IN CONCERT
What: Scott Helman with Ria Mae
When: Wednesday, Nov. 8, 8 p.m.
Where: Capital Ballroom (formerly Sugar), 858 Yates St.
Tickets: $15 at Lyle’s Place and bplive.electrostub.com
Note: Helman and Rae also perform Tuesday, Nov. 7, in Nanaimo at The Queens
Pop singer Scott Helman visited a middle school this month to speak with students about the dangers of bullying and the influence of the internet.
He left feeling like he had genuinely connected with the Grade 6, 7 and 8 students at White Oaks Public School in London, Ont. — in part because he was a middle-school student just a handful of years earlier.
“I remember feeling when I was 12 that people were talking to me like I was a dumb-ass,” said Helman, 22.
“But I knew what was going on. With the internet, kids today know what is going on. They have to grow up a little faster now. But being honest and real with kids can be really helpful.”
The Toronto singer-songwriter feels as if he has been a positive influence on his audience, many of whom are teens, but says mentorship isn’t just for public figures. “How can we look to public figures as role models and absolve everyone else from that?” he asked.
“I want to be a role model for people to be role models. Everybody has the responsibility to be the best they can be. If I can demonstrate that I’m at least trying to be a responsible person and a thoughtful person, if I can demonstrate that is a possibility at the age of 22, other people may try that too. I’m irresponsible — I do dumb things. But the attempt is what matters.”
Helman has been forced to learn on the fly. He has been in the spotlight since he was in his teens, thanks to a development deal he signed at 15 with Warner Music. At 19, when his friends were shuttling off to university, Helman was touring North America on the strength of his 2014 smash Bungalow, from his Juno-nominated EP Augusta.
By 21, he was on Teen Vogue’s list of 14 Singers Who Are Going to Dominate in 2016 and the recipient of a breakthrough-artist-of-the-year nomination at the Juno Awards.
His global breakout has yet to materialize, but Helman is happy with his trajectory. “I was signed to the label with the idea, in both of our minds, that I would be a developing artist. Everybody in this industry wants a career, and the real essence to that is to grow. I’m not at all where I want to be in my songwriting, but every time I do something, it gets better.”
Growth is evident on his full-length album Hôtel de Ville, released in May. His brand of upbeat pop is not unlike that of another Canadian favourite, Shawn Mendes, a Toronto superstar three years Helman’s junior, but Helman isn’t looking for fame on the same scale — not yet, at least. He simply wants to take steps as an artist that feel right as a person.
“I want to achieve the most truthful and honest art, to give people the best version of myself available. I combine authenticity and truth with the desire to give people what they deserve. I really believe that people are a lot smarter and a lot better than the world gives them credit for. I think they deserve the best of someone’s abilities.”
Helman’s tour with Toronto singer Ria Mae stops Wednesday at the Capital Ballroom, the final date on a 17-stop run across Canada that began Oct. 14. Now that he’s closer to the end of the tour than the beginning, Helman can look back at what he’s accomplished.
He’s eager to do it over again, to put into practice what he has learned during his most in-depth tour of the country to date.
“That’s the part fun for me — the prospect of what things could be,” he said. “When you accomplish something and it’s close to that idea, it’s the most rewarding thing.”
During his travels, Helman has seen first-hand what closed-minded politicians can do to the economy and environment, and how it affects the people who bear the brunt of the results.
With help from his label, he created the website forum SolvetheSolvable.com as a place for fans to post positive and uplifting stories and videos. It’s a way to celebrate the good in people, he said.
“The political climate is indicative of a lot of things. There’s a lot of hate and confusion. But at the end of the day, the goal of art is to express how people feel, and whether or not it’s justified or moral is another question. But it’s important to emulate the feelings of the people around me.”
There’s danger involved any time an artist opens his mouth. Helman doesn’t want to say too much, for fear of being annoying or overzealous. But he won’t be the type of performer who says nothing, fearful a political statement might hurt his career.
That’s not how Helman is built.
“I don’t love the idea of music or art telling me everything is going to be OK, when I don’t really know that it is. I think a lot of people my age are feeling that way. The environment is f----ing messed up, and there’s an insane guy in the White House. The only thing we can really do is make the best of what we have.”
