Following the release of his latest single 'For One Day', Flex caught up with Jermaine Fleur to discuss his new single.
Can you tell us a bit about how you got into music?
Hi guys, first of all, thank you so much for having me! To be honest, I kind of got into music pretty late, at least in my opinion. I started when I was 23. I always knew I wanted to be a singer, but it was during my second year of college that I finally decided to go chase the music dream. But I wanted to finish my studies first, so I did, graduating with a degree in Communication, Media & Art.
After that, my cousin signed me up for the Dutch X-Factor without me knowing! And wow, it was an amazing ride that ended with me in the final 20! After X-Factor in 2009, I felt like I had to dive in deep. The TV show had a huge impact, and it started my music career with a bang. Within a few months, I began performing a lot, basically every week, and that never stopped (thank God haha).
Within half a year, I started making music, first for myself and later for other artists. I began collaborating a lot with musicians, other songwriters and producers. I consider tha time as a big bang moment in my life—suddenly, everything was happening, even though I always felt it would. Looking back, I'm so very thankful it did!
Who would you say are your biggest musical influences?
When I started making music, I was really into artists like Brian McKnight, Robin Thicke, Usher, and Justin Timberlake. But overall, I would definitely say the legendary Michael Jackson is my biggest influence as a singer, performer, and artist. He's the biggest inspiration to me. Everything he did, it really inspired to me be the artist I am today. And never stop growing.
Then there's Prince, who is an amazing and unique artist. Stevie Wonder is another huge influence; in my opinion, he's one of the best songwriters and storytellers in history. These three legends—Michael Jackson, Prince, and Stevie Wonder—are my core influences.
As for contemporary music, I'm influenced by artists like Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Pharrell Williams, Harry Styles, and even boybands like *NSYNC. I draw a lot from Pop and R&B. There's a lot of influences, and I like to mash all the little things I learned or listened to from them and now mash it up into me, creating the Jermaine Fleur sound!
Congratulations on your debut solo single 'For One Day' - what inspired this particular record?
Thank you so much! She's truly my baby. Basically, I was just grabbing my guitar on a hot summer day, feeling a little cheeky haha, and decided to write about that specific moment in time where you feel an attraction and connection with someone, and you know the other person feels it too.
Instead of playing the usual game or just "wait and see what happens," I thought, why not be very open about acting on that connection? I wanted to write about that unique moment in time and the decision to act on it instead of letting that magical moment pass by. I wanted the song to be playful and a little bit sexy, but ultimately, I just wanted to make a feel good pop record, with summer & reggae vibes!
Years after writing the song, the amazing producer Tariq Pijning created the perfect environment for the song with such a great production! It was a fun process bringing the song to life beyond the acoustic version. Now, with the support of the great guys of Vokall Records, it's finally out, and the reactions have been amazing! I'm so happy with everything that's happened up until now!
How do you channel personal experiences into your songwriting, and what do you hope listeners gain from connecting with your music?
To be very honest, I think at least 80 to 90 percent of my songs, whether I write them for myself or for other people, are channeled through my own experiences or experiences I've heard from others.
When you write about stories that you have personally felt, you put more subconscious emotion into the songwriting because you have a connection to that moment and story. Realness resonates the most I always say. Writing about real stories, whether they're your own or someone else's, allows you to connect more with people because, in the end, we all experience similar stories in some way.
People will connect with your music either because they've experienced the same story or because they're thinking about experiencing it. In the end, it doesn't matter who you are or where you live—there's a big chance that we all have similar story experiences.
When making songs, I hope to make a connection based on their emotion. I want to either make them very happy—genuinely happy—and make them dance or smile, or help them move on from a certain situation. Growing up, I also needed songs to heal my breakups or pour my melancholic feelings into. So, either I help them move on to happiness or, with most of the songs I write which are on the happier side, I make people smile and feel joy. That's the best connection I think I'd like to have with my songs.
Each aspect of music – writing, recording, practicing, and playing live – offers something different. Can you share a particularly meaningful moment from each?
Writing: A very special writing moment happened a couple of years ago with the same producer of "For One Day," the amazing Tariq Pijning. He was playing a certain melody on the piano, and I was vibing on it so much. At some point, it felt so familiar that I had to check my phone. I played the last voice memo I made the day before, and it ended up being the exact same chords and progression that Tariq was playing, in the same tempo and even in the same song key! We just looked at each other in amazement. It was such a magical moment. That song became super special, especially after one of my best friends Max Meertens, who sadly passed away not long after, heard the demo and said that song had to be the opener of my live show for my album release. And when told that I felt exactly the same! And still do.. That songwriting moment will always be special to me because of the connection Tariq and I had without knowing we would write the exact same thing. And also not knowing how special Max would make it after.
Recording: Another great moment was recording a song that's going to be one of my next singles. I was in the studio with my good friend and songwriter/producer Bram Juist and my other great friend and songwriter/producer Pete Miller. We were writing a song for an amazing artist, and all of a sudden while recording it, I felt instantly like the song was perfect for me. It had such a 90s feel, and as I recorded it, I knew I wanted to keep it for myself. I told the guys that the song had me written all over it, and luckily, the other artist didn't mind letting me keep it. That recording session was magical because I realized the song belonged to me, during the recording of it! It's coming next year and I can't wait for you all to hear it!
Practicing: Practicing brings back so many memories. I remember playing with my band about 10 years ago when we were always rehearsing. I loved making live arrangements together with those guys. We had so much fun practicing, messing around, and exploring different ways to translate the song into a fun and good live performance. We made a lot of musical breaks, experimented with harmonies, and worked on big arrangements. Just thinking about those rehearsals brings a smile to my face, knowing how much fun we had and how the hard work paid off. We had a blast on stage because we knew how much effort we put into those fun rehearsals.
Playing Live: This is a hard one because I've been playing live since 2009 all over the world, with so many great memories! One important lesson and moment that stands out is when I played at one of the biggest venues in Amsterdam, Heineken Music Hall (now called Afas Live). I was so focused on my performance that I didn't take the time to enjoy it, and I regretted it. I promised myself that the next time I had a big performance, I would take a moment to appreciate it.
One such moment was during a show in Dubai, in front of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world! Behind me was a spectacular fountain display. The whole band was rocking it, the crowd was having the time of their lives, and everyone was yelling and screaming. In that moment, I remembered to take that snapshot in my mind. I stood there, watching the crowd, the Burj Khalifa, and the fountains, feeling so happy. I knew that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life—being part of such a spectacle and making people go out of their minds in a good way. That moment is one of many amazing experiences I'll never forget, and I'm excited to create many more!
Is there a song in your repertoire that holds a particularly deep personal meaning for you? Can you share the story or inspiration behind it?
There's a song that used to be in my repertoire, though I haven't played it live in a long time. It's one of my favorite songs of all time, called "Brand New Jones" by Robin Thicke. This song always makes me feel happy in a blissful way, where I'm not thinking about anything else. It's the kind of feeling I always want to bring to people with my own music.
I played that song a lot with my band back then, and it also played a significant role in my career. The first time I performed it was at a club in Amsterdam, a place where all the big names perform. There was a lot of pressure, but singing that song made me feel free on stage for the first time. I felt like a true artist, able to look up and connect with the audience.
That performance was recorded and featured Candy Dulfer, one of the most amazing saxophonists in the world, known for playing with Prince. The video was uploaded to YouTube, where it caught the attention of 2 beautiful people who loved the performance so much, that they invited me and the band to sing it at their wedding in Barcelona. That was the first time I got to travel outside the country for music, which was a special memory, especially with the whole band, who are still amazing friends.
Playing in Barcelona gave me a confirmation feeling that I really wanted to expand beyond the borders of where I'm from. It was a nice realization that there was a wider audience for me than just in Holland. That song was a starting point for me, confirming my desire to reach as many people as possible worldwide. It inspired me to think beyond and focus on a global audience.
Looking back, "Brand New Jones" had a significant impact on the early stages of my musical career. It was already one of my favorite songs, and it holds a special place in my heart for these reasons. If you don't know it, go look it up—it's such a fun and happy song.
What are your goals for the future with your music?
Oeh.. In short term, I would love to share "For One Day" with as many people as possible around the globe. I'm super excited for all the other upcoming singles while working towards an album. I hope to play "For One Day" and all my other songs all around the world!
The big goals are to make as many people as possible happy with my music. If I can make that a physical goal, it would be winning a Grammy—not just as a songwriter, but also as an artist. That would be a kind of confirmation that I've reached a wide audience and made a difference in their lives with my music. I also hope to inspire people to follow their dreams, work hard, and never take no for an answer when it comes to following their intuition and instinct. I want to influence people to do the thing they love, cause then they will always love the thing they do.
Outside of these, I have many big goals, like having a world tour, getting a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, or scratch that, let's make make it a number one! These are the big dreams I'm aiming for!
To wrap things up, is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
If the readers are interested in seeing a happy guy from Amsterdam trying to conquer the world with his music and make everybody feel joyful, I would definitely love to invite them to join my journey and follow me on my social media platforms—Instagram, Spotify, TikTok, and ofcourse YouTube for music videos— through @jermainefleur. I seriously cannot wait to share my stories and the rest of my music with you all!
And it would be such an amazing experience to see you all at a show. I promise to do everything to make sure you'll have an amazing night and put a smile on all of your faces! :) Follow my journey, join me in this incredible experience, and hopefully I'll see you soon, either in the UK, US, or anywhere else around the globe! Thanks guys for having me, it's been a blast!
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