JC Stewart Interview - "honest and affecting lyrics"
By Jimmy G
“I think you can tell a mile off when a song isn’t saying something. I always think what people love is simple, honest lyrics and their ability to connect with people really directly.”
JC Stewart may only be 23 years old but he speaks with the poise and shrewdness of a seasoned musician. The self-proclaimed “Professional Sad Boy” is making an impressive impact on the music world already, being endorsed by Lewis Capaldi, Niall Horan and Scott Mills and selling-out various pop-up shows. A glance online shows why JC is rapidly gaining momentum; his honest and affecting lyrics are - as he says himself - connecting to listeners as he conveys the complicated and intense emotions of heartbreak and romance in song.
Speaking with him, a few days after the release of his new single “Lying That You Love Me”, he talks to Run That Again about how the song materialised.
“I wrote that song with Jon Maguire and Corey Sanders in Wales in, I think, 2018” JC reveals. “It was an idea that came from us all chatting and the lyric ‘lying that you love me’ actually came really quickly. We did a piano demo that day which is very similar to the finished version. I didn’t want it as a single straight away though. A couple of other artists actually cut the song for their own projects, but I could never let it go and eventually got around to releasing it”.
It’s a song that he’s described as being about “that weird feeling of loving what you know and being scared of change. In this case, it’s missing someone, even though you know they were bad for you and it wasn’t going anywhere.”
When we ask him what’s his favourite lyric that he's written so far, he reveals “I think my favourite lyric is “if love is pain, set me on fire” simply due to the weight it carries for me. I have a song coming out this year called “I Need You To Hate Me” which also has a lot of my favourites”.
Talking more about the composition process of his songs, he claims “more often than not, it starts with a melody but all my favourite songs have started with the lyric first”. Later stating that "working with different people and in different settings is a big thing for me. Changing it up is how you can get a fresh perspective on stuff. Going to concerts is also amazing as you usually come away wondering 'how do I get there?' and it really pushes you".
“Once I figured out that songwriting was a thing and was something I could do it just lit a bit of a flame in me and I haven’t looked back.”
Image: JC Stewart
A quick glance on JC Stewart’s Spotify shows an impressive selection of music, however -as ardent fans I’m sure have realised -his first singles are released as Callum Stewart.
“This is a funny story actually” JC explains. “When I was younger people used to get my name mixed up with Calum Scott’s name a lot but as I was only playing in Belfast and it was usually just a slip of the tongue it was never a big deal. However, a few years ago, my now manager approached me and wanted to start working together. His big client is Calum Scott and over the years people kept confusing us so it was just easier for me to change it to my initials”.
Humble and modest, it’s clear that JC has kept a level head despite the sharp increases of interest in his music and his obvious skill. “I never really saw myself as a creative kid," JD confesses "but once I figured out that songwriting was a thing and was something I could do it just lit a bit of a flame in me and I haven’t looked back.”