Key Insights

• 2026 Significance: For Sam Bettens, 2026 represents a pivotal year of reflection and new beginnings.
• Personal Journey: The reimagined “Not an Addict” reflects both his artistic evolution and personal growth.
• Musical Impact: The song’s new version showcases a mature perspective on life beyond its original context.
• Upcoming Projects: Bettens is set to tour with K’s Choice while promoting his new album, Coming Home.

For Sam Bettens, 2026 is a year of coming full circle while also taking that next step forward, and it all culminates today (June 12) with the video release for “Not an Addict (Sam’s Version).”

This reimagining of his K’s Choice ’90s alt-rock anthem serves up a more intimate reflection on a life lived, a perspective gained, a maturity earned, and a new vision that feels like a jumping-off point as an artist for that rare second act.

Ahead of the video release, we had a chance to catch up with Bettens to discuss the journey that not only has “Not an Addict” taken over the last 30 years but also Sam’s own personal journey that colors this new version and has led him toward a fresh start with one of 2025’s most promising Americana albums, Coming Home.

First, check out the new version — Sam’s Version — of “Not an Addict” for 2026 and then find out more about Sam’s journey in the chat below.

Sam Bettens, “Not an Addict (Sam’s Version)”

Sam, take me through the experience of being a young band and getting that first taste of success. The album arrives in 1995, “Not an Addict” takes off in Europe first, then the U.S. in 1996 and 1997, so you get this in stages.

The whole thing just went so fast in a way. A couple of years before that, we never thought that a Belgian band could even sign a record deal and we would actually make enough money to make this our living. That seemed unrealistic. And so when “Not an Addict” started getting some traction, at that point we’d already quit school and things were kind of moving. “Not an Addict” had some traction in Europe, but then we got super lucky.

We were playing at a festival in Germany somewhere and Alanis Morissette saw us from the side of the stage and literally asked me through my management to come over and see her after. And on the spot, she invited us to come on a North American tour with her. It’s just like one of those moments where, “What just happened?” That’s the kind of stuff at the end of a movie or something of how careers start. I cannot overemphasize the opportunity that that was for us.

We did have a record deal already in the States. “Not an Addict” was out, but nothing had really moved yet at that point. And just the fact that we were able to open for her; no one knew we were there. We had no interviews. We just showed up at eight o’clock, played our 40-minute set in front of 20,000 people and then got to enjoy her set and just were happy to be on the tour bus.

But then from the shows, people started calling radio stations. People still did that at that time, as you know. And they were like, “Hey, who was the band opening for Alanis? Because we liked it. We wanna know more. What’s that song?” And that’s when it all started. By the end of the year, it was a Top 5 alternative song on radio in the U.S.

So just by getting these little moments or big opportunities where you don’t expect it, that’s been kind of our story. Those things don’t happen unless you’re working and unless you have the stuff that you need to have. But there’s still a lot of luck involved.

And having her just on the spot take this Belgian band out on the road with her because she’s Alanis Morissette. She’s gonna sell out her shows anyway. She doesn’t care who’s opening for her. So it was just awesome. And then for a Belgian band to have that U.S. adventure seemed unreal. We could now actually have a career here and started doing our own tours after that.

We’re going to these big sheds where the radio shows and festivals are and to have people singing along to the song everywhere we went. It was amazing. It was a dream come true.

K’s Choice, “Not an Addict”

As a Belgian band coming over to the U.S., I know it made an impression and obviously you decided to move here and make it your home. What was your first impression?

I’m not necessarily someone who believes in previous life stuff, but for some reason I was always so interested in America and fascinated as a young person. I remember we’d have English class; I was 14, and my teacher kept telling me to use a British accent and I’m like, “No, I would rather use an American accent.”

I don’t know why. It’s just the fascination that I had. And so it was always a dream for me to come here; not necessarily move here. I didn’t know much about it other than what I saw in movies. But it had this mystery for me.

I remember very well landing in San Francisco for the first time. At that time I would’ve still said I’m always gonna live in Belgium. I love Belgium. I love Antwerp. This is where my friends are; this is where my family is. But I remember on the first drive from San Francisco to Santa Cruz; I thought that maybe I could live here too. It just felt really comfortable from the beginning and really like a place that I could call home. It’s so gorgeously beautiful.

I wouldn’t say made it my mission, but I’m really grateful that I ended up here and I have zero desire to move back.

And now all these years later with K’s Choice, we had our run. Obviously for a Belgian band it’s very hard to sustain a career in a country where you don’t live. So not having the whole band here made it really hard for us to kinda keep that longevity going. Luckily we were able to keep that in Europe.

But I feel so at home here; I’m an American citizen as well. And with this new record that I made, I wanna be able to throw my guitar in the back of the truck and go play here … I’m not a bucket list person but if there’s a bucket list thing it’s definitely having the career that I have in Europe and to be able to have that here again as well and be able to just show up somewhere, go play a show and have people buy tickets to come see me.

“Not An Addict,” you’ve gone on record as saying it’s not necessarily a pro-drug song but it’s also not an anti-drug song. It’s more just your experience of what you were experimenting with at the time. What was your personal experience and can you kinda share a little bit of where that song came from?

I would definitely label it more as an anti-drug song in a way that drugs have always scared me. I think it’s fascinating but I’ve had no interest really. I don’t drink really either; I like to know exactly what I’m doing at all times and if something doesn’t feel right or I’m stressed or whatever I like to take my dog for a walk or find other ways to get out of a funk.

So it’s never appealed to me but it was so prevalent in a lot of places in the early ’90s rock world where it got offered and it was just around and I never felt at home in that world.

But what prompted me to write the song — because it made me so sad — was a journalist actually in Paris who was interviewing me asked about it; on how we deal with that and whether it’s been an issue in our band and whether we see it around and what role drugs had played for K’s Choice. The reason he asked is because he was HIV positive because of a contaminated needle; so that was something obviously very real in his world. So we ended up talking about it a little bit; it prompted me to write the song.

At the time I didn’t realize it was actually gonna be a song that people who dealt with these issues found comfort in; like comfort in helplessness and misguidedness and stories you tell yourself. And even though I didn’t have experience with drugs, I think everyone has experiences with telling yourself what you wanna believe or maybe not seeing yourself for who you are or not seeing your problems for what they really are.

So that’s what I wanted to write about — how it really just messes with people; it messes with your life messes with who you think you are — and it ended up being a song that people were able to hold onto which obviously was amazing; you never think something you write is gonna mean something to someone to that extent so I’m super grateful that it has lived the life that it has.

In the midst of the whirlwind that was your life at that time you were also coming to terms with who you are as a person…