Johnny Orlando blossomed into an artist accentuating his tracks from the novel phases of a relationship; delving into the exciting initial chapter of love to a bit more authentic yet vulnerable side of the artist. 

His rising popularity is only the beginning of his landmark career.  

Johnny Orlando's debut within the landscape of entertainment has successfully brought him to the forefront of the music industry. Orlando's recent offering "The Ride: Part II" is drastically distinct from some of his previous projects.

This two-track EP revolves around the authentic emotions of heartbreak, grief, constant self-doubts and fallacy; even bringing Orlando himself under a negative light. 

"The Ride: Part 2" in its entirety is a beautiful amalgamation of a plethora of emotions ranging from vulnerability, inevitable endings of a relationship, perceiving one as a villain in order to endure the grief of heartbreak and much more.

The EP consists of two tracks "Party for Two" and "Man Like Me".

"Party for Two" acts as an introspective offering of one's poignancy balanced with the prolonged "what ifs" scenarios as one deals with their experience of contrasting emotions throughout the stages of a relationship.

Johnny Orlando graces the recent cover of ReVamp Magazine; talking all things about his new EP and his successful professional journey so far.

Hi there Johnny. So delighted to have you on ReVamp as our latest cover star. Now that we have almost reached the end of this year, how would you say has 2023 been for you overall? 

Honored that you would have me, and it’s been a great year! Lots of growth in my music and in my personal life which is all I would ever hope for. 

I would love to begin our conversation by asking about your recent offering "The Ride: Part 2". First of all, huge congratulations on the release! The collection of songs have already received such a critical acclaim and an immensely positive response.

Kindly walk me through the entire creative process for both these tracks. I know it deals with several intricate and vulnerable emotions but what was the initial inspiration behind the project? 

The initial inspiration was a breakup to put it simply. Last year was absolutely insane and I wasn’t in a great place toward the end. But the process of writing these songs absolutely helped me sift through everything I was dealing with, intrinsically and around me. Part Two was definitely the hardest part to write, as I was only really able to find real meaning of it afterwards. While I was writing and conceptualizing all the visuals and stuff, I really was in the thick of it. It took months to be able to boil down the concept into something that wasn’t just hours of rambling about my feelings. Part Two is about the absolute godlike confidence I felt being newly single, and to be honest I miss it sometimes. It’s easy to forget, though, while that was the reality for 50% of the day, I was an anxious, guilt ridden, depressive mess the other half. Part two is about that dichotomy.

How would you say has this experience been like for you personally recording and crafting these tracks from the stage of its inception to now that it's finally out there for the listeners to indulge in? 

I honestly just hope it helps people understand what they might be feeling. My goal as an artist has always been just that, and I love writing about things that I'm experiencing for the first time. I feel like that’s when things are most raw. I just spew for a while, and then condense it down later. 

Would you say that you have personally evolved as an artist from when you first started working on "The Ride" to now that you are witnessing the final product? 

Oh absolutely. Every song I write is a little better than the last, for starters. Working through such complex emotions over a period of so many months is exactly what I needed as an artist and a person. I don't go to therapy even though I probably should, so I just write it all down and sing it instead.

Not a lot of people like to shine a negative light on their own selves when it comes to showcasing their projects but in your recent song "A Man Like Me"; it's truly a distinct track highlighting ones constant warnings to others by making yourself the villain merely to escape the pain and justify the inevitable yet predictable end of a relationship.

How did you decide that you wanted to reveal such a complicated image of yourself through this song? Was this a hard decision to make? 

To be honest, no. I know exactly what I am at this moment in time, and everyone is shitty sometimes. There are parts of me that are less palatable than I would like to admit, but everybody is a disorganized combination of biological wiring and core experiences. Regardless of what you lie to yourself about, everyone has a little bit of that man in them. It’s important to recognize and understand it before you can change anything. When I say that my music is quite literally just me figuring myself out, this is what I mean.

Reflection and reminiscence seems to be a theme you have perfectly embarked upon on this and some of your previous projects. 

"The Ride: Part 2" is a perfect amalgamation of that element alongside authenticity, self-doubt, grief, instant gratification, what ifs, melancholy, heartache and much more but I'm very curious to know how do you personally define the theme of this project and the message you're trying to convey through it? 

I don’t know if I can really define a theme in the way that you want me to. It's all really just a healing process. I’m 20 years old and I’ll only know myself better as I get older, so all I'm really doing right now is really documenting that process and telling people where I’m at. 

Do you usually use music as a form of catharsis and self exploration? Does it ever get overwhelming or frightening for you to showcase these insights into your life now that you have established such an immensely huge fanbase?  

Yes and no. Sometimes it’s self exploration, but sometimes it’s just for fun. I do think of writing in a similar way I think of dreams, though. I think there’s a lesson to be learned or something your subconscious is trying to tell you in almost every lyric that pops into mind. At this point it’s not really scary to do that all publicly. Most of my life has been lived in front of the internet and of course there’s a lot I don’t show, but I’ll always tell people something I’ve learned about the world or myself. 

Who are the top three artists on your playlist? If given an opportunity, is there anyone specific on your radar that you would absolutely love to collaborate with in the future? 

To be honest there’s never more than like 3 songs from the same artist on the same playlist, but Drake, Bieber, and Amir Obe are for sure my top 3 most listened to artists. I have a few features in the works, but I’m open to anything and anyone. All I want is to work with people that are sick at what they do, I don’t care what their name is or what they’ve done.

You are also embarking on "The Ride" tour for Asia this November. Good luck on that! 

How was your experience like touring in America as well as Canada and what can your fans expect from your performance at these exciting upcoming events? 

Thank you!!! It’s still insane to me that little me from Oakville is about to fly halfway around the world to play shows. The NA leg was amazing, and finishing in Toronto meant so much to me. The videos are all over social media and I don't want to sound like a douchebag but good lord was it ever electric. Asia can expect that exact same energy (and I expect them to give it right back to me <3).

Anything you can hint us in terms of "The Ride: Part 3" as well as any upcoming projects/collaborations in the pipeline for your future years?

Part Three is what I like to call “true reflection.” This is the part of the project that I wrote when I had finally calmed down (many months after the breakup lol) and saw things for what they were instead of through whatever color tinted lens I was looking through. This part means so so so much to me. It took a lot for me to put all that history and everything that had happened in front of me for the last time, and come to a conclusion. Aside from that, we never stop writing. As soon as the Ride era has come to its end, there’ll be more :)

(Thank you for taking out your time for this interview, Johnny. Wishing you lots of luck on your upcoming tour and future endeavors!) 

Lastly, I would love to know if there's any message that you wish to convey to your fans currently reading this interview? 

Thank you for having me!! Hey you. Love ya miss ya and I hope I see you soon. Until then, hold on for the Ride.

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