May we introduce you to the multi-talented pop artist JVKE. Last week, the artist released his debut album this is what ___ feels like (Vol. 1-4), through AWAL. The album is boldly claimed by this viral singer as his “first and last” album, as he wishes to step away from the traditional label constraints and engage with listeners in a fresh way. In this project, he depicts the life cycle of a relationship. Acting as the singer, songwriter, and producer, JVKE and his brother ZVC composed, recorded, and produced the album entirely. In the album, the various stages of a relationship, falling in love, heartbreak, sadness, and falling out of love, are represented in four distinct songs. Through carefully crafted melodies and lyrics, JVKE successfully passed the feelings he experienced in those stages of the relationship cycle to the audience.

The release of the album follows the huge success of his most recent song, “golden hour,” which has had over 65 million streams overall and over 2 million streaming every day. JVKE’s debut on the Billboard Hot 100 was with this song, which currently sits at #62 and is steadily rising. It has been added to Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits, and reached #1 on Spotify’s US Viral 50 chart and Global Viral chart simultaneously.

Since his 2020 debut “Upside Down,” a single that generated over 200 million streams to date and 15 million TikTok video creations, JVKE has established a massive digital presence. With over 550 million streams, 26+ billion views of his music across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, and an audience of 10 million-plus followers across social media, he is rising inevitably and became a prominent figure amongst his peers. This enables him to establish himself as a genre-bending artist and producer, and lead the progress and evolution of the industry.

“This album marks the end and the start of something new,” JVKE described when talking about this first and last album. Everything has a cycle, and we should accept the end and embrace the new. Such an idea also represents his attitude towards the music industry. Though he doesn’t state his approaches to music-releasing in the future completely, JVKE claims that this album gives a glimpse of what is to come. “The way we’ve listened to music has drastically changed in recent years, warranting a change in how I release music. This is only the beginning of that evolution.”

For more on the burgeoning artist, read our interview below.

VMAN: Congrats on your debut album, this is what __ feels like (Vol. 1-4)! Where did you begin with this project?

JVKE: This project was a product of writing 900+ songs and carefully crafting a story I wanted to tell. The inspiration started when I got into my first relationship and continued to develop throughout the various emotions of the relationship. I made sure each song expressed the emotions I was feeling at each moment in the relationship.

VMAN: What’s this album about? What’s the album’s overarching, main theme? And why did you decide to write about it?

J: The album is a journey through all the emotions we feel when we fall in love, breakup, become sad, and eventually move on and fall out of love.

VMAN: How is the album organized? Can you speak about the four sections?

J: It’s broken up into these four chapters because each chapter marks a pivotal moment in the relationship. It started when I fell in love, then I got cheated on, then got back together to try to make it work, then by the end of the sadness chapter, I come to terms with the fact that it’s over, and I need to move on.

VMAN: Can you bring us through your songwriting process for this album?

J: I wrote this album by focusing on the feeling, and then pairing the lyrics with that feeling. to me, if I don’t feel anything, I don’t like it, so I had to have some sort of emotional experience with each song in order for it to make it on the album. And I can confidently say that I do have an emotional connection with each song.

VMAN: And finally, what message do you hope your debut album sends?

J: Not so much a message, but rather an experience. I want people to feel the wide range of emotions that this album entails, and, hopefully, find some comfort wherever they are in that spectrum.