We interviewed Jonas Blue on his new collaborative single, ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’, with five-member boy band Why Don’t We.
Following a string of pop jams, multi-platinum producer Jonas Blue kicks off 2022 with massive collab track ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’ with the US boy band Why Don’t We.
The track is the first release from his ‘Together’ project, which promises to feature music with top guest artists.
All of these collaborations will feature the theme of togetherness, unity and positivity – a crucial message thatβs needed in the world more than ever right now – and is synonymous with Jonasβ music and his hugely successful career to date.
Jonas comments,
“Iβve been wanting to get a collab going with Why Donβt We since they first hit me up on Twitter back in 2019. These guys have amazing vocals which grabbed me instantly, so I knew we could create something really special together. Donβt Wake Me Up has a real depth to the lyrics. If you break it down itβs about finding your true love in your dream. I canβt wait to share it with the world!”
WHy Don’t We’s Corbyn Besson adds,
βThis song started with a late night call from a good friend of mine, Lukas Costas, asking if Iβd be down to come over and record scratch vocals on a piano ballad he just wrote. After we finished vocals I showed my bandmates the demo and they loved it. Thatβs when we got in touch with Jonas. He loved the potential the song had and before we knew it, we had received the first draft of what would become a pop dance banger. Enjoy Donβt Wake Me Up!β
We catch up with the producer to tell us more about the track and what 2022 has in store for him.
AsiaLive365: Hey Jonas, Nicky here from AsiaLive365! How has 2022 shaping up for you?
Jonas Blue: It’s been great, we’ve had the release of the brand new single, and the year’s off to a great start! I’m really excited to be back on the road this year, with more music coming on the way.
AL365: Congratulations on your new single with Why Don’t We titled ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’. The music video came out not too long ago. How are you feeling?
JB: I’m super excited! The fans really wanted to see it as soon as possible. Why We Don’t We did an amazing job. I wasn’t able to shoot the video with them, but they had a lot of fun creating aΒ Fast and Furious-type of video. It just looks great, it matches the energy of the song.
AL365: When did you shoot the music video?
JB: About two weeks ago.
AL365: How did the collaboration come about with the pop group? Was it always in the cards to work with them?
JB: Pretty much, a lot of our fans have asked if we could collaborate together. But it was in 2019 when one of the members, Liam, tweeted me if we could do collab because he had an idea for a song. We just kept in contact since then.
In May of last year, Jonah sent me a rough idea with the first verse of the song and Corbyn singing “Don’t wake me up”. I automatically got goosebumps, and knew we had to do this song together.
It’s been a long time coming, and I’m super glad with how it turned out.
AL365: Did COVID affect the song’s production process?
JB: Yeah, of course. Everything had to be done remotely, even the music video. it was difficult, but we got it done.
AL365: ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’ is the first single from your Together project. What can you tell me about this new content?
JB: I think with the pandemic over the last two years, it’s kinda separated everyone. The idea for the album would have been easy to make another album similar to my first album which was a solo project.
Over the last two years, I felt like we should create something that brings everyone together including myself, DJs, bands.
In the past I’ve done a lot of collaborations with Tiesto, Rita Ora, R3hab, Ava Max, etc. I thought, “How cool would it be if I did an album based on collaborations?”
This new album is a collaboration project, and hopefully, it would be released by the end of this year.
AL365: You’ve worked with a lot of artists to produce numerous pop hits. What would you say has been your favorite collaboration and why?
JB: I’d say the track ‘Mama’ with William Singe. It’s an interesting one for me because I’m fan of the videos he was putting out after discovering him on YouTube.
He was doing a North American tour at the time, and didn’t have any studios that he could go to. So he recorded the whole thing on his tour bus with laptop microphone. So we had to make it work.
For such a big song, most people don’t know that it was done on a tour bus on a laptop. Being such a big fan of his made it such an interesting experience doing that record together.
AL365: During the first few years of your career, you’ve worked with new artists. But now, you’re working high-profile artists. Was it any different working with them?
JB: Not really, to be honest. I think everyone is just aiming to get a great song, and that’s the goal, really. I guess with new artists you can try more things out such as new techniques. But it’s usually the same process.
AL365: Did you always expect your music to garner massive number of plays/streams?
JB: I’ve never really knew how the songs would go. It’s been crazy since my debut single, ‘Fast Car’. I try not to pay too much attention to the numbers now because it can get quite on top of you. But I’m super proud of the numbers that we’ve achieved and I’m just glad that everyone likes the music to keep streaming it.
AL365: You’re set to tour in the UK and Japan soon?
JB: Japan, we can’t really at the moment and so is the UK. They’re gonna be moved to the end of the year.
AL365: Wrapping up, what would you like to say to fans in Asia?
JB: Thank you so much to everyone who’s enjoying the music! It’s brought joy throughout this crazy time. I can’t wait to come back and perform for you guys live, so much fun to be had. Keep streaming, keep listening, and enjoy the brand new single ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’ with Why Don’t We.
