Rising British singer/songwriter (and-all-round-good-bloke) Mike Hough recently paid a visit to YouTube channel Ont’Sofa, unveiling an acoustic performance of Alanis Morissette’s 1995 hit Ironic. As luck would have it, we were also at the session, and caught up with Mike to discuss the current happenings in Hough-land.
Since starting his own YouTube channel to showcase his talents several years back, Mike’s determination has earned him a wealth of fans, dubbed his ‘Houghligans; a committed bunch whose support for the singer helped recent single Better (which was “put out just for the fans without any expectation“) peak at an impressive No.26 in the iTunes charts. Whilst that may seem a low chart positioning compared to other acts, the release of Better, unlike other artists, came without any additional support; no promotional video, no advertising activity – just a devoted fanbase, who, in less than four hours of being on sale, pushed the track to its highest positioning.
And it’s to these fans that Mike’s cover of Ironic will be no stranger, having performed his rendition during his recent support slots for both Mutya Keisha Siobhan, and JLS, an experience which he cites as “the best time of my life”. Of course it helps that he’s close friends with the MKS girls alongside JLS’ JB, the latter who went undercover into the crowd during the last of Mike’s support shows to watch his performance in full.
With a headline show at Camden’s Jazz Cafe on the cards, which sold out in just three weeks (and with recently-announced Esmee Denters, alongside The Voice UK’s Ryan Green providing support), things are looking pretty rosy for Hough. “I want to help other young artists out there and I believe supporting [the likes of Ryan Green] early on will help them through” he proclaims. Having been rejected from X Factor back in 2009 himself, Mike knows all about having to start from the bottom, and offers words of wisdom for those looking to crack the industry. “Appreciate the bad days”, he says, “the bad days are the worst but they make the good [days] that much better”. And its that belief, alongside an early failed relationship, which inspired his single Better, proving that with the bad times out the way, things can only go up (like how we’ve gone full-circle?).
Watch Mike’s cover of Ironic below, and hit the iTunes link to Better, now.
