Following the release of his new single ‘Friends’, CelebMix got to sit down in an exclusive interview with Jai Waetford and chat about the new single, musical inspirations and his career in the music industry so far
Jai Waetford is a 19-year-old Austrailian singer-songwriter who rose to prominence after finishing third place in the final on the fifth season of The X Factor Austrailia. He has since gone on to achieve a mass of commercial success in his home country and is now ready for worldwide acclaim with the new single, ‘Friends’.
Jai Waetford’s musical career so far consists of 400M+ streams across all music platforms including Spotify and Youtube. With a mass of streams, Waetford currently has 360K Spotify monthly listeners, 878K YouTube subscribers along with a joint 2M+ followers across his social media platforms. Jai even has approval from Justin Bieber himself, confessing to being a self-proclaimed fan when he claimed,
“I haven’t been impressed like this for a long time.”
Here at CelebMix, we got the chance to sit down with Jai Waetford exclusively as he talks about his new single ‘Friends’, his musical career so far, touring with the likes of Selena Gomez and Little Mix upon many other things.
How does it feel to have your new single, ‘Friends’ out?
Jai: I’m excited, we’ve been sitting on it for a couple of months waiting for the right time to release it.
What are you hoping to come from the release of ‘Friends’?
Jai: It’s a different vibe, and it’s a transition. I’m looking forward to seeing what people think of the single and just hope people can get on board with it.
You’re one of the very few X Factor success stories, how does that feel looking back?
Jai: I wouldn’t be who I am today if I didn’t do the show, I’m super grateful for the experience. I was very young when I went on it, I was only 14 and I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. The whole experience happened so quickly, it was like a whirlwind and I didn’t expect much to come from it. The best thing I ever did.
Speaking of X Factor, you supported Little Mix on the Austrailian leg of their ‘Glory Days’ tour, how was that experience?
Jai: It was so much fun, the girls are amazing. It was my first proper stadium gig where I got to perform a half an hour set of my original music to a large crowd. Little Mix and their team really looked after us on their tour.
You’ve also supported Selena Gomez on tour, how was that experience?
Jai: It was crazy, we flew out to Bangkok for two days, it is one of the biggest stages I’ve ever performed on. As we were only there for two days, it was full on rehearsing, doing soundcheck and then performing but the entire experience was amazing.
Joint tours seem to be a recent trend, Name three celebrities you would love to do a joint tour with?
Jai: Live concerts are at a peak right now. There are loads of incredible artists doing their own thing, which is cool. There are so many people I would love to do a joint tour with, I can’t pick just three. I would love to do a joint tour with Kanye West, Drake, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean.
What is a career highlight of yours so far?
Jai: A highlight has to be having people around me who support my vision and music. Without a good team, making it in the music industry would be hard so I’m super grateful for them.
Describe your new single ‘Friends’ in one word?
Jai: Vibe.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Jai: I have so many but Bryson Tiller and 6LACK to name a few.
Who is your dream collaboration?
Jai: Chris Brown.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Jai: Stay true to yourself. It’s super important that your vision is known and you don’t become a blueprint in the industry.
Where is one place you would really love to tour?
Jai: America. That would be sick.
Your new single is called ‘Friends’, what do your friends mean to you?
Jai: Friends are important, all my friends live different lifestyles so it’s nice to escape from everything and just chill with them from time to time.
What can we expect following the release of ‘Friends’?
Jai: We have shot a music video for the single, which will come out after the track. Hopefully, another track released early next year, with an EP to follow.
With commercial success and critical acclaim already to his name, we’re certain this is only the start of, what will be, a huge career for Jai Waetford as a musician. As new single ‘Friends’ is released onto all streaming platforms today, it won’t be long before he is a force to be reckoned with in the music industry too.
Jai Waetford’s latest single, ‘Friends’ is available to purchase and stream here.