Craig David is back in the charts after disappearing off the music scene for over a decade and he says he learned a lot about himself during his break.
The 35-year-old Southampton singer, who has resided in Miami for the last few years, admitted while he enjoyed living the high life in the States, he came to learn that music is all that really matters to him.
"My home is in Miami but I moved back from there about a year and a half ago. That was kind of one of the pivotal moments that made me get back into the studio with all of these young producers, and it led to having a new album out a year later.
"It was about recognising that Miami was great for a holiday but not the best place for me to make music," he said.
David, who has sold more than 13 million records worldwide during his career to date, admitted he has gone back to basics with Following My Intuition, and now realises the importance of doing what you love.
"What I've realised over the years is that as soon as you fall in love and enjoy what you're doing it doesn't really matter what happens after that.
"I just want to make amazing music when I go into the studio and I want to go home and play it loud and enjoy it.
"As soon as I went back into that mode - that I did when I was the teenager who didn't have any reference points of selling records and doing shows - it all started to fall into place," David said.
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"I am grateful that when people heard my new music they felt the same way as I do about it. It's all about doing what makes you feel good and hoping people will connect with it," he added.
"Seeing the love from the generation that grew up with my music who have stayed loyal to me and then seeing tweets online from a new and younger audience is just surreal.
"I saw one comment recently from a young fan saying 'Man I just discovered this new kid called Craig David, you need to listen to this song'.
"That kind of feedback is amazing. When I'm performing live I'm seeing both generations come together and it's just surreal," he said.
The 7 Days hitmaker is set to play Dublin's 3Arena on April 7 and says he is really looking forward to the upcoming gig.
"I remember performing there back in the day when it was The Point for my first album Born to do It. It's going to be epic and an amalgamation of my band show, acoustic and TS5.
"My Irish fans are lively. Oh wow they are so lively," he added.
With another busy year ahead of him, David says he is looking forward to chilling with his family and reflecting on 2016.
"I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with my mum and dad this Christmas. Even if it is just eating food and watching movies - that's perfect.
"My mum and dad will love that just so they can chill with me for a while.
"I just want to really recap on what happened during the year because it has gone by so fast.
"I've been able to take it all in a lot more this time around. When I was a teenager it was just go, go go," he added.
Craig David's new album Following My Intuition is out now and tickets for his Irish gig can be found here
