Helping hand: Mr Hudson has a big fan in Kanye West

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Tell me about your CD Straight, No Chaser…

My band [The Library] played it to Kanye [West] and he was like “this is amazing, but let’s do something completely different”. I thought: “Oh, OK, back to the drawing board.” Have you heard the song There Will Be Tears?

Yes, do you use that auto tune thing on it?

Yes, I couldn’t sing in tune on the day because I had man-flu. It wasn’t that bad but you know how we like to complain.

I’ve got that now actually…

I can tell, you probably need to call 999. Anyway, I was so bored of sitting in bed and being ill, that I got up and put a vocal to a beat. It wasn’t really in tune, so I thought: “Let me try this auto tune lark.” Everyone went crazy for it.

Which song will be the biggest hit?

I am really excited about Supernova, which I wrote with Kanye. I hope everyone sings it back at me at Wireless Festival.

Has Kanye been ­singing it at you?

Yeah, I had to drag him out of the booth. He was just like a dog with a bone.

How did you hook-up with West?

He heard the first album and became a bit of a fan. Then I got a call from the head of the label, saying: “How do you feel about having Kanye producing your next album?” I thought: “Let me have a minute... Er, yeah”.

It’s a glamorous ­addition to your life. Is it true he flew you to Hawaii for six weeks?

Well, I didn’t hear anything from him for like, six months, so I thought “sod this” and emailed his manager. They were working on Jay-Z’s new record and I said, really cheekily: “Do you need a hand with [Jay-Z’s album] Blueprint III?” Two hours later, I got an email saying: “Get on the next plane to Hawaii.”

Do you get paid for something like that?

I wasn’t really thinking about it, I was just happy to be there in this five-star hotel with dolphins in the pool. I made a point of buying him breakfast every now and then because I didn’t want to seem like I was freeloading. I ended up co-producing a song on his album and singing on another, so I might get a cheque one day.

Were you overawed working with Jay-Z?

Yeah, I was a bit embarrassed because on the first day I was the bumbling Englishman and kicked someone’s drink over and they all started taking the p**s out of my Reebok trainers. They said: “You look like Jane Fonda.”

Did you meet Beyoncé?

I was more star struck by Beyoncé than any of these people we have talked about because she is epically beautiful in the flesh. I was like a 13-year-old and she completely blanked me, so I blushed and hid in the corner and played on my laptop.

Mr Hudson plays at the Wireless Festival on Sunday. Supernova is out on 20 July. The album is out in the autumn