L Devine's Growing Pains

For this episode, I welcome fellow Geordie and good friend Sam Fender to the studio! In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past two years, I’ll tell you a little bit about Sam. Sam is a singer songwriter from North Shields who has become somewhat of a living legend around Newcastle since releasing his #1 debut album Hypersonic Missiles and winning the BRITs Critics Choice Award in 2019. Today, we chat about the struggles of being a teen, dealing with heartbreak, toxic masculinity and embarrassing moments.

YouTuber, photographer, director and LGBTQ+ advocate Shannon Beveridge joins me to talk about her growing pains. We chat about her coming out, her secret life online and being in the closet in a Texas sorority.

Brit Award nominee, singer-songwriter Joy Crookes joins me in the studio. Joy tells us about how her adolescence was shaped by growing up in South London and gives us some words of wisdom on navigating toxic friendships, being unbothered by people’s opinions and walking with purpose.

Singer, songwriter, solo artist and frontman of the band The Neighbourhood, Jesse Rutherford joins me in the studio to talk about his coming of age. Jesse shares his experiences from his rebellious journey of self-expression to his struggles with mental health, and having his wildest dreams come true all before reaching adulthood.

For the first episode of season 2, I am joined by singer-songwriter MNEK. He’s penned hits for H.E.R, Zara Larsson, Dua Lipa and Beyoncé, and has been releasing his own music for almost a decade, making a huge impact on the UK house scene. But today, we talk about all the awkwardness of MNEK’s adolescence. We reflect on overcoming self-consciousness, the importance of finding our people, and the journey to becoming our true selves.

Welcome back to season 2 of L Devine’s Growing Pains podcast! If you didn’t know, I’m a singer songwriter and my main inspiration when it comes to my songwriting are my experiences navigating through adolescence. So, I thought it would be a great idea to invite some special guests to the studio to dig up the discomforts of their adolescence for your listening pleasure!

This is an extra special episode of Growing Pains!! I invited my dad and Davina back to the studio and we asked you, the listeners, to tell us about your own coming of age experiences.

My velvety voiced label mate, singer-songwriter JC Stewart. JC talks about leaving Northern Ireland to pursue his music dreams, trading in the rugby kit for a guitar, and a questionable Bieber-inspired look.

If you’ve seen my live show, you know Louie Shepherd as the crazy cool keytar player with all the moves in my band. Louie talks about growing up in the online world and standing out from the crowd as a male dancer.

Chloe Hughes is one of my best friends who also just happens to be a total creative goddess!! A couple years ago, she created the website Babe U OK?, an amazing community for young women to talk about sexual and mental health as well as all things awkward. These days, she’s directing music videos and doing creative direction on videos for Dua Lipa, Khalid, Calvin Harris...the list goes on. Chloe talks about how her experiences growing up inspired her in her work.

I met Okan after a gig in Newcastle in 2016 and the very next day, we got in the studio together. From then on, we’d spend almost every night at Hotboxx Studios, starting our musical journey together. Okan talks about moving to the UK from Azerbaijan and getting his start in the music industry as a teenager.

One of my best and oldest friends in world - Davina Nylander. Stories of coming of age together in high school and leaving Newcastle to find ourselves in London.

The man, the myth, the legend - my dad, Nigel Devine. How did coming of age in Wallsend in the 1970s shape him and what advice does he have for me, and the teenage Nigel Devine?

Let me tell you a bit about what this is! As you may know, I’m a singer/songwriter. My main inspirations when it comes to my songwriting are my experiences navigating through adolescence. So, I decided it would be a cool idea to invite friends, family and just generally interesting people into the recording studio to chat about their own coming of age stories.