Johnny Orlando talks about journey from YouTube to int’l concert stages
Johnny Orlando, four-time Best Canadian Act at the MTV EMAs, recently shared why he couldn’t forget his first visit to Manila.
The Toronto-born singer-songwriter is returning to the country in November as part of an Asian tour. Dubbed as The Ride Tour in support of his debut album titled all the things that could go wrong and his new project The Ride, the series of shows kicks off on Nov. 16 in Tokyo, followed by Taipei, Manila, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
It’s also a bigger, follow-up trip to his tour of Southeast Asian cities last year.
“I went to Manila and Kuala Lumpur last summer. I was in Southeast Asia last summer and it was so fun I’m so excited to come back,” the 20-year-old artist recalled to The Philippine STAR in a recent interview.
“There were a lot of cool, like little shows that we did. I did a mall show, which I know you guys are used to, but that doesn’t really happen over here. So that was really, really cool.”
One of the best memories he had from the country was that he became good friends and even got matching tattoos with Filipino singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo, whom he featured in the remix of his song someone will love you better.
“I got matching tattoos with my boy, Zack (Tabudlo), which is awesome as well. He’s sick. And then I got another tattoo. It was so fun and everybody was so nice,” Johnny said.
He never thought he’d gain a fanbase on this side of the world.
“The reaction initially was insane. It honestly blows my mind. And I know social media is worldwide and everything, but it’s still crazy to me. That people I have never met and some people don’t know English but they still love the melodies and the songs — that is quite literally the coolest thing in the world to me,” he said.
“And it’s amazing that I’m able to fly to the other side of the world and people are just stoked to hear the music. That’s the coolest thing in the world,” he reiterated.
When Johnny comes back here, he’d be playing songs from his first album and more.
“I wanted to make something that felt timeless and felt like me because you only got one debut,” he said of the making of all the things that could go wrong, which the singer marked the first anniversary of its release last month.
“So, I think, if I, at least with some songs, hit the mark on that, it’s just a good piece of my DNA, you know? I’m proud of all those songs. And it’s a good starting place I think,” he said.
“There’s gonna be more than one. There’s gonna be a lot. Actually, most things should probably be out by the time that I get to Asia.”
Even before last year’s first visit, Johnny and his team were already planning to play in the country.
“We’ve been talking about coming over for like a real tour and real shows for like four or five years. It would have been a few years ago, but then COVID happened, which kind of put a damper on our plans,” he said.
Asked what it was like to hit the road again, he said, “It didn’t feel that different. To be honest, everybody wore masks. I still did meet and greets. But with masks on. I feel like we just kind of did whatever we could to adapt, you know, the places that were like within the business, I guess, that needed to be adapted. You know, life goes on. You gotta keep rolling. You gotta do what you got to do. So whatever precautions were needed, we took. It’s much, much happier to not have to worry about that anymore.”
Johnny started out as a YouTube sensation. According to articles about him, he was a kid who initially recorded cover songs in his bathroom that were then posted by his sister on YouTube. His renditions would become viral and industry people would begin to notice. Universal Music in Canada signed him up in 2018.
Along the way, Johnny garnered nominations for Breakthrough Artist of the Year & Pop Album of the Year at JUNO Awards, as well as four consecutive wins for Best Canadian Act at the MTV European Music Awards. In August 2022, he dropped his highly anticipated debut album, which has since amassed over 150 million streams globally.
Talking about his music journey so far, Johnny told The STAR, “I would say it’s been a long, long time. 12 years almost. I don’t know. It’s been my entire life essentially. I don’t really remember much before that time. Sorry, I don’t really remember much before I was making music, before I was on social media. It’s my entire life.
“That’s all I’ve been working towards, all I’ve thought about since I was eight,” he said.
While hard pressed to name his Top 3 moments because there’s just too many, getting signed was probably “a moment where I could look at my parents and be like, hey, we’re doing something over here.”
Also going on tour because that meant “seeing new places, meeting new people and meeting fans for the first time.”
“That was really the first time that I had, you know, been able to have a conversation with somebody that liked my music,” he added.
As someone really liked, nay loved, for his music, and consistently voted Best Music Act at MTV European Music Awards (EMAs), The STAR asked Johnny what these awards meant to him.
Johnny said, “The title itself, Best Canadian Act, I don’t know about that. But the award itself actually does mean a lot to me because it’s fan-voted and every single year, it’s these giants like (Justin) Bieber and Shawn Mendes and Avril Lavigne and The Weeknd that we’re going up against and we beat them for, like, four years in a row. So, I have the best fans in the world!”
For details about his concert at the Filinvest Tent in Alabang on Nov. 20, check out the website (livenation.ph) and official social media pages of concert promoter, Live Nation Philippines. Tickets are also available via SM Tickets.
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