Kyla Mah
For 2024, there’ll be one artist you should definitely be watching; Johnny Orlando. The upcoming star has just finished the leg of his ‘The Ride World Tour’ in Asia and recently released the final installment of his project The Ride: Part 3 which includes the songs ‘Close To You’ and ‘Thinking Of Me’. The Ride is a project where Orlando explores all the stages of a relationship when looking back on a failed first love. Whilst having a busy schedule did Johnny make some time to talk about his The Ride project and talks more about his dreams.
Hi Johnny, first, many thanks for making time to chat with us and a huge congratulations on the release of The Ride: Part 3! How did you come up with the idea to make a project with different parts?
Hi! – I think I saw Drake do it to be honest. I just thought it would be cool to drop music in little “packs” which then became “parts” of The Ride project.
The project explains different stages of a first failed love. Is there a particular message in this project that you hope your fans will understand?
The Ride is about love and heartbreak, but it’s also just about how I deal with things that happen to me. Which is one of the reasons I got the tattoos. They’re a reminder to be patient, and accept that some things are outside of our control. Even when it comes to our own emotions and actions.
Are all the parts connected or are they a bit different from each other?
The parts are all connected. They’re a timeline of dealing with this massive part of life for the first time.
Can you tell us a bit more about creating this project, are there any behind-the-scenes stories you can share with us?
Creating The Ride was such an amazing experience. It helped me know myself better, for one, but I also saw so much progression as an artist. I produced on thinking of me, which is the first time that I’ve ever actually done any production by myself (that’s come out). All those hours writing were like little therapy sessions. It was a hard year for me in my personal life, but so worth it when looking back at what came out of it.
Since it’s a very personal project, how do you decide to share this with the rest of the world? Is that not hard since it’s so close to you?
It’s not really that hard for me to be vulnerable in front of people. It’s such a big part of being an artist, and i’ve also now been doing it for so long that it’s just part of life for me. I just hope that maybe people feel a little more seen. I spent so many years as a kid being so confused about my own emotions, so I hope people hear what I say and know that pretty much everyone is, has, or will feel what they’re feeling.
You’re currently traveling around the world for your ‘The Ride Tour’. How’s that like for you?
I just got home from the Asia leg of the tour, and announced the European leg a day after. Honestly, it’s a dream come true. There’s a part of my set where I grabbed some audio of me talking about going on a world tour when I was like 10 years old, and its funny for me to look back and know that I’ve always wanted to this, but didn’t know if it could actually happen. It’s happening now, and I’m just going to hold onto it for as long as I can. Meeting the people that support what I do is so incredibly rewarding, I will never ever get tired of it. I’m eternally grateful and I just hope I can do this for a long time.
Have you experienced any growth during your musical journey as well?
I’ve pretty much experienced all my growth during the time I’ve been making music. I was 8 when I started, so quite literally a child. My personal life and my artist project have developed along side each other since then, and they’re so intertwined that you can see in the lyrics how I’ve grown as a person over the years.
Are all these achievements something you’ve always dreamed about? How did music start for you?
I started on YouTube when I was 8 just making covers to popular songs with my sister. I’ve always loved music but never really thought being an artist was possible for myself until I was a bit older. It was just something fun to do. The moment when I realized that I could do it I was probably around 11 or 12, and since then I’ve done everything I can to make that happen.
Obviously, you can never stop dreaming! Where do you hope to see yourself within 5 years?
I just hope I’m still touring and making music. It’s all I’m really good at and all I want to do. I want to keep leveling up the venues and productions, eventually I want to do huge shows but I don’t really like to put things on a timeline. When I’m ready and good enough for it to happen, it’ll happen.
Are there more things we can expect from you in the future that you can tell us a little bit more about?
More of the same, but better haha. I’m going to drop a ton of music next year so watch for that, and I’m going to Europe on tour in February, so come see a show if you’re near. Thanks for having me, love to my fans!
We can’t wait to see what Johnny Orlando will bring for us in the near future. You can get your tickets for the European leg of ‘The Ride World Tour’ right here.