British singer/songwriter Tom Odell poses in Toronto on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

TORONTO - Flaxen-haired British singer/songwriter Tom Odell rose to notoriety largely thanks to the boost provided by the Brits Awards' Critics' Choice trophy, an honour he now calls "wonderful" and "career-making."

And this summer, the piano-pop maestro endeavoured to make audiences forget all about it.

"I still remember when I found out — it changed my life," Odell said of the award, which has previously gone to Adele, Florence and the Machine and Emeli Sandé. "It changed where I was with my music. There was a few songs flying around online that a few blogs liked, and all of a sudden it was being played on an award show in front of 10 million people.

"At the same time, with success comes criticism," he continues. "The Critics' Choice is an award that's so strange in a way because it's so mainstream and it's so big, but you know, (it's given) to someone that is quite unknown, therefore people are skeptical.

"I think one of the great things we've done this summer with the festivals over in Europe, I've managed to shake that off. It feels quite liberating, I have to say. It feels like I've got past that point, where it's about the music now and it's not about the Critics' Choice."

Odell's debut, "Long Way Down," topped the charts in the U.K. en route to gold certification since its release in June. It's only been available on these shores for a few weeks, with Odell whisking across North America for a thorough tour in support (he marvelled at the Canadian stops, particularly the "European" Montreal, home of his heroes Arcade Fire).

The 22-year-old's debut has merited comparisons to Coldplay and Jeff Buckley. It's a polished collection of tuneful, piano-driven pop numbers, with the classically trained Odell trilling in yearning tones of his romantic woes, his heart firmly on his bomber jacket's sleeve.

Elton John personally selected Odell to open for him. The Rolling Stones, too, had tabbed Odell as the opener for their show in Hyde Park but the young songwriter had to cancel due to illness. Taylor Swift is also reportedly a fan, and when the two were photographed leaving a low-key London pub together, tabloid tongues set to wagging.

For Odell, who grew up the son of an airline pilot and primary-school teacher in a small town in West Sussex, the attention isn't necessarily welcome.

"When I was in London last, I went to this big old party, and I just felt uncomfortable," he begins. "I'm just not that kind of person. I don't come from that background. I'm good at the music side, I'm not very much good at the other parts of it.

"You learn very quickly that you've got to protect yourself," he continues. "I don't want people knowing about my relationships.... My inspiration comes from my personal life, but that doesn't mean that everyone has to know about my personal life. So I made a very active decision having very briefly got a glimpse into that world that I don't want to be falling out of cabs with girlfriends. I don't want to be that kind of person. It's too emotionally draining, I feel."

It's easy to understand why to some extent Odell feels targeted.

The Critics' Choice award, issued as it was in the fledgling stages of Odell's career, seemed to prime a backlash against him. While his debut received sterling reviews from Mojo and the Telegraph — and more lukewarm but still positive notices in Uncut and the Guardian — it was also torn to shreds in a mean-spirited 0-out-of-10 review in NME that was both personal (calling Odell a "poor, misguided wannabe") and hyperbolic (comparing his record to "musical syphilis.")

He's unruffled at the mention of the review, though an editor at the magazine later tweeted that Odell's father called to complain. Still, asked why his music might rub some listeners the wrong way, he zeroes in on its soul-bare quality.

"It's a lot easier to hide beyond lyrics, to hide behind irony ... I think sometimes what terrifies people about this record is it's very earnest and it's very sincere. And I think sometimes people are scared of that, you know?" he says. "It's like turning up on someone's doorstep you've never met in tears. Your immediate reaction to that is to be embarrassed and to shy away."

And Odell was nothing if not ready for the triumphs and indignities of being a professional musician. He took piano lessons from childhood and started writing songs at 13. Prior to getting noticed by the Brit Awards he played open-mike nights relentlessly, sharpening his chops and growing used to indifferent or even hostile crowds.

He remembered what that anonymity felt like to some extent during periods of his recent North American tour, given that some audiences were more familiar with his tunes than others, and he leaned on the experience of his lean years.

"The Internet is brilliant in that so many more people's music gets heard, but at the same time, you can become a sensation overnight," he says. "You see these artists who went from playing in front of the bathroom mirror to playing in front of 5,000 people.... I don't think that's good as an artist.

"I've gone from playing in venues with 15 people to (now) .... I think it's very important, that transition. And it informs your songwriting."

Songwriting? Odell hasn't had much time for that recently. And given that the songs on his debut were written two or three years ago, he candidly acknowledges that it can be "pretty tough" some nights finding the emotional resonance of his own full-hearted tunes.

So he's been chipping away at some new material during the in-between moments on the road, and his enthusiasm is evident.

"I'm feeling pretty excited about the next record. I really just want to (expletive) make it," he says with some urgency.

And whenever it comes, he wants it to last.

"I've always wanted to make music that feels timeless," he says. "My biggest ambition is that in 10 years time, that one of songs still feels relevant. That it still feels like it's something people can relate to."

News from © The Canadian Press, 2013