On his Apple Music Home Session, Olly Murs performs a Neil Diamond classic in moving tribute to a late friend. “‘Sweet Caroline’ is a song I’ve sung at so many of my gigs since we lost Caroline Flack to suicide,” he tells Apple Music. “She loved to sing, and I always encourage everyone to sing along and dedicate it to her. This song is very interactive live, with a big anthemic chorus, but, acoustically, I wanted to slow it down and strip it back to show what the song means to me now. I like to think of myself as a positive person but losing a close friend really makes you assess life—mental health is so important, being happy in yourself and having the right support around you when times are tough.” Events in Murs’ own life—as well as the wider world—have helped underline what music means to him. “The last couple of years definitely taught me a lot about myself,” he says. “Not only were we in a global pandemic, but I also underwent knee surgery so was unable to do a lot of things I took for granted. I realized I needed to have a creative outlet to express my personality—whether that was presenting, making music, gigging, or even creating content on TikTok.” Reinventing one of his own tracks, “Dancing on Cars,” for this session, he tapped into a couple of things about making music that bring him happiness. “‘Dancing on Cars’ describes how love can make you feel in the moment,” he says. “It’s uplifting and fun and is the kind of music I love to perform. I love recording acoustically. I’ve been with my musicians for over a decade now, and bringing songs to life with them is always a joy. Taking away much of the production and stripping the songs back is always a great way to get the sentiment across.”