MALDON born and bred singer Sam Callahan will be making a splash back in the town with a performance at the bar he used to work at.

Mr Callahan, 24, has enjoyed significant recognition since his appearance on ITV’s The X Factor five years ago.

Forming part of the live finalists the show’s tenth season, he was eliminated in week six, but that didn’t stop him pursuing his music career.

This year already has seen two releases from him, but his new song “Stitches and Scars”, which will be released on September 28, is set to be his "most honest and real" work to date.

To mark the occasion, he will be returning to The Oakhouse of Maldon High Street, a bar he worked at whilst growing up, to play a special homecoming gig, which will also act as a run up to his new album due for release next year.

Speaking to the Standard, he said: “This new single and the forthcoming album is a very independently produced project, I have such big aspirations, and I’m really looking to get much more impact globally, but I’ve discovered that in order to do that, you have to go back.

“Getting back to the roots is the key to going forward, and going back to perform in the bar I once worked feels like a natural way to present it.

“I’ve had two releases this year, and they meant a lot to me, they were love songs, which I’ve written a lot of, but this next song was about a really difficult time in my life.

“I made some bad decisions, and my brother said to me that I could be someone completely different, but your decisions make you who you are, and we wouldn’t want to change that.”

The music video for “Stitches and Scars” has been filmed around Essex with various sports men and women, including MMA fighter Mike Hales and gymnast Sophie Brace.

The video will be released on the same day as the single, with Mr Callahan, now based in Brentwood, releasing snippets and behind the scenes footage on his social media accounts.

He added: “I feel that the video will really demonstrate what the song is about; accepting your individuality and embracing your decisions and choices as things that define you.

“I’m very much looking forward to my homecoming gig in Maldon, I haven’t done local tours in a while, and it’s the town I grew up in, so it should be special.”

Sam Callahan is due to play at the Oakhouse on October 27.