Declan J Donovan is back with brand new single ‘Fighting With Myself’, set for release on February 28th via Polydor Records. The rousing, uptempo track showcases a different side to the rising artist who first drew attention with heartfelt ballads like his tender debut ‘Fallen So Young’, which has now garnered over 30 million streams across all platforms.
The new single follows last month’s ‘Homesick’ EP, Donovan’s most personal and honest collection of songs to date. The seven-track release included brand new tracks ‘Anymore’ (which hit No.1 on the Shazam Discovery chart) and ‘I’ll Be There Love’ as well as the stirring title track, an ode to his hometown.
“’Fighting With Myself’ is a song about pushing away the people who are closest to you in your life,” Donovan reveals. “I grew up quite angry at the world and didn’t care about working hard or getting good grades at school. I was lazy and unmotivated, I always thought I could solve my problems on my own but it took me years to realise the people around me were just trying to help me, and I wasn’t fighting with anyone, other than myself.”
Growing up in Harlow, Donovan could never have imagined becoming a singer-songwriter. But the first track he ever wrote – ‘Fallen So Young’, written especially for his brother’s wedding – propelled him to success after he uploaded it to Soundcloud, seeing over a million plays within six months. Self-funded tours around the UK and Europe followed before Donovan signed a record deal in Germany.
In 2018, he was one of the only unsigned acts to play BBC Music’s Biggest Weekend, appearing on the bill alongside Taylor Swift, Florence + The Machine, Sam Smith and more. He has spent seven weeks at Number One on the European Border Breakers Airplay chart as well as being Top 20 in the European Airplay chart. In Germany, he’s had a Top 10 hit and more than 25k radio plays, Top 10 in the Shazam charts and received more than 10 million streams of his single ‘Pieces’. ‘Vienna’, his debut single for Polydor, was released last year and his songs have now garnered over 100m streams total.
Currently on tour with Alice Merton across Europe, Donovan will embark on a UK headline tour in March (with the London show rescheduled to June 11th) before heading out to SXSW – stay tuned for further details.
Declan J Donovan UK live dates:
2020
5th March – The Louisiana, Bristol
7th March – The Poetry Club, Glasgow
8th March – Oporto, Leeds
9th March – Hare & Hounds 2, Birmingham
10th March – The Latest Music Bar, Brighton
12th March – Gullivers, Manchester
11th June – Dingwalls, London
