Sam Fender praises the intimacy of performing in the U.S.

Sam Fender is embracing the “intimacy” of performing in the United States.

The Seventeen Going Under singer has brought his People Watching Tour to American audiences and is enjoying playing in smaller spaces that take him back to the atmosphere of his earliest shows.

Speaking on Elton John’s Rocket Hour on Apple Music 1, Sam shared: “I’m loving it, man. The closeness of it all is something I’ve really missed from those first years. You know what I mean?

“Last night’s show was at the Aragon Theatre, and it was about 5,000 people, so it felt like playing Brixton again. It took me back to that moment. I remember when we were doing Brixton, I had this fire in my belly. I feel like we’re on a mission again out here, and that’s a great feeling. I’m loving it.”

Sam and Sir Elton have teamed up on the new track Talk to You, which will drop on Friday (17.10.25) and be included on the deluxe edition of his album People Watching. The Geordie musician revealed that their collaboration with the legendary artist had been years in the making.

The 31-year-old artist explained: “It took three years to finish everything, and I ended up with so many songs that I basically had a whole other album’s worth by the time People Watching was done.

“And to be honest, Talk to You and a few tracks from this deluxe, this always happens. I wish this one, and Main Street, and a couple of others from the deluxe, had made it onto the standard version. But it’s always like this.”

Fender went on: “When we started working on this one, I don’t even know what it was exactly, but I had that piano part — the main riff — and we were at Chiswick at the time. And I thought, ‘I’d love to have someone better at piano than me play on this.’ Then I was like, ‘Who do I know? Who can I call?’”

Elton, 78, shared that he had a great time collaborating with Sam, especially since their friendship goes way back.

The I’m Still Standing icon said: “It was such a joy to come and play on one of your songs, because we’ve been friends for such a long, long time.”