George Ezra called a crisis meeting with his record company last year after two of his singles flopped.

Speaking to The Guardian, Ezra detailed how he thought his career was failing and decided to call emergency talks with his record label, Columbia.

“People just didn’t want it,” Ezra said of the songs, adding there was only a crisis meeting because he “called it.”


“I don’t want to sound like the inspirational quote on the wall of a secondary school staff room, but ‘Don’t Matter Now’ failing was the best thing that could have happened to me. I realised how much I must have been taking it all for granted.”

His breakout single, ‘Budapest’ launched him to stardom in 2014, reaching number 3 in the singles charts. ‘Don’t Matter Now’, conversely, failed to trouble the top 70 last year. Ezra told The Guardian that he thought his career might be over.

“It’s one thing having one single that doesn’t work, but having two in a row is a sign of the end,” Ezra said.

The singer also asked his bosses to be “completely honest” with him about “what [was] going on.”

His bosses responded by telling him the album needed to be pushed back, with one person there reportedly telling the star the release had “no fucking momentum.”


Ezra described how he took a new approach to writing, adding: “When we were releasing ‘Paradise’, I said, out loud: ‘I’m going to give this everything I’ve got.’”

The song – the first written by Ezra entirely on his own – reached number 2 earlier this year.

Ezra recently spoke about the advice given to him by Elton John and Ed Sheeran, both of whom appeared on Ezra’s podcast.

Speaking to NME, Ezra said: “They’ve all given me some advice, even if they don’t know!”

“I think with Elton, it was his love of music. After the first record, I stopped listening to the charts because you sometimes want to take a break from what you’re doing day to day.”

“[Ed] has driven me in a different way. I’m sure he won’t mind me saying this, but he’s quite competitive and mostly with himself…He also strives to adapt himself, and I’m still a little kid about it!”

Ezra’s latest album, ‘Staying at Tamara’s’ has received much critical acclaim with many describing it as “the sound of the summer.”

Reviewing the album, NME said: “Ultimately, it’s this blend of new-found maturity and crowd-pleasing choruses that transform Ezra’s second offering into the perfect progression from the sound of his debut.”

Ezra is on tour now and you can buy tickets using the link above.