Chinese-Australian Pop Artist JËVA Finds Closure On Coming Out With Latest Single “I Would Cry”
Chinese-Australian pop artist JËVA released his new album Typhoon at the beginning of November, and announced a new short film in tandem, Typhoon: A Coming Out Story. Directed and produced by Genuine Fake, an independent female-led production company created to increase Asian representation on-screen, the film premiered on November 15 in collaboration with The Museum of Chinese in Australia.
An interpretive and expressive piece, guided by JËVA’s voice he explores his sexuality and battles his inner conflicts. JËVA says, “This story represents a significant journey that countless queer people experience when discovering their sexuality and coming from a traditional Chinese background made this even more difficult for me”.
He goes on to explain the rationale behind the film, ”Growing up was really hard but if I had seen someone in the media that looked like me, being so open, accepting and okay with who he was, it would’ve made it so much easier”
Alongside the album and film, JËVA has shared the new focus single, “I Would Cry”, written as a source of closure surrounding his coming out story which follows the unrequited love for an old friend and subsequent falling out.
JËVA says of the song, “I wrote this 5 years ago when I bumped into him at a party – the first time I’d seen him since we stopped being friends. Funnily enough, I ran into him a few weeks ago as well. We were civil, acting as if everything was normal but as I drove away, I played this demo and I couldn’t stop crying. Every word in this song came from such a place of truth which still rings true today and that’s so powerful to me.
It’s funny because I wrote this song a few years ago about bumping into him at a party for the first time and not being able to look at him because the wound was so fresh, I avoided him all night. I actually saw him last week for the first time in 5 years. We were civil and it was nice, we’ve moved on and acted like everything was normal. But when I drove away and put this demo on I couldn’t stop crying. Every word I’ve said in this song is coming from such a place of truth, and that’s honestly so powerful. I’ve never had any song I’ve written had this affect on me, I think it’s really something really special”.
Musically inspired by the likes of Holly Humberstone, Taylor Swift, and Troye Sivan, the indie pop ballad makes room for JËVA’s expressive vocals to float across bedroom-pop guitars and pulsating drums.
Listen below:
