Michael Kiwanuka never expected to have "mainstream" success.
Michael Kiwanuka
The 32-year-old singer/songwriter was nominated for Album of the Year and British Male Solo Artist prize at this week's BRIT Awards, but he says just being shortlisted was "a big deal" for him because he considers his music to be left-field.
Speaking to Amazon Music UK, he said: "I always think the music I'm making ... because the BRITs is so mainstream and it's massive and my music ... I always felt like my music was a bit left, so to be considered in something like this where the whole of Britain has their eyes on it, is amazing.
"It's a big deal for me."
The 'Cold Little Heart' singer recently revealed he planned to teach guitar in schools because he didn't think he'd ever land a record deal.
The 32-year-old musician always doubted whether he would fulfil his dream of being a recording artist and so he made alternative plans to make a living from his musical talent by instructing youngsters how to play the guitar.
He said: "I was getting to grips with playing in bands, so I thought maybe I could play guitar for singers and then I could teach guitar in schools or in the evenings.
"That was my thing, but deep down I knew ... I wanted to do my own music but it was never going to happen."
From his teenage years, Michael knew that he wanted to make it is a professional musician but he had no idea how he would ultimately fulfil his ambition.
He said: "My ambition was to become a musician in whatever way possible. I knew from 13 years old that music is what I wanted to do, but I didn't know how that could happen.
"When you say to people you want to be a musician it's like, 'Oh, it's very hard,' and it is."
Despite his plaudits, Michael likes to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible.
Michael explained: "It's a dream [to go unnoticed]. There was no master plan, it just happened.
"I find that if you just make your music and not worry about much else. You can go under the radar and have some amazing experiences, but at the same time you can chill out at the pub and no one bats an eyelid."