Kitchener/Waterloo, ON’s JSJ (aka Joshua Säde James) has “Gone” into an utter whirlwind of euphoria with the release of his newly minted single, and audiences shouldn’t wait to say ‘same.’
Oozing with R&B finesse, the insta-classic is an ode to the ex-lover caught in a tryst, causing lunacy for whoever is left behind in their trap.
“This song is my ‘Cruella has entered the chat’ moment,” JSJ reveals. “It’s the Gemini’s lament to love. ‘Gone’ is a sonic roller coaster that hurls you up and down as love battles hatred.”
A Sheridan graduate holding his bachelor’s degree in musical theatre performance, JSJ has set out to carve his own path and find his own voice in his musical journey. The son of renowned Canadian country artist Jamie Warren, JSJ was born into a world built on the foundation of song, melody, and performance. Since childhood, JSJ was aware he was born to be an artist, and his roster of recent releases are setting swift precedence for an extraordinary career ahead.
“When I was writing this song, specifically the bridge, I remember thinking how hard and sassy the rest of the song was,” he recalls. “I turned to producer Anthony Wright and said, ‘I need an Adele bridge. I gotta show range in more than just my voice. I think I need a piano breakdown.’
“Almost instantly I had the melody in my head and, less than five seconds after humming it, Anthony pulled out this beautiful piano part that just fit. Next thing you know, I’m singing a nodes-y low Eb feeling like Beyoncé, telling people I’m putting my ‘freakum vest’ on.
“This song was one of the most cathartic and empowering pieces I’ve recorded to date. Never have I ever felt like more of a bad b****.”
One spin and you’ll feel it too; “Gone” radiates confidence and shocking insight to the other side of the breakup coin.
Arriving complete with an equally stunning visual component, the track evens the score between partners in a relationship gone sour, with JSJ and his powerhouse vocals at the helm of the sinking ship. While his ex-lover may have steered the vessel to the storm, JSJ stole the stern in an effort to consume the madness, rather than evade it. It’s his CeeLo Green moment. His Lily Allen middle finger. “Gone” is a call and answer to the heartbreaking in two separately sized pieces.
“It sat on my laptop as this minute demo for almost a year before I brought it to Anthony,” JSJ says. “He took my little dinky basement demo and made it a fierce f u track that made me believe in myself again.
“It allowed me to embrace and truly experience my darkness in a different way,” he continues. “This time, when it consumed me, I controlled it for once.”
Lean into the visceral veracity of love gone wrong with the latest track from JSJ.
It’s a truth serum for the masses. A chance to reclaim autonomy from a broken heart…
Even if it leaves you “Gone.”
