Rush Edition' and the zine are out now.
You can hear George Ezra's biggest hits on Hits Radio.
Now take a look through George Ezra's career:
Early life
George moved to Bristol in 2011 to study at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. George wasn't the only musical one in his family, his elder sister Jessica accompanies him on tour and his younger brother, Ethan, is a talented singer and songwriter under the stage name Ten Tonnes.
2013: First appearance at Glastonbury
George's music was first played on radio stations in 2012 - and as a result, George got his big moment; he was asked to play the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury 2013.
2014: 'Budapest'
Following the release of George's hit single, 'Budapest' his career really started to take off. The iconic track reached Number 1 in several countries and was nominated for 'British Single of the Year' at the Brit Awards and the MTV VMA's.
2014: Debut album ‘Wanted on Voyage’
George's debut album included hits such as, 'Budapest', 'Blame it on Me' and 'Cassy O' and reached Number 1 in the UK charts.
2015: BRIT Award Nominations
At the 2015 BRIT Awards, George was nominated in four categories: Best British Album, Best British Male Solo Artist, Best British Single, and British Breakthrough Artist as a result of the success of his first album 'Wanted On Voyage.'
2017: Touring and Festivals
After a busy and successful few years George took some time off in 2016, returning to the charts in 2017 with single 'Don't Matter Now' as well as some live performances on a 'secret' tour through April, May and June.
George also went on tour and played a number of festivals in the summer of 2017 including, Sziget, V Festival, Way Out Festival and Lollapalooza.
2018: Second album and 'Shotgun'
George released follow-up album 'Staying at Tamara's' in 2018, featuring singles 'Paradise', 'Pretty Shining People' and 'Hold My Girl' which were all hugely popular among George's fans.
George then dropped 'Shotgun' which went on to become his first Number one song in the UK, Irish and Australian charts and was later awarded platinum certification here in the UK.
Following the success of 'Shotgun' George's second album 'Staying at Tamara's' reached Number One in the UK album charts in May 2018.
George then went on to tour the album and played a number of festivals including headlining the Neighbourhood Weekender.
2019: BRIT Awards and headlining Glastonbury
In 2019, George won 'British Male Solo Artist' at the BRIT Awards following the success of his first two albums and huge hits such as 'Shotgun' and 'Paradise' which dominated radio playlists and became two of the biggest tracks of the year.
George also launched his own podcast series 'George Ezra and Friends', which features conversations between George and his guests. He's previously interviewed the likes of Nile Rodgers, Lewis Capaldi and Ed Sheeran.
George also returned to play Glastonbury Festival in 2019, but this time he played the world-famous Pyramid stage on the Friday evening.
2021: George announces he's performing on the Glastonbury global livestream
In 2021, George announced on his Instagram that he was going on a hiking trip with his friends for a couple of months. Four weeks in, the singer revealed the exciting news that he was going to be performing at Glastonbury's global livestream on Saturday 22nd May.
2022: New single 'Anyone For You'
In January 2022, George revealed that he was making his grand return with a brand new single called 'Anyone For You'.
He released 'Anyone For You' on 28th January.
2022: George Ezra announces third album 'Gold Rush Kid'
On the day George Ezra released his comeback single he also announced his third album 'Gold Rush Kid' would be released in June.
2022: George Ezra performs at Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee concert
George Ezra was one of the many talented artists to perform at the Platinum Party at the Palace in celebration of Her Majesty's 70 year reign.
He took to the stage on 4th June to perform some of his biggest hits including his new song 'Green Green Grass'. He later wrote on Instagram: 'Here's that time we played at Buckingham Palace… won't forget that in a hurry 🎉 What an incredible honour to play at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, thank you for having me x' (sic).
2022: George Ezra headlines at Finsbury Park
George Ezra played the biggest headline show of his career at Finsbury Park in London on Sunday 17th June. He closed the show after performances from the London International Gospel Choir, Mychelle, The Big Moon, Holly Humberstone, Mimi Webb, and Blossoms, with songs from his latest album as well as some of his biggest hits.
2022: George Ezra announces film End to End
George Ezra announced a film called End to End that was shown in cinemas. The film follows the singer's adventure as he walked the length of the country with his best friends to meet musicians and battle the elements.
2023: George Ezra is nominated for two BRIT Awards
George Ezra was nominated for two BRIT Awards in January 2023 - Artist of The Year and Song of The Year for 'Green Green Grass'. Sadly, he lost out on both to Harry Styles!
Now read:
George Ezra's career story so far 🎸
28 things you didn't know about George Ezra 🎶
George Ezra releases the music video for 'Green Green Grass'