The 16-year-old muso has taken SA by storm after sharing a couple of videos of himself which have ultimately gone viral. We caught up with him to hear about his journey after releasing his debut album.
1. At an earlier point in your life, what did you want to become? Was music always a part of your plan?
When I was younger, singing was more of a hobby, but as I got older I started taking it more seriously. Career choices have always varied for me, besides for being a singer I wanted to go into medicine or branding. I though branding could come in handy specifically when it came to branding myself as an artist. I am currently studying Branding & Marketing at Vega in Johannesburg.
2. Which artist or person has been the greatest inspiration for you? And why?
I've got a huge fascination with artists who are different and unique. My inspirations range from Lady Gaga to Lorde. There's something about them that is extremely powerful and intimidating, something perhaps I wish to be one day.
3. If you had to describe your music to someone who's never heard it before, what would you say? Feel free to use genre as a starting point.
I've always said that my sound is international pop / dance music but recently I've been writing a lot of alternative, R&B Soul and ballads. So I'm gonna have to think of a new way to describe my sound over the next few months...
4. The process of creating your music, what comes first? The music or the melody?
People often ask me this, but the truth is that every time is different. That's why I'm so addicted to song writing, you never know what you're going to create or what comes first. Sometimes I come up with a tune on my way to class or while my mom drives me around, hey, sometimes I come up with tunes when I'm in the shower. Once I've built on these tunes, melodies or lyrics on piano then I've got a good idea of hat the track should sound like.
5. What themes does your music carry? What stories does your music tell?
In terms of my music's themes, it often revolves around love, but honestly, not everything is about love and I hope to one day release music that people can connect with that aren't about relationships or past experiences of love.
6.What's your favorite song on Never Give Up? And why?
This is so hard... But if I had to choose I would say "Need Your Love". It's about a girl playing hard to get. Girls love doing this. Argh...
7.Where and how can people keep up to date with you?
You can follow me on social media, @joshmiddletonsa, visit my website www.joshmiddletonsa.com or even YouTube me.