Listen to This: JP Saxe is Pop’s Newest Rising Star

Chris DiLullo

If you’ve turned on the radio or listened to Spotify’s Pop’s Biggest Hits playlists recently, you probably haven’t heard his name or his music. However, rest assured: JP Saxe is making his mark on the music industry, and sooner rather than later, he will be filling the charts alongside artists like Khalid and The Weeknd.

Saxe was a relatively unknown artist up until October 2019. The pop musician had only had released seven individual songs, and although his collaboration with Charlotte Lawrence on his track “The Few Things” performed fairly well, notching over 20 million streams on Spotify, he hadn’t found much mainstream success with his unique yet powerful piano-based music and incredible vocals.

However, everything changed when Saxe collaborated with Julia Michaels on “If The World Was Ending,” giving him his first big-name collaboration to help him anchor what would be the pivotal song on his EP released Feb. 7, “Hold It Together.” Since “If The World Was Ending” was released on streaming services, it reached over 100 million on Spotify only months after its release.

Now, with Saxe’s six-track EP released and the artist set to tour Europe with Lennon Stella this spring, the soulful artist is finally making strides towards making the mainstream impact his music has the power and capability to make.

Saxe’s music fits in perfectly with the modern pop music environment; given pop music’s obsession with soulful, emotional love songs. Saxe always seems to perfectly match the tone and emotion that characterizes the genre today. Furthermore, Saxe’s clear, moving lyrics make his music both unforgettable and incredibly catchy; as songwriters like Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande are succeeding for that very reason, it’s evident that Saxe has all the necessary characteristics of a pop star ready for success in the music industry.

Thus, this is where “Hold It Together” offers Saxe the opportunity to make a big impact and increase his popularity in a way he has yet to experience thus far. His first time releasing a project greater than two songs, Saxe added in four new songs amongst two previously released tracks, giving his EP a strong foundation to build his new songs off of. Combining his typical heartbreak, piano-influenced sound with some more hopeful, inspirational love songs on the latter end of the project, “Hold It Together” is Saxe’s first true introduction to the world. It is his portfolio that shows a complete and very successful demonstration of his capabilities as an artist.

JP Saxe is still a relatively unknown artist. He has one big hit, but even so, you’ve still probably never heard “If The World Was Ending” on the radio. His other tracks? You’ve probably only encountered them if one of them happened to end up on your Discover Weekly playlist. However, JP Saxe is on the rise, and his journey to superstardom has only begun. He’s destined to become a pop superstar very soon, and now, it’s time to get on board with the budding singer and enjoy the ride.

Every week in the Listen to This column, The Villanovan Culture Section writers introduces exciting new music and artists to look out for. We cover all genre types. Check back here every week for new recommendations to stay ahead of the trends.