The secret life of Noah Kahan: pop’s sudden superstar on No1s, packed arenas – and impostor syndrome

His album and single are at No1 in the UK, he plays to enormous crowds who sing along to every word, and he was up for a Grammy this year. So why is he still afraid of failure?

At the Grammys the other week, Noah Kahan looked around – at Beyoncé, at Taylor Swift – and thought: “No one’s going to tell me that I belong here.” Never mind that he had been nominated for best new artist, or that his album was riding high in the US and UK charts. The impostor syndrome was strong.

He took his mother, who had a wonderful time. “I was sitting by myself, like: ‘Whoa, I am the least cool guy at the party right now.’ My mom is killing it, everyone around me is killing it. It played into this idea that I have about myself – which isn’t healthy – that I don’t belong.” He smiles. “I could have gotten up and said hello to somebody – it’s my own making.” Sitting on a sofa at his record label’s office in London, he laughs at himself. “It’s one of those things that I need to work on, finding out how to feel deserving and worthy.”