5 times Nathan Sykes inspired us all

Singer Nathan Sykes has enjoyed an incredible career since finding fame with The Wanted and he has gone on to launch a successful solo career, so to celebrate him we have rounded up five of his most inspirational quotes from our archive.

1. When he refused to give up on his dream of pursuing music just because one door had closed:

During a chat with E! News last spring, the heartthrob explained that even though he's young, he still knew that he didn't want to take time out from music because it's his one true passion and it's something he will always fight for. Sykes said:

"We did say it was just going to be a break and I was like ‘What am I going to do?' and I was like 'OK, I'm gonna do what I love because I'm far too young to stop doing what I absolutely adore doing. So I was like, 'OK, I'm going to go into the studio and see what happens' and the music was really strong—we found a sound really quickly."

The star's determination and talent were rewarded because that same summer, his first U.S. headlining concert, which took place on July 22 at the Gramercy Theatre in New York, sold out in just 10 minutes.

2. When he got real about dealing with bullying and gave advice to fans on how to handle it:

The 'Kiss Me Quick' sensation told Anti-bullying Pro that the best way to deal with being bullied is to tell someone about it: "Never bottle it up and keep quiet. Speak to people who can help you as there are always people there to help."

3. Every time he supported, praised and had nothing but nice things to say about ex-girlfriends and ex-bandmates:

Nathan Sykes keeps it classy where exes are concerned. Take his ex-bandmate from The Wanted, Jay McGuiness. While McGuiness was competing on 'Strictly Come Dancing', Sykes turned up to rehearsals and to one of the shows and McGuiness later told press: "Having Nathan's support is great. I had it all the way through The Wanted and that hasn't changed."

The same goes for ex-girlfriends. Sykes has nothing but praise for former flame Ariana Grande and recently told OK! magazine that he won't close their door on their friendship and hopes to collaborate with her again in the future:

"We've done two songs together, 'Almost Is Never Enough' on her debut album, and 'Over And Over Again', so that's twice now which is quite a lot for collaborations, but you never know what's is going to happen in the future. I think she's incredible, she's incredibly talented, so you never know what's going to happen!"

4. When he wasn't scared to be himself and to speak out about his own beliefs without fear of judgement:

Speaking to Fiasco magazine in November last year, the musician explained that he is quite shy and never really had any game where flirting is concerned: "I’m really quite shy most of the time, maybe 80% of the time I lack confidence talking to ‘some’ people.”

Sykes also recently admitted that he would never sleep with someone on a first date, despite the fact that this generation deems it to be the done thing: "Never on a first date! Never ever. To be fair, when you know you really like someone... I wouldn’t jump into bed too easily with anyone. But you’ve just got to know you really like them."

5. When he recognised the importance of the arts in education and called on schools to teach students about icons from other generations:

He recently took to his official Twitter page and told his followers that the syllabus for music should include lessons on how legends such as Prince and Elvis Presley influenced and changed sounds and the industry alike:

"We should be learning about Elvis in music lessons and learning how he changed music and influenced so many artists today. Prince did the same. It's about music in education being modernised [...] I'm saying that the syllabus for music in education isn't up to date or structured well enough to enable kids to learn about these modern music icons and learn about how people like Prince changed music."

Watch footage of Sykes performing at the Summertime Ball below: