Luke Evans would be the first to admit it: he lives his best life. Or, lives. The Welshman is in huge demand as an actor, in the UK and internationally. But give him half a chance and the star of The Hobbit, The Alienist, Fast and Furious 6, Dracula Untold and Beauty and the Beast will do what he's always loved first and foremost: sing.
A Song For You, his second album, draws its title from the Donny Hathaway song that’s one of Evans’ lifelong favourites and with which he opens the 14-song selection.
But the foundations are four songs that speak to both his talent and to the respect in which he’s held by his peers: two tracks he’s written with songwriter Amy Wadge (Ed Sheeran, Jessie Ware, James Blunt, Sam Ryder), and two stellar duets, with Nicole Kidman (on Say Something, as made famous by Christina Aguilera) and Charlotte Church (on the Moulin Rouge! tearjerker Come What May).
Overall, the focus is again on covers carefully curated from Evans’ huge hinterland of musical loves. The rich orchestral backing is courtesy of Prague’s Philharmonic Orchestra, with additional glorious, full-voiced support on key tracks from the world-famous, 130-year-old Treorchy Male Voice Choir.
That ethos is at the heart of A Song for You. Always-busy filming schedules, Evans hopes to tour the album next year, not least because his live plans for At Last were curtailed by Covid. But whatever happens, he’s intent on enjoying the ride.
