INTERVIEW: Five Facts You Need To Know About Will Jay
By Nicole Mastrogiannis
July 12, 2016
Will Jay seems to be the perfect gentleman. Just take a look at his lyrics for his new single titled "Gentleman." Will sings, "Open doors, carry bags, always puttin' my lady first I'll be handwriting you letters, all in cursive." If you're not familiar with Will, the 20-year-old from Los Angeles has been in involved in music in one way or another from a very young age. Fast forward to 2016, and his talent has taken the singer/songwriter through "The Voice of China," a few years in a band called IM5, and now, a budding solo career. Will recently stopped by iHeartRadio HQ where we learned more about him during an exclusive interview.
The motivation to pursue music as a career came naturally for Will. His uncle was a piano teacher, and so Will learned to play the instrument at a really young age. From then on anything music-related he could be involved in, he participated in, whether it was choir, musical theater, performing at weddings, open mic nights, and more. He tells us, "it's kind of just been part of my life for as long as I can remember."
Will does write and co-write a lot of his own music, and considers himself to be both a singer and songwriter. His musical heroes include Elton John (his favorite Elton song being "Daniel"), Bruno Mars, and Michael Bublé describes his music as "definitely pop songs, but I love real instruments. It's definitely a throwback."
If you're loving Will Jay's "Gentleman," there is plenty more where that came from. In May, he released his Gentleman EP on iTunes, but he tells us he's definitely ready to put out more new music. "I definitely want to put out an album in the near future, more music videos, and definitely more touring. I spent some time culminating who Will J is as an artist, and so now I'm ready to tour and wherever they want me."
Learn more about Will below!
Five Fun Music Facts To Know About Will Jay:
1. He can play multiple instruments including the piano, guitar, and ukulele.
"I like to say I'm a singer who plays the guitar as opposed to a guitarist because ... yeah ... It's not that great. Also, I learned the accordion when I was in the third grade. I played the violin once and then I broke it, so ... I say it as a cautionary [sentiment]. They're very delicate."
2. He learned how to play the ukulele himself by watching YouTube videos.
"My dad plays guitar, so he kind of threw it one me like, 'You should learn how to play,' and I was like, 'Okay.' The ukulele, I actually watched a video online and I was like, 'I want to do that.' So I went to Costco and bought a $60 ukulele, and from then on, now that one's a lot better. That's not from Costco. It's really easy, and YouTube is such a vast wonderland of things. You can learn how to do anything. It took me a few days to get the ropes, and then, now it's pretty good. It's really fun. It's really easy. I feel like little kids, that should be the first instrument they learn because it's so fun and light, and also sounds great."
3. He grew up listening to a lot of Motown.
"Growing up, I listened to a lot of Motown, so Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Odis Redding. 'American Idol' actually kind of helped me broaden my musical horizons because they had the Motown night, they had the Michael Jackson night, so I grew up listening to a lot of Motown. But my music taste is very eclectic. I love everything."
4. He was once in a band called IM5, and has learned a lot as a new solo artist.
"It's definitely a shift at first. I was in that band from, for five years, and it was kind of my first taste of the music industry. So to go from a band to a solo thing, it's definitely a shift at first because you're used to people around you, but it's been really awesome. Having creative control, and I think the main thing is realizing my instincts are are good. I think that's been the best part about it."
5. His single "Gentleman" was written for one of his friends who was having a tough time with her boyfriend, as a way to cheer her up.
"It's kind of a funny story. My friend, who is a girl (not a girlfriend), she was complaining to me about her boyfriend, and how inattentive he is and basically how he's not a gentleman. So I actually wrote this song as a way to cheer her up, and be like, 'Hey! There are still some good guys out there. Keep swimming.' It's been received really well. She really liked it. I don't know if she indirectly showed him like, 'Hey, you need to step your game up.' But, hopefully he made some changes."
Photos: Rachel Kaplan for iHeartRadio