Calum Scott. The Red Room/Boston. November 13, 2016

British singer Calum Scott gave a brief performance at Berklee College of Music's Caf� 939 this past weekend and I have to say it was pretty spectacular. First of all, I think some of the credit is due to the space. I don't think there is any other room in Boston with such a solid, clean, and clear sound system. Trust Berklee College to create a performance space that really highlights the musician. If you have a chance to see a show here, I highly recommend it. It's pretty great. But I digress, back to Calum Scott.

Mr. Scott is a newcomer to the music biz only just reaching mainstream attention in 2015 with his show stopping cover of Robyn's "Dancing On My Own" during his audition for the television program "Britain's Got Talent." Hailing from Hull in the north of the UK, Calum was the lead singer for a Maroon 5 cover band (ok, no place to go but up kid). His version of Robyn's song was subsequently released as a single, reaching number two on the UK charts. In May of this year he signed with Capital Records and a debut album is expected sometime soon. I would imagine that this brief U.S. tour came at the behest of the label as both a showcase of his talent and a testing of the waters for his audience.

Taking a look around the room it was clear that Calum's core fan base is gay men and young women (him being an out gay man probably helped propel this). And boy did they like him. It is easy to see why. He is good looking with a strong tenor voice that easily lends itself to the type of tame, accessible pop the music industry pumps out. He also comes across as very genial and accessible.

Two things that I think make for success in the Youtube age of music distribution. My criticisms are simply ones that will clear up with experience. He was a bit awkward and clunky on stage. Obviously this is something that will get better with time. I believe his talent will carry him along to the moment where he'll be much better on stage. I do hope his talent enables him to move beyond the rather bland (though heartfelt and clearly personal) tunes that place him squarely in the middle of a very large pack of recording artists. Calum Scott is certainly someone to keep an eye on.

For more on Calum Scott, visit his website.