Cody Simpson has reflected on his time as a teen pop sensation in a new interview.
The 24-year-old, who has put his music career on hold to pursue Olympic swimming, opened up about his pop-star past in an interview with GQ magazine.
‘I remember just thinking: this is insanity,’ he told the publication.
Looking back: Cody Simpson reflected on his time as a teen pop sensation in a new interview
After being signed to a record company at the age of 13 and told he’d be ‘the next Justin Timberlake’, Cody was immediately thrust into the spotlight.
He was wheeled out on talk shows in the U.S. and started touring the world, playing everywhere from shopping malls in Melbourne to a soccer stadium in South America.
‘I had to adjust very quickly to that life,’ he explained.
Fame: After being signed to a record company at the age of 13 and told he’d be ‘the next Justin Timberlake’, Cody was immediately thrust into the spotlight. Pictured 2012
‘I was so naïve to it all, so I was just along for the ride. At that age, you’re just blinded by the lights a little bit,’ he continued.
‘I barely even knew how to conduct myself and I’m in a room with, like, Ellen DeGeneres and having to figure it out as I went,’ he said, adding that he ‘had to grow up very fast’.
The young star found success in 2010 with his debut single iYiYi, which reached the top 20 in Australia and charted internationally.
Caught up: ‘I was so naïve to it all, so I was just along for the ride. At that age, you’re just blinded by the lights a little bit,’ he told GQ magazine. Pictured on 60 Minutes last week
He followed up with hits like On My Mind and Pretty Brown Eyes, and collaborated with the likes of Justin Bieber and Becky G.
Cody is set to star in an upcoming docuseries, Head Above Water, about his determination to get a spot on the Australian swimming team.
In the two-minute sneak peek for the project, Cody proves he’s willing to do whatever it takes to represent his country in the Olympics.
The singer is pushed to his limits as he participates in gruelling training sessions.
Flashback: The young star found success in 2010 (pictured) with his debut single iYiYi, which reached the top 20 in Australia and charted internationally
We then see someone who appears to be a coach or manager saying, ‘We don’t know his limits,’ before Cody is shown vomiting next to the pool.
‘I have no delusions about how difficult it was going to be,’ Cody is heard saying in the sneak peek, before acknowledging that public opinion about his swimming journey was always bound to be cynical.
‘The big-headed musician that thinks he can make an Olympic team,’ he continues.
Swimmer: Cody is set to star in an upcoming docuseries, Head Above Water, about his determination to get a spot on the Australian swimming team
The new docuseries will also follow competitive swimmers Ian Thorpe, Bronte Campbell and Kyle Chalmers.
Cody announced his return to swimming on Instagram in December, after giving up the sport to pursue a singing career in Los Angeles.
‘I just qualified for my first Olympic trials. I’d love to share this personal milestone and let you in on my current journey as an athlete that I’ve kept relatively low-key until now,’ he began in a lengthy post.
Hard work: In the two minute sneak peek for the project, the 24-year-old proves he’s willing to do whatever it takes to represent his country in the games
‘Growing up competing, and then inevitably having to cut my career short as a 13-year-old Australian champion when I received an opportunity in music that I couldn’t refuse…
‘Now almost exactly 10 years later, here I am poolside once more. For years I had been fuelled by the silent fire in my stomach of returning to the sport of swimming, with the idea that 2020 would be the year I’d try training again.’
Head Above Water premieres exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on June 4
Goals: For years I had been fuelled by the silent fire in my stomach of returning to the sport of swimming, with the idea that 2020 would be the year I’d try training again’