With “Lost in LA” out now, we took some time to hear from Jordan Anthony. Read below to learn more about Jordan Anthony, the story behind “Lost in LA,” and what’s to come.
Hi Jordan Anthony! Let’s start with how did you get your artist name?
This is a funny story actually, when I was at school and whenever I would get addressed by my teachers or called out at assembly or a school performance or singing competition no one could say my real last name “Rabbone” right, and so when I became serious about the artist thing, my Dad said, “Well, why don’t you go by your middle name, “Jordan Anthony,” it’s pretty hard to mispronounce Anthony.” So, yeah, “Jordan Anthony” was born.
At what point in your life did you decide to pursue a career in music? How did you get started?
Honestly, really early on in my life. I grew up around music in a super musical household. My parents met doing a musical, my sisters danced and sang, and so it was always a part of my life and I knew it always would be. The moment I really knew it was meant to be my career was when I wrote my first song at 7 years old about my experiences with bullying. I fell in love with the craft of songwriting and telling my stories through songs and knew that this was the only thing that I’m supposed to do.
How would you describe your sound to readers who may not be familiar with you?
If Lewis Capaldi and Justin Bieber had a baby and Bruno Mars watched. I’ve always described it as ballads that move. Massive anthemic songs with lots of times huge production, but at the core of it are just great songs and stories that can be played with just me on a piano because that’s really how it all started for me.
Do you have any hobbies outside of music? What do you do to stay creative?
I love playing soccer, that’s always been my other greatest passion outside of music, so I still play every now and then when I can find games in LA. I also love going to the beach being Aussie. I feel like that’s kind of a right of passage. I love gaming too, playing PlayStation and hopping on Call of Duty with the boys is also a really nice escape for me from the craziness of the music industry. Lowkey, I wasn’t sure whether to say this or not, but my guilty pleasure recently is coloring in.
Who are some of your main musical influences?
Like I mentioned earlier Lewis Capaldi, Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber are some of my biggest inspirations as songwriters and as artists. I love them a lot. Earlier on in my life and still even now of course Ed Sheeran and Adele were a huge part of my upbringing – they were actually my first concert.
What’s one of the proudest moments of your music career so far?
I’d have to say that moving to LA is the proudest thing that I’ve done. It was really hard for me to leave the comfort of my family and home in Australia to go and pursue something more for myself on the other side of the world, but I absolutely have no regrets, even though there are hard days, it’s all going to be worth it.
What would you say are the greatest lessons that you’ve learned so far?
No one is going to want it more than you, and no one is going to hand anything to you. You have to want it so badly and chase it, it’s all within.
Now onto your release, “Lost in LA.” What inspired this song? What is “Lost in LA” about?
This essentially is the story of my last 18 months in a song. Moving to LA last year from Australia was genuinely one of the most amazing experiences of my life and still is, but this song kind of tells the honest stories about the other side of it about the days where I don’t necessarily know if I have what it takes, when the doubt sets in and the going gets tough. This is such an important song for me, it’s honest and scary a little bit, but I wrote this one for myself and also anyone else trying to chase something. I hope they feel less alone through this.
What was the inspiration behind the cover artwork for “Lost in LA?”
The artwork was done by one of my insanely talented closest friends, Ryan Simmons, and it’s kind of inspired really by the title. Got that LA city skyline and little old me kind of walking around trying to find my way.
What was the creative process like when making “Lost in LA?”
It was honestly like one of those lightning in a bottle moments. I was sitting in my bedroom in LA on an off day, a little bit homesick and in one of those really tough spots that you get in as an artist just kind of questioning everything and in true artist fashion I took those feelings and picked up the guitar. I swear to you, from the moment I picked up the guitar, the entire song was written in 30 minutes. It was low, one of those really rare and raw moments for me where the song kind of fell out of me as cliche as that sounds. But, I just knew it needed to be written.
How long did it take to complete “Lost in LA?”
The writing of it was literally me in my bedroom which took all of 30 minutes. But as far as the production goes, my incredible friends in Nashville absolutely crushed it. Parker Matthews did the vocal recording and birthed that gut-wrenching guitar riff, and my other insanely talented friend, Todd Tran, did the production and recorded the guitars. So grateful for the people that I’ve been lucky enough to work with.
What is your favorite lyric in “Lost in LA” and why?
“Mum and dad always said it was meant for me, to the land with the stars laid on the street” – I just love this lyric because I feel like it encapsulates the whole song and also the role my parents have played in my career, which has been so huge. I would be nowhere if it wasn’t for their undying support and belief. This song almost feels like a letter to them too in a way.
What message or messages do you hope fans take away from “Lost in LA” and your music in general?
I hope they can feel less alone in whatever they’re going through. And especially in this song, I hope they feel seen and encouraged to keep chasing their dream alongside me because I feel like the feelings of this song aren’t talked about enough how hard it can actually be sometimes. It’s unbelievable that I get to chase my dream in a new city, but yeah, it really does come with some tough days.
What’s next for you? Are you working on any upcoming projects, or do you have any upcoming shows that we should be on the lookout for?
I am actually working on an EP this year, which I’m so excited about as well as a tour for this year, so definitely stay tuned for that. I’m just buzzing to be able to release my first project. It feels like the right time.
Before you go, let’s ask you an off-topic question. What is your favorite food?
My favorite food is sushi!!
Thank you for the great interview; wish you much continued success!
