ALL EYES ON: ARTHUR HILL
FEATURES - MUSIC - ALL EYES ON
MONDAY 14TH JULY 2025
WORDS BY ESTHER FENWICK
From TikTok fame to indie-pop sensation, Arthur Hill’s star quality is becoming undeniable.
Right from the release of his 2022 debut track ‘Tiny Room’, Arthur Hill has been demonstrating his magnetising vocal ability through a collection of punchy pop hits and slower, melancholic ballads. He adamantly writes all his own music, revealing to us the personal process that led him to his latest single, ‘Man In The Middle’.
Excelling as both a content creator and performer, Hill’s playful and fun-loving personality shines through both. Now in his newest track, he boasts a more profound exploration, delving into the gut-wrenching experience of being torn between strong feelings for two people. Snowballing off the success of his last track ‘Appetite’, this latest release is arguably his best yet.
Hill’s vocal performance is both tender and impassioned, wielding an effortless falsetto and smooth harmonies in his exploration of romantic anguish, regret and indecision. Lyrically, ‘Man In The Middle’ is an all too familiar account for those of us who have grappled with decision paralysis; being weighed on by the feeling that whichever decision you make will involve a degree of regret.
We were lucky enough to catch up with Arthur ahead of his new release, where we discussed his new single ‘Man In The Middle’, being outshone by his mum, and being one video away from your life changing, as well as much more.
I couldn’t help but notice your tattoos, are any dedicated to your music?
I have quite a lot. There’s quite a few that are related to my music. I have a love heart which is really unique, obviously… It says “feels like home” in it, which is the original title of ‘Tiny Room’. That was the first music-related one.
I’ve got a lot that are about other people’s songs. One says “money for nothing”, which is a Dire Straits song and my dad’s favourite song. It has the greatest guitar riff of all time. I love that one.
I got a door from my EP cover, which I really like; that’s my newest one. It's already battered by the sun and fading from not taking proper care of it but we’ll ignore that. There are loads that I kind of hate now, but they’re there forever, and that’s life, I guess.
From your podcast and videos, you’re very close to your mum – a self-professed mummy’s boy - did she always encourage you to pursue a career in music?
She either goes one way or the other. I was lucky that she did similar things to me in terms of work. She was a singer and an actress in the West End, but I don’t want any nepo baby claims! I promise she didn’t put in any good words for me. I remember when I wanted to be an actor, because she knew what the industry could be like, she said “I don’t think you’ll enjoy it, I don’t want you to do it”, which was quite funny. Since the singing stuff has kicked off, she’s been a lot more supportive. I’ll go home and play songs to her, and she’ll be like “I have no idea what you’re saying”.
She likes the songs that I don’t like. When I’m like 60 years old and releasing a folk album, they’re the ones she’ll like, so I’ve got a long way to go. But she’s great. She’s a superstar.
Will you be getting her on any songs in the future?
I would love that. I’ve thought about bringing her up on stage on the tour, but I think she’d outshine me and I don’t know if my ego can handle it. She’s got crazy pipes.
Obviously, you are also massive on TikTok. What came first – the TikTok or the music? Did you always have it in mind that you were going to use your content creation to catapult into a music career?
ince school I always wanted to be an actor; I always wanted to entertain but I wasn’t entirely sure in what way. I tried standup comedy when I left school. I’ve always sung but it felt like the most impossible circle to break into, especially before TikTok.
I don’t really play instruments so I can’t go busking like Justin Bieber, you know. I think now I know that singing is definitely what I feel most at home doing and it’s what I’m meant to be doing, but it wasn’t all some master plan – I’m not that smart! I just did what I wanted to do and it ended up somehow leading me here. I’m really grateful for it.
What do you like about content creation vs making music?
The performing on the music side is my favourite thing to do in the entire world. I still don’t get bored of the buzz you get onstage, people singing my songs and going absolutely crazy for 2 minutes.
With the content, I feel really lucky that I’m with my best mates most of the time, and I’m just filming memories with them. I can’t complain that I basically just go and get drunk in different places and get to film it and call it a job. I’ve always enjoyed writing jokes; I kind of miss that with the dinner table videos that started it all.
I’ve always liked the writing side of things, and that relates to the songwriting side of things as well.
Are there any lines that you’ve written and you were like, ‘damn, that’s really good’?
Yeah, I love that moment where you’re like “wow, I’m good.” It’s a nice feeling. The one that I’m thinking of is really dumb and it might not ever even come out.
I did a song about falling in love with a French girl in Paris and wrote “you and I makes we we (oui oui)”. It’s not that good… there are definitely better ones.
What lessons have you learned from your last tour, and your career in music so far?
This is probably a boring answer, but I was so worried about my voice on the last tour. I need to be a bit more of a professional. It’s like wanting to have fun in the day and I’m just shouting all day and telling jokes that aren’t worth telling.
I need to be steaming in the morning (not alcohol steaming). Actual professional steaming. It looks like a bong – it’s a device that hydrates the throat. I should be doing it more. I’m excited to prioritise putting on the best show next time.
Another one is that you can make bad songs and it doesn’t matter. I thought once you leave a session, if I think the song’s bad, I disregard it and it feels like a waste but it really is a form of therapy I think.
I’ve gone back and listened to old songs and thought, “oh, this is great.” So that’s my other lesson, don’t be too quick to disregard songs. ‘Hey, Arthur!’ is the prime example of that. That song is like two-and-a-half years old.
Did you pick it up and drop it quite a lot?
Yeah, I just never thought it was the right time or that it wasn’t that good. But then I listened to it again and thought it was really fun. You just never know what’s going to connect with people.
Do you have an artist that you’d love to collaborate with?
Recently, I’ve been obsessed with Jon Bellion – the way he’s making music sound at the moment is crazy. Even though it makes zero sense, I’d love to be cool enough to collaborate with MGEE in some way.
He’s far too cool for me. But my main artist that I’d love to be able to see, work with and meet would be Bruno Mars. He’s my hero. I was going to say he’s someone I look up to but he’s very small. I think he’s the best entertainer, writer and vocalist, and is somehow still underrated even though he’s one of the top artists in the world.
Let’s talk about your new song, ‘Man in the Middle’. It feels very relatable in the sense that it’s exploring very personal feelings of indecision that a lot of us struggle with. Can you talk a bit about the experience of writing the song - was there anything in particular that inspired it?
I think it’s one of my favourites. It’s interesting that you say it’s relatable because I wrote it from a place of real guilt and of feeling really bad for liking two people at the same time. I guess a lot of people go through it, but I felt like an evil person. Luckily, I was writing it after it happened and could go through the emotions more clearly.
I’m not sure I could give any advice about how to get out of a similar sort of situation because it didn’t end too well, in my case. At least I got a song out of it!
Would you say that’s also been your favourite song to write?
I think it actually was my favourite to write. It was the first time that I went away and did a writing camp with some of the people that I’m closest to in music – it was the loveliest few days. All I had to focus on was writing new songs.
It was in the Cotswolds. We made ‘Appetite’ in those few days, and another one that I really like. It was definitely the best writing experience I’ve had.
Is writing your own music important to you as an artist?
Definitely. If I don’t feel attached to the music, I don’t really get much out of performing it. I feel emotionally charged when I’m on stage and want to perform it from a real place. Also, I’ve worked having loads of people in the room and sometimes it feels like there’s too many opinions going on.
Maybe I’m selfish or it’s an ego thing but I like doing it by myself or with one other person – it feels a lot more “me”.
You said after your last tour that ‘You’re Not a God’ was your favourite song to perform - is that still true or do you reckon any of the newer releases will kick it off top spot?
‘Man in the Middle’ I’m really excited to do. There’s a lot of moments that I can imagine the crowd singing along to. I don’t want to force it, but there are parts of the second verse, “F*** a win win, it’s a lose lose tonight”, I can imagine everyone screaming that. ‘Appetite’ and ‘Bigger Room’ are also gonna go crazy.
For ‘You’re Not a God’, I think I’m most nervous about that song every time because it’s the hardest to sing; I think that’s why I put so much pressure on it. Once I’m done with it, I’m a lot more relaxed. I think that’s also why it’s my favourite because I get to feel the relief of making it out of it – like “I did it!”.
But I’m going to say, ‘Man in the Middle’, because it feels very bandy and I think the band will enjoy playing it.
To finish off, any golden advice to new artists on gaining exposure, writing music, content creation or touring?
This has probably been said a million times but we’re in this time where you’re one video away from your life changing. Don’t get annoyed if people aren’t connecting with it – if you just keep going, all it takes is one video to do well.
Try and get people invested in your personality. Try and get your personality across. That’s helped me so much in terms of getting a fan base rather than just having a big song and people connecting to that, as opposed to you as a person. So in summary – I’m sure you’re a lovely person and you’re funny so try and get it out there.
Just keep going! You’re one video away people!
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