JP Saxe Interview: The World Could Use Some Magic, Melody and ‘A Little Bit Yours’

Subtle, Emotional, and Powerful; that’s how you sum up the rising music sensation JP Saxe. Fresh off of a stellar performance at the VMAs with Julia Michaels on his platinum-selling hit duet ‘If The World Was Ending,’ JP Saxe has recently unleashed another tear-jerking, heartbreaking ballad called ‘A Little Bit Yours.’ Known for his profound and emotionally stirring songwriting, the Canadian singer/songwriter spreads his wings in his latest piano-led, vulnerable post-breakup anthem. It’s packed with soothing vocals and a strong emotional punch that has the ability to speak right to the hearts of listeners.

We, at the Honey Pop, we had an amazing opportunity to chat with JP Saxe to get to know more about his new music, performance at the VMAs, quarantine vibes, future plans, and so much more. Check it out down below!

Congratulations on performing at the VMAs this year! How would you describe the award show in quarantine vibe? What did you miss the most about a normal award show and performance atmosphere? Is there anything you’d like to see stay past quarantine?

I’ve never performed at an award show before, so to me, everyone in their separate little pods doing their own thing is the only awards ceremony I know! But as much as it was a unique adventure, I do look forward to the little added elements of community and being in the same room as everyone else to celebrate music at another awards ceremony one day.

So, your grandfather was a Grammy-winning cellist, did he have a major influence on your music career? What were your main musical influences during your childhood?

He was, and he was my hero. Although I didn’t go into classical music, I tried to maintain the values and philosophies around music that he had. Into my pop music and my songwriting, which were the attention to detail, the no nuance is too small, and the prioritisation of sincerity. 

You recently released an emotional ballad ‘A Little Bit Yours,’ and you mentioned it being about the feeling right before the end of a tunnel. Would you say that the song helped you to get through a tunnel? How so?

I think it did. Sometimes, one of the last steps in getting through the most difficult feelings we have is being able to fully articulate that difficult feeling. For me, once I’m able to see it from end to end, it feels a little bit smaller; it feels limited and that it won’t last forever. And that was a difficult feeling, but it did not last forever, and for me writing this song about it was the last thing that let me move past it.

Your song with Julia Michaels was given a new lease of life as a charity single for Doctors Without Borders this year, giving it a whole new meaning in light of the pandemic. Can you tell us a bit about how that came about?

A very good friend of mine, Crystal Van Leeuwen, works for Doctors Without Borders, and I’ve always wanted to collaborate with her on something. So April of this year, Julia and I saw a number of our friends posting their own covers of ‘If The World Was Ending,’ so we thought maybe we could put these together and do some good. We text our friends to see if they would be happy to post a little clip of the song, and a lot of them said yes. We talked to Doctors Without Borders, and I asked Crystal to record the video at the end, where she talks about their projects overseas– which is the most important part of that video. I was really grateful for all the generosity of the community that came together around it. I think feeling like you can’t do a lot is a shit reason to not do a little, and that felt like the little that Julia, our friends, and I could do at that time.

With 2020 being the way it is, and ‘If The World Was Ending’ being such a hit from the last year, do you feel like the song fits this year?

We had no intention of the song fitting this year. When we first wrote it, it was about a hypothetical catastrophe, and we didn’t anticipate it finding relevance in a very real catastrophe. I think the core of that song is about putting love above all, and if there was ever a time to do that, it’s now.

You put an enormous amount of emotion into your music, and it feels incredible as a listener to interpret these songs to apply them to our own lives. If you could ask the listener to take one thing away from your music, what would it be?

I hope the people listening to my music can feel a little deeper about themselves or think something different about themselves.

Lyrical and vocal vulnerability are things that singer-songwriters need to get used to, to actually connect with their fans and audience. How would you describe the process of getting the vibe right?

I think you’ve just got to speak in your songs the way you speak to yourself and to your closest friends. My songs feel like journals; they feel like my internal dialogue. They feel like the part of a conversation with my best friend at 1 a.m., slightly drunk when I’m a little more honest than I meant to be.

You have worked with some incredible names within the industry. Is there anyone you have yet to work with that you would consider the ultimate collaboration, whether it be in production and writing or as a singing collaboration?

Yeah! Definitely Sam Smith, Alessia Cara, Lizzo, and Paul McCartney.

You convey many emotions through your songs, and several times we find your fans opening up to you about their feelings because they feel comfortable. How do you handle your relationship with your fans? Do you think having the time off from live performances has helped you interact more and create a better bond with your fans?

Yes and No. I think not being able to tour means I don’t get that face to face interaction with fans, which is so special. Whereas being at home, I’m doing a lot more live performances on the internet, so in some ways, I’m communicating with fans more because I’m talking to a fan in the parts of the world that I wouldn’t necessarily be touring to, and they have the same access to a fan living in the same city as me. You’ve got to make the most of it; that feeling of connection is what this is all about, trying to feel connected to myself and the music so I can build connections with other people that hear it. They can build connections with themselves when they do. I think there’s a silver lining, and I’m looking for it every day.

Massive thank you to JP Saxe for taking the time to chat with us! We were blown away by ‘A Little Bit Yours,’ and we’re hoping that you are enjoying it, too. With his striking personality and remarkable talent, we cannot wait to see what JP Saxe has got next in store for us!

You can stream and listen to ‘A Little Bit Of Yours’ on all platforms here!

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