Meet Jaysolo — You’ll be Glad You Did

Let’s have a Meet & Greet, shall we?

Jaysolo is taking the music world by storm with his hit single “Rhythm of the Night.” The recording artist/producer, who has already had the pleasure of working with A-list talent such as Pitbull, Flo Rida, P. Diddy, recently earned the #1 spot on Sirius 20 on 20.

Since we like to stay on top of what’s hot, Celebuzz sat down with the R&B/pop singer, who’s managed by Big Time Rush‘s manager CMI. Read on to find out about Jay’s path to success, his musical inspirations — and what his favorite karaoke song is.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m originally from New England, the state of Maine. I’m a writer, producer and artist. That’s pretty much it…I love lobster.

What was the first instrument you played?

I started playing piano. Everything kind of started when I was in chorus. I started in chorus and I was a real hyper kid, so nobody really knew I could sing. I was super duper hyper and the principal begged the chorus teacher to take me on, and finally she did, and it was a funny story. She took me on, and then there was a big school play, and I wanted to try out for the lead in it. And she goes, ‘OK, if you sit still, Jay, I will let you audition.’ So I auditioned and I sang, and I think she immediately picked me for the role in the school play. That’s where I first started music.

Who were your idols growing up?

Michael Jackson for sure, like, for sure. Boyz II Men. Let’s see what else…I love Coldplay. I’m a huge fan of Coldplay. I love U2 , but Michael was really my real big inspiration. I know people say that, but I’m a Michael fanatic.

Does that mean you can do the moonwalk?

Yeah, I can do the moonwalk! I mean, I’m not amazingly good at it, but I think everybody learned how to moonwalk at some point in their lives.

You’ve become so big lately. How have you increased your fan base to get to where you are now?

I have a great team around me — my manager, agentS. The people around me have really accelerated the record to a really good place. Sometimes, timing is everything, and the people you keep around you, it’s what is most important. You could be the most talented kid in the world but if you don’t have a good staff of people around you who can take the record and accelerate it, it really does you no justice. My team has been the force behind this record.

Your hit single right now is “Rhythm of the Night” –  a remake of the 1985 hit by DeBarge. How did you decide to remake that song?

I was working with my producer. I’m in a production team with two other guys, Niko the Kidd and a Guy named Lotto. We call ourselves The Other Guys because we’re all obsessed with that movie. We were constantly going around quoting The Other Guys movie because we’re all superobsessed with Will Ferrell, so that’s why we called ourselves The Other Guys.

I’ve always been in love with old ’80s throwback music, and I heard “Rhythm” come on the radio one day and thought it would be so brilliant to redo that into like a dancey kind of record. I just got in there and knocked it out, and I was pretty happy with how it came out. I knew it was a really familiar vibe, and people would be able to pick up on it. You have to make it simple for people. People have to be able to sing a long with it and understand the lyrics. It’s called keeping it simple, I’d say.

Have you gotten any feedback from DeBarge?

Hopefully I’ll get their blessing and they’ll be excited about it.

Do you do your own original songs as well?

I have a very big catalog of music. I produced every single song that I have. That record really stood out, so we decided to go with that right away.

What is the rest of the record like?

The record is very rhythmic, song-driven and melody-driven. It’s very memorable, like when you hear a song and it sticks in your head the first time. I wanted people to hear it and automatically be definitive of who Jaysolo was. Every song has to make you feel, really, like, give you tingles. Sometimes you can buy an album and maybe one or two songs on there are the hits, but I like to do records that you can go through every one of the songs and you’re not going to want to skip through it. I’m not going to say every one is a hit, but I hope so. I really put my heart and soul into doing this record, into what I think people wanted to hear.

Who are people you would want to collaborate with?

I’ve collaborated with Pitbill, Fatman Scoop, and others out there. I really, really, really, really want to work with Kanye [West]. I think he’s brilliant. I think he’s completely brilliant. I want to work with Kanye, Jay-Z. I’d love to do something with Coldplay or Maroon 5, or I really really love Travis McCoy. He’s really dope. There’s a bunch of people. Producer-wise, there is Dr. Luke, etc. Kanye would probably be my top pick.

Why Kanye? What could you learn from him?

I think Kanye is the type of guy who hits the mark every time he does a record. I think he’s just brilliant at what he does. Sometimes when you’re an artist, you just need to know how to put records together. I think Kanye is one of those people that literally just understands the dynamics of records, and understands the science of putting records together. He’s just amazing.

What’s your go-to karaoke song?

Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” — you know “Don’t stop believing” (sings). I think that’s everyone’s go-to karaoke song.

What’s the first CD you bought?

Snoop Dogg’s album with “Murder Was the Case.” I brought it home and my mom freaked out.

Is your family supportive of your music? 

I grew up in a very small town. My family… when I was a very small kid I was taken away from the state. I came from a very hard life. I don’t want people to think, Oh, feel bad for jay, or any of those types of things — because that’s not the thing. It actually helped me to become the person I am today, helped me become a fighter. My mom was into drugs and my sister.. I had lot of bad things going on, and the state took me out when I was a kid. So I shuffled between kids’ shelters, group homes to, you know, I’ve seen a lot bad stuff. But in that, I realized that music could really take me out if I really focused on it. I just really made a decision that I wasn’t going to live the life I grew up in, and I just stay focused and believe in positivity and believe that in some point, something I made in my life was going to happen regardless of all the bad things I’ve seen. Luckily, my mom has recovered. But that’s a hard thing for a kid to go through, and then all of a sudden go into the music industry.

I’m just now reconnecting with my family, but my mom is really proud of me. She tears up every time she hears my song on the radio. It’s a real amazing thing. Its definitely a life-changing thing I’ve been threw. It helped grow me to the person I am and to understand that what I do comes with a lot of responsibilities and at some point there will be people who look up to me and I have to be a good role model to those people. If those kids have gone through what ive gone through I want them to know you can do anything if you put your mind to it.

What message do you want your fans to get from your music?

I want people to understand that sometimes my music — you can never really point where your life is going to go. As long as every time you get kicked down, you stand back up and you’re a fighter. Good things will happen. It’s like a doctor who goes to school for 10-11 years and they get their degree. You work really, really, really, really hard, it’s not hard for you to fail as long as you work really hard, so in my music I’m trying to portray things I’ve been through like real situations, like getting my heart broken or falling in love. Real things. I don’t want to be singing about poppin’ bottles in the club or riding around with chains and Ferraris, because that stuff isn’t personal. It’s lacking and it’s not a very positive message to kids. If I’m going to be an artist people look up to, my music has to portray who I am as a person.

Be sure to listen to Jaysolo’s hit single “Rhythm of the Night.” And check out a video of his biggest inspiration — the King of Pop — below.