Kahan had recently teased a new collab with a ‘mystery artist’, with many fans guessing correctly at the British singer jumping on board. After generating a fair amount of suspicion, the ‘Seventeen Going Under’ singer announced the joint song on social media, commenting:

“I cut my parts in North Shields, on the banks of the Tyne, literally overlooking the ‘static cranes’ that I mention in my verse; it’s a stone’s throw from the estate in which the riots took place in the early 90’s. It made me proud of my hometown, and my people. The Geordies are a hilarious bunch, resilient and impermeable to hard times and hard drinking; my hometown is a constant source of inspiration. Noah Kahan is a great lad, a canny chanter and a mean wordsmith. I love the track, and I can’t wait for people to hear it.”

Kahan and Fender’s individual verses both tackle their complicated love-hate relationships with their hometowns. Despite growing up in different parts of the world, Kahan on a remote tree farm, and Fender on a bleak council estate, there is a shared sense of loneliness, and an overwhelming urge to escape.

Recognised as a working-class, former ship-building town in the North East, North Shields remains a central landscape and backdrop in many of Fender’s songs. Both artists perfectly encapsulate the growing pains of moving on from a small town that no longer serves you, while still being able to appreciate the beauty in its simplicity.

‘I stare at that hallowed ocean as if to pick a fight / For the dreams my old man dreamt for me lay on the other side,” Fender sings.

Driven by nostalgia and a pride for his people and their past, it’s clear that Fender also finds himself relishing in returning home, if anything to break a cycle of generational trauma, and to prove just how far he has come.

With a montage of new clips circulating on Instagram, it appears a music video for the single, or a documentary of sorts may also be in the works.

Until then, you can check out Noah Kahan and Sam Fender’s version of ‘Homesick’ in the lyric video below.

Just won a fucking @IvorsAcademy award for best song musically and lyrically. I couldn’t breathe. pic.twitter.com/tM8InHRmR3

— Sam Fender (@samfendermusic) May 20, 2022

Taking to Twitter, the singer said “I couldn’t breathe” in regards to taking home the award. With fellow nominees Adele, Rag’n’Bone Man, Holly Humberstone, Ella Henderson, and Tom Grennan, you can see why as competition was tough on the night. However, once his name was called Fender seemed composed, delivering a touching acceptance speech dedicated to a friend that had sadly died the previous week. Detailed in a recent NME article covering the event, Fender said: “A very good friend of mine passed away last week. He was my very first boss and employer. He gave me a job when both me and my mum were unemployed. He used to always hit me over the head with a newspaper for being a shit barman.” Going on he credited his late friend with being instrumental in him having a career in music: “I was always playing guitar in front of people instead of serving the customers, until one day he said, ‘Go get your guitar out and sit in that corner’. That was because my future manager, who was up and coming at the time, had just come in the pub. Without that man then none of this would have happened, so thank you so much.”. 

Characteristically honest and forthcoming, his speech can be seen as an example of why the nation has taken to him so much over the last couple of years. With equal sincerity and vulnerability showcased consistently in his music, the sky seems to be the limit for Sam as we all watch on with vested interest.

You can check out the now Ivor Novello Award winning single here below:

“Me and Elton will definitely happen at some point”. https://t.co/dLh7yfN3im

— Radio X (@RadioX) December 29, 2021

Earlier this year, Elton John released his collaborative album The Lockdown Sessions, which featured contributions from a wide spectrum of artists, some of whom were active alongside John in the 1970s such as Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and Stevie Wonder, as well as newer artists such as Dua Lipa, Years & Years, Young Thug. The album also featured contributions from Metallica bassist Robert Trulijo, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. The album was generally well-received, with NME calling the album a “genre-hopping delight” in a four-star review published back in October.

Despite featuring a myriad of well-celebrated new artists on the album, it was perhaps surprising to some that indie rocker Sam Fender did not appear on the roster, especially given his recent success.

Fender revealed in an interview last month that he was indeed asked to contribute to the album, however he was forced to turn down the opportunity due to how busy he was working on his new record Seventeen Going Under, which was released on the 8^th of October to wide acclaim. The album has found its way to the number one spot on NME’s Best Albums of The Year 2021 list, with the publication saying: “Geordie hero’s heartfelt second album cements his place as a British guitar great”.

Although Fender was unable to collaborate with Elton John on The Lockdown Sessions, he has recently expressed that he is keen to work with the legendary singer when they can make it happen, saying: “Me and Elton will definitely happen at some point. We just need to find time to get into the studio…We want to make something special together. I’d love us to make something stripped back, that sounds organic with a band.” John has spoken highly of Fender in the past, calling him “the best rock and roll artist there is”, and the two have collaborated previously in a live setting, performing Fender’s single “Will We Talk” in February 2020.

In other news regarding Sam Fender, the singer-songwriter will be headlining Finsbury Park next Summer alongside the likes of Declan McKenna and Fontaines D.C. Fender’s acclaimed second album Seventeen Going Under is available via all streaming services, and physical copies can be found here.