"Answerphone" is the debut single by Scottish singer

Nicholas McDonald Nicholas "Nicky" McDonald (born 23 November 1996) is a Scottish singer. He was the runner-up of the tenth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2013. After the show, he signed with RCA Records and released his debut album '' In the Arms of an Angel'' ...

, who finished as the runner-up on the tenth series of '' The X Factor'' in 2013. It was written by McDonald alongside Paul Barry. It was released on 16 March 2014 as the lead single from McDonald's debut studio album ''

In the Arms of an Angel ''In the Arms of an Angel'' is the debut studio album by Scottish singer Nicholas McDonald, who finished as the runner-up on the tenth series of '' The X Factor'' in 2013. It was released through RCA Records on 17 March 2014. The album has peaked ...

'' (2014). The song peaked at number 73 on the UK Singles Chart and number 28 on the Scottish Singles Chart.

Background

After finishing as runner-up on the tenth series of ''The X Factor'' in December 2013, McDonald signed a record contract with RCA Records. "Answerphone" was one of three original tracks written for his debut studio album ''

''. The song was co-written by McDonald and Paul Barry. McDonald stated that, "I chose that as my first song because it's a really original, fresh and fun song. It's a song that I knew I would enjoy performing." In an interview with

sugarscape.com ''Sugar'' was a British magazine for teenager, teenage girls published by Hachette Filipacchi. Its content focused on boys, fashion, celebrities, real-life stories about teenagers and other similar matters. The editor, when it closed in 2011, wa ...

, McDonald said that "'Answerphone' is about me being in the studio, working hard, doing my thing and I've got a girlfriend during this, this work in progress - something happens and I'm trying to get a hold of her, she's trying to get a hold of me. I just keep checking my phone, like 'where is she?' and 'what have I done?'. I'm just like in this video going 'what have I done wrong?' and 'what's happening?' Basically, then she turns up at the door with a phone like 'I've been trying to call you when you've been trying to call me'." The track received its debut airplay on 3 February 2014 on the

Clyde 1 Clyde 1 is an Independent Local Radio station based in Glasgow, Scotland, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Glasgow and West Central Scotland. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audie ...

Breakfast Show with George Bowie.

Music video

The music video was filmed on 5 February 2014. McDonald took a break from rehearsals for the ''X Factor'' Live Tour in order to film the video. He said on Twitter, "Access all areas #Answerphone video shoot.", before later adding "AND THATS A WRAP !!! MUSIC VIDEO FOR ANSWERPHONE IS ALL DONE !! NOW LETS HOPE ALL THAT HARD WORK WAS WORTH IT #answerphone !!!" The video premiered on McDonald's Vevo channel and YouTube on 18 February.

Track listing

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 73 on the UK Singles Chart on 23 March 2014. It was a major flop in comparison to ''In the Arms of an Angel'', which debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart the same week. The song also charted at number 28 on the Scottish Singles Chart.

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Answerphone 2014 debut singles RCA Records singles Songs written by Paul Barry (songwriter) 2014 songs