Rising pop star Josh Taerk this month made major waves in the US thanks to his latest single ‘Beautiful Tragedy’ reaching number 53 on the BDS/Billboard Top 40 Pop Indicator Chart and number 62 on the Mediabase Top 40 Pop Activator Chart and is continuing to rise following its official release to American radio.
Here we chat exclusively to Josh to discuss his new single, sending it to radio:
You recently sent your new single ‘Beautiful Tragedy’ to Pop Radio, how has the response been so far?
It’s amazing! I’m so beyond happy that so many radio stations and fans have been connecting with “Beautiful Tragedy!” It’s surreal to see my song continue to climb the charts and continue to be played on stations across the country with artists like Post Malone, Dua Lipa, and Ariana Grande. It’s a dream come true.
What are you looking to achieve through your radio campaign?
I want to reach as many people as I can with my music and getting a song on Top 40 Radio is a great way to reach a lot of people.
Can you tell us a little about the process behind getting a song onto the radio?
With anything in the Music Business, it starts with the song. You have to have a song that you’re proud of, that represents the kind of artist you want to be, and that you truly believe in. Then you take that song to a company that specializes in submitting music to radio stations. The way I gauge who to work with in these cases is to see how authentic the reaction to the song is. When someone comes back to me, genuinely believes in my music, and shows me that they are willing to put in the work and the time it takes to make things happen; that’s who I choose to work with. I’m really grateful to be working with some amazing people on this project.
Along with releasing the song to US radio you’ve also dropped the official lyric video, what was the filming process like for this clip?
This video was so much fun to make! I wanted to do something different with this one, step outside of the traditional lyric and/or music video format and put a little humor into the mix. I came up with the initial concept thinking about my relationship with technology and wanted to make a video showing how funny that relationship really is. Josh Lockhart was the perfect person to team up with for this video. The first time we talked about the idea it was clear that we were on the same brainwave and had a very similar sense of humor when it came to stuff like this.
How important do you feel visuals are to the success of a single?
I think image is really important to the success of a single. I know that I typically listen to music with my eyes just as much as I listen with my ears. When I go see a band live or even hear music through channels like Spotify and Apple Music image and presentation are just as important as the song itself. For example, the first thing I see when I click on a track on Spotify is the album or single artwork. Don’t get me wrong, the song still needs to connect with people, but once they hear the song they have to connect with who you are as an artist.
What are you hoping fans take from the videos story?
I wanted to create a video that puts the viewer in the first person, and puts them in situations that they can instantly relate to being in. My main goal with any song, video, or post is to connect with people, bring them into my world, and share a piece of myself with them. That’s why I wanted to create something different yet relatable, something people would want to watch and at the same time something that feels familiar. I also wanted to make people laugh. There’s a lot of really heavy stuff going on in the world right now and a lot of disillusionment in everyone’s day to day. While I’m not trying to ignore all of the important issues people are facing on a daily basis, I also wanted to provide a little relief from that, even just for a couple minutes.
Overall what are you looking to achieve throughout this year with your music?
It’s all about using this success and these opportunities to create more, because the end goal for me at all times is to continue to reach new people with my music and invite new fans into my existing community. This campaign has opened a lot of doors already, and I plan on building on all of these opportunities moving forward
Make sure you follow Josh Taerk on Twitter @JoshTaerk to keep up to date with all his latest music and tour news!
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