With support behind him from the likes of Wonderland, Sunday Times Culture and his ever-growing army of fans, JC Stewart really is one to watch here in 2020. A gifted singer-songwriter with an undeniable talent for writing honest and emotive songs, he’s captured the hearts and minds of people everywhere and, all being well (go away Corona Virus!), he’s gearing up to delight the masses on tour from May. Having released his new single “Lying That You Love Me” earlier this month, PopWrapped caught up with JC to chat breaking away from the family business, song-writing inspiration and what, many years from now, he’d most like to be remembered for.
Taking into account that your family run a multi-generation grocery business, at what point growing up did you know that that wasn’t what you wanted to do with your life, and how did your family react when you began your musical journey? Who or what most inspired you to take a different path to your parents and those who have come before you?
JC Stewart: The family business was an amazing thing to have growing up. To watch my dad take something old and make it incredibly relevant and vibrant was super inspiring to me. For me personally though, because I found music at such a young age, it was never going to be something I was going to do and my parents were so supportive of this. They still come to as many shows as they possibly can and even were partly responsible for me dropping out of uni to pursue this!
What do you think it is about your music in particular that has caught the attention of so many fans and means so much to them?
JC: Honestly it’s a mystery to me. The only thing I can say on this is that all my favourite songs come from a very honest place. I think people connect to honesty and can tell a mile off when you’re not being true to yourself or are trying to emulate someone else which I know I’ve tried to do a million times but has never worked.
What would you say is your unique selling point as an artist?
JC: The only unique selling point is that I’m me. I know that’s a terrible answer but at the end of the day, I’m just an Irish kid who sings sad songs. I don’t really know how to be anyone else so this is it. All I can hope is that people connect to that cause if I start trying to be Lady Gaga or Yungblud it’s not gonna be pretty.
If you had to advertise yourself on a billboard, or on social media in just a few words, what would they be?
JC: “Do you like happy, uplifting pop music to listen to when you’re feeling on top of the world? Well this is probably not for you.”
Is there a particular story to your latest single “Lying That You Love Me”? How easy or hard did you find it to write?
JC: I wrote this with a couple of friends of mine in Wales and one of the other writers was talking about his own situation with the topic and I think it just related to us all really quickly. It’s something everyone’s been through or knows about but that I haven’t heard talked about an awful lot so it just made sense to write it!
What did producer Koz bring to the creative/ recording process and what was it like to work with someone who’s helped create a number of hits for the likes of Dua Lipa?
JC: Such a dream come true to be honest. He’s someone who’s been there and done it so many times and just knows how to make things really work. Such a gent to work with as well.
What made you decide on a raw solo performance for the video?
JC: I always love doing a raw video as it breaks the song down into its original format. I nearly always write songs acoustically before any production goes on so I want people to see it in both forms.
Who or what most inspires or influences your song-writing?
JC: It’s nearly always one line from a conversation I’ve had with someone. It’s the best way for me to try and summarise what I’m thinking in my own head.
You co-wrote Lewis Capaldi’s “Hollywood” after a chance meeting with him, and the track is considered a stand out on his album. With that in mind, who, out of anyone in history would you most like to or wish you could collaborate/co-write with on a song?
JC: Right now, I’d love to work on a bands album. The Killers or Coldplay would be a dream. Just big, anthemic songs. In history, I would have loved to work with The Band or Queen. It’s random but why not!
Given that you’ve been championed as one of the breakout talents for this year, do you feel any pressure at all to live up to people’s – and critics’ – expectations or are you just enjoying this journey you’re on and seeing where it takes you?
JC: I would be lying if I said I didn’t. I’m someone who stresses out about everything so of course it’s a lot. But it’s also a huge honour and a big driving force in getting up to do it all again every-day. It feels nice that people are finally listening to what I’m making.
You’ve had support from several DJ’s at Radio 1 and Niall Horan among others – how important is that to you and how does it feel to have such big names backing you like they are?
JC: For sure it’s amazing. At the end of the day, we’re all just music fans finding out what we like but of course, compliments coming from that sort of people mean a lot.
What’s the nicest thing anyone has said or written about you, and how do you deal with any negative press or comments that might come your way?
JC: I think the most powerful thing is when people tell you that you’re music has gotten them through a tough time. It always amazes me the connections that people can have with the music and how they can take different meanings from it. Honestly I either ignore negative stuff or just laugh it off. It’s really not worth it.
How do you feel about social media? Is it something you consider to be more of a benefit, or like many things, would you agree there are positive and negative sides to it? To what extent has it helped your career?
JC: It’s turning into the biggest part of the music industry. With Tik Tok taking off it’s a whole new arena. Honestly, I have no idea what I’m doing on it most of the time but it’s definitely helped get my music out to a lot of people who definitely would never have heard of it otherwise. So yeah, it’s definitely an amazing thing!
This might be a little hard to answer but of all the songs you’ve released so far, which would you say you’re most proud of and why?
JC: The latest song “Lying That You Love Me” is definitely up there but I think “Medicine” is the one for me. It was a super easy, natural song to write and always connects with me massively. It also kicked off a lot of things in my career so I’m super grateful to it.
You’re (hopefully, Corona Virus now depending) heading out on tour, kicking off the run of dates in May. For anyone who hasn’t seen you live before, what can they expect from a JC Stewart show?
JC: Honestly, it’s way more fun than you think it’s gonna be. It’s loud, there’s jumping, I dance around like an idiot. Generally just super fun!
Which songs of yours do you find go down best with a live audience? Can and does it differ from venue to venue or country to country?
JC: It changes in every city to be honest! “Like I Did” always goes down really well but it’s interesting to see what people are most into.
If you could play any venue in the world, which would it be and why?
JC: Easy! Red Rocks in Colorado, USA.
Aside from the tour, are there any other plans or projects in the pipeline for the year you can tell me about? Could an new EP or album be on the horizon?
JC: So many things! New music, festivals, more touring in more cities than ever before. I can’t wait!
Finally then, as a fairly new artist who is already making a name for himself, where would you like to see yourself 5-10 years from now? What are your long term goals as an artist and what one thing would you like to most be remembered for in terms of your music and the legacy you leave behind many years from now?
JC: Honestly, the dream is just to still be doing this! I love what I do and it really doesn’t feel like a job so in 10 years, if I’m making a living of this, I’ll be a very happy guy. I just want to be remembered as a guy who didn’t flinch on who he was. Super simple.
Check out “Lying That You Love Me” below and for more information on JC, visit his website, give his page a like on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
