Upcoming artist from Seattle, Washington, Eli Jonathan, releases his newest single, “Showoff”. This is his third single of the year following his two previous singles, “Same Grace” and “Trust”. “Showoff” is about existing in your parallel world with someone else, dimension shifting, and the most intense feelings of envy you’ve ever experienced. Eli collaborated with fellow artist and friend, Samara Lennoxx, on this single.
I had the honor of interviewing Eli about his debut single. This interview is showcasing how he got started in music, who he is as an artist, and just being able to get to know him a little bit more. Check it out below!
What got you started in music?
Early on, it was anyone with a passion for what music they listened to. For me, that was usually my older sibling and my father. Music streaming wasn’t popular yet, at least with our homeschooled, big family circles in the backwoods of the Pacific Northwest, so music that those people may or may not have been illegally downloaded was what convinced me that music was part of your identity. From then on I was just looking towards anyone I knew who was already on a stage of some sort.
What would you tell your fans about your upcoming single, “Showoff”?
Mainly that I don’t know exactly where it started. It’s one song that twisted and morphed as time went on and I’ve completely forgotten what it sounded like in my head when I sat down with it for the first time. It reminds me of my early era of throwing things away and scrapping projects just because I felt like I could.
I’m definitely not as proud of that habit now. However, I’m extremely proud of what this song now means and says, and I’m proud of the friend I have singing on it with me, Samara.
Where do you get your inspiration? Or who do you get it from?
Inspiration and motivation are very similar things to me, and I get both most often from people I feel know something I don’t. Sometimes that’s artists that I adore and I spend hours just trying to figure out how their brains work. Lately, it’s been my closest friends, and I can write entire projects imagining what they think, how they feel and how we interact.
Can you tell us about any upcoming music that may be coming our way?
Everything coming up is all about what I’ve missed about music. I’ve been making and keeping a lot of things that make me proud and curating them to figure out what they mean to me. It’s like building my perfect playlist. There is so much coming and I couldn’t be more excited.
What’s next for you?
Trying to make a whole lot of big dreams fit together, spending time with them and getting to know them. Then everything falling into place at once.
Has COVID had a negative or positive impact on you? Has it delayed your creative process or has it helped?
Art made during the pandemic had a much different feeling than art before it. I think it kind of reinforced my ideas about how people relate to my work. It helped my creative process because I was so desperately trying to give what perspectives I had that I felt were unique. You can’t force someone to relate to what you say even with a global pandemic that everyone is going through together. It made me focus on the sincerity behind what I was making.
“Showoff” is out EVERYWHERE!
