At only age 19, Johnny Orlando is proving to be the next big act from Canada, following footsteps of Shawn Mendes and Drake. Orlando just released his debut album, all the things that could go wrong, and is about to embark on a tour, which you can get tickets for here. We chatted with Orlando about his album and more!
How are you?
I’m good. I went home to Toronto after the release event tour we did when the album was released . I relaxed before I came back to LA to start writing.
Talk about creating and curating the track list for your new album, all the things that could go wrong. What was that process like?
It was pretty easy because I had guidelines that I wanted to stick to. I knew that all the things was going to go last, terrible person was going to start the B side and fun out of it was going to end the A side. I also had all of the songs separated into A and B songs, so there really wasn’t that much to do. I also just kind of let it happen and let things go where they felt right!
As opposed to your song title name, lets instead name all things that could go right on a perfect night out.
I don’t love going out that much. My favorite nights out are ones where I’m with my best friends and my girlfriend and just let everything I’m thinking about fade away for a couple hours. I’m very much alive in the moment person so I just like to have a basic plan and then see where the night goes.
Do you have a favorite song off the album?
Probably all the things that could go wrong. It’s the most personal song for sure and every time I hear it everything kind of comes back to me. I have a lot of nice memories attached to that song.
As this album is about a common complaint, “all things going wrong,” how do you keep yourself healthy and mentally stable?
At this point I’m really good at regulating myself and knowing what I need, whether it’s to just be in bed for a day or to go on a drive or work out or to buy something or whatever it is. Mostly I just need to see my friends and family and my girlfriend often and then I’m good.
You worked with Benee on the album. What was it like collaborating with a new emerging talent such as Benee?
It was a great experience!! I love working with other people on songs and Benee’s incredibly talented. She really added to fun out of it – I’m happy everything worked out!
If you could set up a fan for them to listen to your new music, what setting would that be?
I sometimes wish people could hear music in the studio, because literally nothing sounds better than when you’re making the song. It’s really hard to recreate that experience because every speaker is different.