JC Stewart is rapidly emerging as one of 2020’s breaking talents. His compelling blend of classic pop songcraft and heart-on-sleeve candour is making a huge connection with people who relate to the universal experiences that he explores.
A wave of fans have fallen under his spell, as shown by escalating streaming stats and some recent sold-out pop-up shows which included three back-to-back gigs in Belfast. Influential fans are also backing him for big things, from global artists Lewis Capaldi and Niall Horan to Radio 1 support from Scott Mills, Mollie King and Jordan North.
JC today shares his brand new single ‘Lying That You Love Me’, which represents his first release of the year. The track has received its first play from Radio 1’s Best New Pop and follows the recent news that JC was highlighted as Apple Music’s New Artist of the Week.
‘Lying That You Love Me’ captures the traits that make JC a hotly-tipped rising talent. It opens with his heartfelt voice accompanied by plaintive piano before swelling with soaring vocals, dramatic percussion and sweeping strings as it builds towards a climactic finale. The track was produced by KOZ, whose previous credits include Dua Lipa’s hits ‘IDGAF’ and ‘Hotter Than Hell’.
“It’s about that weird feeling of loving what you know and being scared of change,” says JC. “In this case, it’s missing someone, even though you know they were bad for you and it wasn’t going anywhere.”
The track’s launch is accompanied by video which shows JC’s raw solo performance of the song.
The fourth generation of JC Stewarts in the family tree, the young musician was destined to continue the family grocery business of the same name in Northern Ireland, but instead deviated on the road toward pop stardom. Later, a chance encounter with Lewis Capaldi at an A-lister party in Hollywood took his music career to the next level. Feeling add odds with their surroundings, the pair decided to duck out for a beer in a local bar. That swift pint turned into an impromptu middle-of-the-night writing session in which ‘Hollywood’, from Capaldi’s #1 debut album, was written.
His own career has also gone from strength-to-strength following recent stand-out singles including ‘The Wrong Ones’, ‘Pick Up Your Phone’, ‘Bones’ and ‘Have You Had Enough Wine?’.
JC recently played a special MTV Push Event alongside Yungblud, Raye and Lily Moore at the Village Underground, which followed previous shows with Lewis Capaldi, Lauv, Anne-Marie, Maisie Peters and Freya Ridings. He also prepared for his upcoming European headline tour in May by embarking upon his The Secret Tour Before The Real Tour.
