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After months in lockdown, JP Saxe is finally 'getting the dream back'

The Canadian singer-songwriter reflects on his rise to fame over the past two years.

The Canadian singer-songwriter reflects on his rise to fame over the past two years

CBC Music · CBC Music ·

Jp Saxe | Covid Diaries

3 years ago
Duration 6:28
JP Saxe released "If the World was Ending," his duet with Julia Michaels, in October 2019. In mere months, the song started to gain a lot of attention, even landing the Canadian singer-songwriter on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. But that "first little spark" of success that Saxe had been striving for was suddenly in danger of fizzling out as COVID-19 halted tours, and musicians were stuck at home searching for new ways to be creative and connect with fans. But in an unexpected turn, Saxe's apocalyptic anthem began resonating with more people, bumping streams up into the millions, spawning covers by Shawn Mendes, Tate McRae and Johnny Orlando, and earning Saxe and Michaels (his real-life girlfriend) a Grammy nomination for song of the year.

JP Saxe released "If the World was Ending," his duet with Julia Michaels, in October 2019. In mere months, the song started to gain a lot of attention, even landing the Canadian singer-songwriter on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. 

"Around that time, it felt like my dreams were beginning to come true," Saxe tells CBC Music in the latest episode of COVID Diaries. "I was about to do my first headline tour, and I was just loving every bit of my life." 

But that first little spark of success that Saxe had been striving for was suddenly in danger of fizzling out as COVID-19 halted tours, and musicians were stuck at home searching for new ways to be creative and connect with fans. And in an unexpected turn, Saxe's apocalyptic anthem began resonating with more people, bumping streams up into the millions, spawning covers by Shawn Mendes, Tate McRae and Johnny Orlando, and earning Saxe and Michaels (his real-life girlfriend) a Grammy nomination for song of the year. 

In Episode 4 of COVID Diaries, CBC Music catches up with Saxe as he finally embarks on his headlining tour across Canada in October 2021 to discuss his unique rise to fame over the past two years. 

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