[John K](https://www.instagram.com/johnkmusic/) is a whole vibe, and he’s here to take the music industry by storm. Hailing from Florida, the rising pop star creates music that captures the essence of an eternal summer, releasing feel-good ballads for the masses all around the world. Combining his soulful vocals with his effortlessly cool personality, the singer-songwriter truly loves to sing at the end of it all.
Describing himself as “a friend, a husband, a normal dude. A guy who loves to work on music with his best friends who was pushed by them every single day and rose to the challenge. An everyday guy who’s fully pursuing his dream.”
Exploding onto the scene with last year’s “if we never met,” which has accumulated over 255 million streams and is RIAA certified Platinum, he made an even bigger splash teaming up with Kelsea Ballerini for a new version. Currently signed to Epic Records, John’s excited as ever to release his highly-anticipated project titled _love + everything else._ The 10-track project is spearheaded by lead singles “if we never met,” “6 months,” “happiness,” and “cheap sunglasses,” highlighting his journey into finding his own sound through each track.
Flaunt caught up with John K via Zoom to discuss his upbringing in Florida, biggest influences, the turning point in his career, recording “cheap sunglasses,” what he wants fans to get from the project, goals, and more!
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**Being from Florida, what were you seeing growing up?**
Florida’s pretty chill. I grew up with a lot of instruments in the house, a lot of playing drums making a lot of noise. Locking myself in my room to sing for hours and hours and hours. A lot of leisurely boating listening to Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles and Eagles. I played a lot of sports growing up. My dad and I used to run down to the park, he’d hit me fly balls for hours to get me ready for the season. We’d go run routes. A lot of my dad and I one-on-one diving into things, music was one and that’s what stuck.
**Biggest influences coming up?**
It was odd, I always gravitated to old soul like Donny Hathaway, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke. I loved it, I loved the way that these guys could sing. I wanted to be able to sing like that. I used to sing their records over the top of them until I could do those runs, until I could sing like that. Those early influences are where I grabbed a little bit of soul. As I grew up, I loved pop music. I loved Songs About Jane, most things Maroon 5, John Mayer.
**At what point did you realize this music thing was forreal?**
I’m still realizing that. \[laughs\] It’s a day to day thing. I’m incredibly happy to pursue it again with my best friends. Around 6 years ago, the John K project was born. That’s when I knew, took the leap of faith, took some risks with one of my best friends and said “hey let’s go for it.” We quit our jobs and straight up started from ground zero. We’re able to push, grow, and learn. We built this totally independently from the ground up.
**Why the name John K?**
John K is easy, it’s simple to say. We all felt my name needed to be a part of it, so we abbreviated it.
**Did you think “if we never met” would do what it did?**
I had no idea. “if we never met” was almost like a therapy session, me truly being in the present moment telling my story. Me as a songwriter being able to develop that and carry that emotion into words, lyrics, and melody, which became that song. I knew it was special because it was so real, to see it really connect with people who feel the same way about their significant other or the people they love was such a cool thing. It was the first time I fully let my guard down in writing and was very very present. I didn’t expect anything from it but once we released it, we could see that there’s something different about it. The way it was connecting to people, the way people started reaching out to us directly to say “it really felt like you’re telling my story.” That’s the first time we experienced that music to listener connection.
> if we never met is my new favorite song
>
> — lauv (@lauvsongs) [October 6, 2020](https://twitter.com/lauvsongs/status/1313514200564719619?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
**How’s it feel to have the cosign from Lauv?**
Pretty dope, he loves the song. He told a friend that he fell in love to that song. It’s a great nod from an amazing musician, one of my peers who’s constantly grinding and making great music.
**I love “cheap sunglasses,” bring us back to when you recorded this one.**
One of the best sessions ever. We always catch up before a session and try to tap into something if we’re lucky. There was a pair of Raybans on the table, one of the other writers said “dude I almost bought those the other day. I had them in the cart but I couldn’t pull the trigger. I couldn’t do it. I know the second they get to me, I’m going to lose them.” I thought that could be something? We started singing the hook and said “let’s run with it, see where it ends up.” We didn’t overthink it, ended up being a really cool write and something we’ll always love. I remember that day vividly.
**You say you can’t have nice things, what’s the most expensive item you’ve purchased?**
Probably my wife’s wedding ring. If we lose that, we’re going to have serious problems. \[laughs\] She keeps it on her finger, so that’s good.
**What is it you want fans to get from the record?**
Vulnerability. I want them to say “wow, this feels timeless. This feels authentic. I can relate to him in that moment when he’s singing those songs.” I want people to love it.
**What can we expect from your project, _love + everything else_?**
These are my favorite songs over the last couple years. This is us growing. I miss live shows so much, so I thought how I can organize this to feel like a live show. I built the album in that order with that thought in mind. It’s like a setlist, I love it. It’s the songs that I’d be sad if I didn’t release. I really can’t wait for people to hear the other ones that aren’t already out, the other 5.
[](https://www.instagram.com/p/CGnTZQNA43e/)
**3 things you need in the studio?**
I definitely need my computer, my microphone, and my dog. She’s always in the studio with me. \[grabs dog\] This is Lily! That’s why I got this tattoo, it says her name, Lily. Every time I come in here, she knows how to open doors so she lets herself in. She’s like “oh, you thought you were gonna start without me?”
**What would you be doing if you weren’t doing music?**
I don’t really want to know. I’ve always been nudged back into music, even when I was serving tables or doing things to survive. There was always something or someone that reinvigorated it in me or made me believe in myself again. There was no getting away from it. I tried some different things, maybe a writer. It’s really hard to think about that because this feels like it’s it.
**What goals do you have for yourself as an artist at this point of your career?**
We’ve been setting huge goals with this project from the very very beginning. My manager Rob and I believe in putting big things out there, manifesting them and having your eyes set on something. I remember early in this project before we even had any movement anywhere, we were talking about Grammy performances and Platinum records. The sky's the limit. We always say even now, we’re just getting started. It’s the beginning. Now we have the Platinum record. We look forward, we’re always pushing. We’re always trying to figure out ways to get better, that’s in us as a team. It’s going to drive us to accomplish anything we set our minds to.
**One thing fans may not know about you?**
I’m a homebody. If I don’t have to go out, I’d rather not. \[laughs\] I like to lay on the couch with my dog and my wife, watch Netflix. It’s a lot of heavy focus on music. The times music isn’t pulling something from me or I’m not diving in heavily, it’s almost “what can I do to relax my mind?” It’s hard for me sometimes. I’ll be sitting there trying to be present with somebody else and I’m still thinking about “what do I need to do for this?” Or “what do I need to fix in that song? What’s next?” Trying to decompress and find the balance is always a good way, getting away from my phone.
**What are you most excited for with _love + everything else_?**
I hope people connect to it. I hope people hear it and feel they went on a little journey. It’s a fun little escape for them, something they want to go back to. It’s so cool now because each song has such a specific story. Wrote it, fighting about mixes, everything getting to the finish line, they all have their own specific little stories. To put them all together and release them, it feels so good to have finished a couple songs I truly truly love. I’m proud of these, I’m proud of the team. I hope people can hear the attention to detail, hear that we didn’t settle. Hear how much stress we were under to get these things right. \[laughs\]
