Toyota Searchlight winner Jhyve releases new single, 'Signs'
The Scarborough artist has released a new song, and is preparing to collect on his Searchlight prizes
Earlier this year, a smooth Scarborough R&B singer-songwriter took top honours in Toyota Searchlight 2021, our annual hunt for Canada's best new musical talent. Now, he's dropped his first new single since his big win:
The single is called "Signs," a provocative R&B jam that Jhyve says is all about that ex who keeps coming back, even though they have new partners.
It's all about seeing the 'Signs' that you will see your ex again.- Jhyve on his new single "Signs"
"It's all about seeing the 'Signs' that you will see your ex again", Jhyve said.
CBC Music's Robert Rowat had this to say about "Signs" in this week's Songs You Need To Hear: "The chorus's melody has a catchy octave leap that lets Jhyve show off his falsetto while subtle horns tie the song to the soulful '70s."
Jhyve, a former Juno nominee, beat out thousands of other musicians from every province and territory on the strength of his song called "Down," which was originally written when he was, well, down.
"I think through creating that song it gave me a little bit of healing and then putting it out all was kind of a process of coming back from that place," Jhyve told CBC Music's Jess Huddleston in an interview from earlier this year.
It just felt like this amazing thing where out of this dark time I made this song that ended up connecting with people.- Jhyve on his Searchlight-winning song "Down"
"Now, to having won the Searchlight competition, it just felt like this amazing thing where out of this dark time I made this song that ended up connecting with people. Few things in my life have felt more poetic than that."
Jhyve is a twin, and says that music has always been a mainstay in his home growing up: his mom is a singer in the Toronto Mass Choir, and his dad was a DJ. Some of Jhyve's early childhood memories involve helping his dad lug the DJ equipment to and from the car.
For winning Toyota Searchlight 2021, Jhyve gets a placement in the Allan Slaight Juno Master Class in Toronto, a recording residency at Studio Bell at the National Music Centre in Calgary, a Play MPE global distribution deal for his songs, and a Toyota Searchlight prize pack that gives him $5,000 worth of studio time and new instruments.
"Having all of these prizes come to me, it just reinforced this idea that things are turning around," Jhyve said. "I'm lucky to have the abundance I have. I look at it and I just have gratitude. But I also think, 'Wait 'til people hear my next song!' I'm going to take all of this and channel it into my art going forward."
You don't have to wait any longer to hear Jhyve's new song, "Signs", which dropped on Sept. 24.
Jhyve will be attending the Allan Slaight Juno Master Class in Toronto this fall, and will be headed to Calgary in the winter to record at Studio Bell at the National Music Centre.