Written By Kelly Holm
Nick Wilson’s recent single, “Enough to Know You,” is a farewell to a former love who, despite causing heartbreak, is still worthy of Wilson’s well-wishes. Written in January, with production work from Matt Zara and Tobie Tripp, its lyrics illustrate the conflicting emotions that can come with parting ways: “You say you don’t want me no more/It’s like you’re hurting me for fun… Even after all you put me through, it’s enough to know you.” Shortly after the release of “Enough To Know You,” Wilson hit us with yet another addictive love song, “Everybody But Me.”
This Nick Wilson is, of course, a British singer-songwriter, not an American former Survivor champion. But like his namefellow, the man behind “Enough to Know You” demonstrates a thing or two about braving harsh circumstances in the track’s music video, which one YouTube commenter likened to “a deleted scene from Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.”
In a desolate, war-torn wasteland, Wilson dons army fatigues, dodges bombs, and navigates the ravaged terrain of heartbreak. Despite its messages of isolation, however, the video became a beacon of human connection for Wilson in a lonely time.
“We shot it a couple of months into the pandemic [and] lockdown, once we got the right permission from local councils to film,” he shared. “It was strange having to socially distance… but [the filming] was the first time a lot of us had been out of the house, so it was really lovely to see faces again.”
Wilson’s first foray into show business began a decade ago, when he was 14. Influenced by John Mayer and Coldplay, he began uploading covers to YouTube and playing small gigs close to home.
“Once I did a battle-of-the-bands type gig in a local football club lounge. That was fun,” he said. “It was the first time I was like ‘huh, I could maybe do this at some point and people wouldn’t hate it.’”
Since then, Wilson’s lyrics have offered up soulful fare about relationships in all their many forms, from the “cheesy love song” called “Give Me Your Hand” that was his first release to 2019’s encouraging “Carry Your Light,” which he describes as “super emotional” and “a sad point in the set list.”
“If you can listen and connect in some way, I’m happy,” he said.
Quarantine has put a bit of a dent in Wilson’s plans: he admits that many of his previous goals “went out the window” in the wake of COVID-19, so by the end of the year, he hopes to earn back 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify (current number: 880K+). In his downtime, he’s been listening to podcasts and catching up on Netflix.
“I actually don’t mind my own company,” he says. “I’ve written some of my favorite songs in the past couple of months [over Zoom].”
But all things considered, Wilson’s star is only poised to burn brighter in the not-too-distant future. He’s recently been praised by Demi Lovato and has even more fresh jams at the ready.
“There is definitely more new music to come,” he assures fans. “[My] ultimate goal is being able to write and release music and live off it, which I am doing now… it’s a long slow game, but if you put in the work, eventually it will pay off.”
Listen to “Everybody But Me“
Listen to “Enough To Know You“
Follow Nick Wilson