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Get to know ‘Perfect Strangers’ hitmaker Jonas Blue

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Shiela Reyes, ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7nCzykqasLI" width="560"></iframe></figure>HONG KONG -- Two years ago, many people did not know a thing about Jonas Blue. But thanks to his remake of Tracy Chapman&#x27;s “Fast Car,” the English DJ shot to fame and has since become a household name in the world of pop and electronic dance music.But behind the fame that he seemed to have earned overnight, there’s more to Jonas Blue and his songs that many of his supporters may not know of.In an interview set by MCA Music Inc. last week, ABS-CBN News got a chance to sit down with the British hitmaker and he narrated how he found his penchant for music.Although he comes from a family of non-singers, he became fond of music at the early age of 7.“I started as a musician and by the time I got to high school at age 11, my friends made it really made it clear that my musical instrument was very uncool. So I became the next best thing in music which was to be a DJ. And then at the age of 12, I got a free piece of software and that basically was the start of my career and my very early demos,” he recalled.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5yXQJBU8A28" width="560"></iframe></figure>Despite this, his big break came only in 2015 when he released his own version of “Fast Car,” which was actually his mother’s favorite song.“But the original was way too slow. It kind of took many years but I wanted to create a version and that happened in August 2015. I kind of had a crazy idea of how it should sound. So yeah I made it in 2015,” he recalled.Immediately after it was released, “Fast Car” easily topped charts around the world and earned him a Brit Awards nomination.Still reeling from its massive success, Jonas Blue was pushed to come up with another single – which would later turn out to be his popular hit “Perfect Strangers.” The song features vocals of JP Cooper, who helped him write his second single.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ey_hgKCCYU4" width="560"></iframe></figure>“First I made ‘Fast Car.’ I went on a road tour and I think it was about three months after that, everyone was like, ‘What’s your next song?’ I was like, ‘I don’t have one. I just had Fast Car.’ I went back to London and I made some kind of very early demos. The first one that I made was the instruments of ‘Perfect Strangers’ without the lyrics yet. Somehow, JP got hold of my instrumental and he came up with the chorus and he sent it over to me. I knew it was amazing. When I got back to London, we finished writing the song together,” he said.Of course, who would stop with just two consecutive hits? In October 2016, Jonas Blue released “By Your Side” -- another infectiously catchy banger which he wrote while he was playing a DJ set in Berlin.“I remember I was playing a song in my DJ set and I was like, ‘I love this song. Wouldn’t it be amazing if I was in the crowd and sharing this moment with someone? If only that person was by my side, that could be a really cool idea.’”<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AQ4MQ_uhBSs" width="560"></iframe></figure>Proving no signs of stopping anytime soon, his supporters were blessed with another song from Jonas Blue just last week. “Mama” is about being young and living life without regrets -- a prevalent theme in mainstream dance music. A collaboration with YouTube sensation William Singe, &quot;Mama&quot; has shades of the familiar tropical sound Jonas Blue&#x27;s previous hits had. Jonas Blue acknowledged that the pressure is &quot;even more so now.&quot;“When I made ‘Fast Car,’ there was no pressure because no one knew me. When I made ‘Perfect Strangers,’ there should’ve been a lot of pressure for me but there wasn’t because everyone was asking me what’s my next song and I was like, ‘Here you go.’ So there wasn’t much. But every single now, as we move on, is more and more intense,” he explained.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qPTfXwPf_HM" width="560"></iframe></figure>Nonetheless, he chooses not to focus on the pressure too much.“I just try to think back to the feeling when I made ‘Fast Car’ and ‘Perfect Strangers’ and ‘By Your Side.’ I have this butterflies feeling. You know when you meet someone for the first time, and I have this butterflies feeling in your stomach and you’re like, ‘Oh my God. This moment is amazing.’ I try to look for that feeling every time I make a new song. If I don’t have that feeling, I throw the song away,” he said.Rather, Jonas Blue would like to divert his attention to that feeling of gratification that a lot of people across the world know and sing along to his songs. “I think one thing I try to do when I am making my records is I always look for the catchiest melodies. I want people to kind of be in their car or be in the shopping mall and they just instantly sing my songs. That’s one thing I always try to do,” he said.The British DJ said that’s definitely how he felt when he visited the Philippines in April for the Chroma Music Festival.“It was my first time. People were telling me, ‘Oh your music is big here.’ When I got there, oh my God, this is incredible. This is huge. I played at the Chroma Festival. I premiered ‘Mama’ there for the first time. It was just one of the best gigs I’ve done in a very long time,” he said.Jonas Blue considers it a big deal how his Filipino supporters have taken on his music and have accepted him as an artist.But for those hoping from an album from the hitmaker, sorry but you may have to wait a little longer.“I’m not really working on an album for the moment. If I do release an album, it would be next year but I think just listening to what my fans want, I read social media all the time, and my fans just want music quick. The only problem with album is that it takes a long time. It’s a whole long process to get it out there, unlike singles because we can get it out there quick. But if I do an album, it would be next year,” Jonas Blue said.In spite of this, Jonas Blue promises equally catchy songs that are forthcoming within the year. (You can download and stream Jonas Blue’s brand new single “Mama” featuring William Singe by clicking this <a href="https://lnk.to/JBMamaABSCBN">link</a>.)

Two years ago, many people do not know a thing about Jonas Blue. Thanks to his remake of the 1980s song “Fast Car,” the English DJ shot to fame and has since become a household name in the world of pop and electronic dance music.

Two years ago, many people do not know a thing about Jonas Blue. Thanks to his remake of the 1980s song “Fast Car,” the English DJ shot to fame and has since become a household name in the world of pop and electronic dance music.

Get to know ‘Perfect Strangers’ hitmaker Jonas Blue

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Get to know ‘Perfect Strangers’ hitmaker Jonas Blue

Shiela Reyes,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 23, 2017 08:02 PM PHT

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Updated May 24, 2017 02:41 PM PHT

Read More:

Jonas Blue

Fast Car

Mama

Perfect Strangers

By Your Side

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