Conor Maynard

As he gears up for part two of his ‘Continued World Tour,’ which will kick off with a performance in Singapore on Tuesday, May 23rd and extend through early June with a four-night Australia run, pop star Conor Maynard has announced that he will return to the road in August for a handful of intimate performances in select cities throughout Europe. Beginning in Warsaw on August 24th before making stops in Prague, Frankfurt and Amsterdam, the relaxed, late summer shows will serve as a low-key culmination of a whirlwind year for Maynard, which saw him travel the world on his biggest headlining tour to date, hitting more than 28 cities across four continents. The European dates are on sale this Friday, May 5th at 10am BST, here. Of the tour, Maynard said: “There are so many reasons why I’m so excited to go on the Sad Boy Summer tour. Firstly it will be the first time I get to perform the songs from my new mini album ‘+11 Hours’ live which I cannot wait to do. There are also some cities I’ve never been to before so I’m buzzing to meet a whole bunch of new faces, and the fact that some of the concerts are open air is going to bring a whole new dynamic to the shows. I feel like it’s the perfect way to round off the summer, I can’t wait to see you all there!” The announcement follows the release of Maynard’s latest single “Storage," and the news that he will be dropping a new mini album, ‘+11 Hours’ on June 9th, inspired by a difficult breakup he went through late last year. A classic Maynard style ballad, “Storage” is about having the capacity to contain various, irrelevant but ultimately incredible, personal and beautiful memories when you're in a relationship. It follows the release of “By Your Side,” which channels the frantic experience of watching a relationship come to an end that you so badly don’t want to let go of. The song is Maynard’s message to his fans who reached out to him in the wake of the breakup and his disappearance from social media, as he took time to heel and reflect on his experience. “I received a lot of messages when I came back online, from fans and even just people that related to the feeling of wanting to take a break from the pressures of social media,” Maynard recalls. “I realized just how many people have been through a similar notion, even when the circumstances that have led to that decision are different. For that reason, I kept the lyrics of ‘By Your Side’ a little more open, so it can be interpreted to fit all different types of relationship; romantic, friendships, family, and all different reasons for letting go, whether it be through just going your separate ways, or in the hardest of scenarios, death.” Featuring fiercely personal songwriting and a new confidence found touring the world, Maynard’s ‘+11 Hours’ marks a creative turning point, as he lets the abundant skills of his youth blossom and steer him into new directions of artistry and creativity. The first song Maynard released from the body of work, “If I Ever,” explores trust and suspicion in relationships and the different outcomes that they each can lead to. “‘If I Ever’ is the first of a series of songs I wrote about an extremely difficult breakup I went through last year,” Maynard recalls. “It was a unique relationship and hard to write about, because 90% of it took place over phone calls and video calls, which I understand was common during the pandemic. This song captures my emotional experience following that breakup, and the anticipation I continue to feel about my upcoming appearance in her hometown of Sydney, Australia, since in our last conversation, she told me she still hopes to see me there.” Maynard rose to fame in 2012 when he won MTV's Brand New for 2012 award, competing alongside Delilah, Michael Kiwanuka, Lana Del Rey, and Lianne La Havas. He was signed to Parlophone and became one of the first home-grown talents to transition from online to IRL pop-stardom, proving the power of digital audiences while breaking new ground for countless other upcoming artists. He earned the mentorship of Ne-Yo and then exploded with his debut album ‘Contrast,’ which reached #1 and produced 5 Top Ten singles. The album catapulted him to international stardom, with his YouTube channel alone boasting 13.3 million subscribers and 2.5 billion views. World tours, awards, and collaborations with major artists followed, including Pharrell Williams, The Invisible Men and Rita Ora. Maynard even starred in the Broadway show Kinky Boots, showcasing another side to his multi-faceted talent. But 10 years after the debut album that changed his life, Maynard realized it was time for him to go at it alone. He left his label and took his career to new and unchartered heights, racking up over 300 million streams in 2021 alone, without any major player backing. It takes his worldwide reach to a staggering scale: Spotify streams of his music surpassed 2 billion, and he quickly become the 7th most followed TikTok music account in the UK, despite only joining the platform in 2020. The decision also allowed him to bring his music to new, adventurous heights, with a sense of artistic liberation lying at the heart of his new material.