Meet John Newman.
Maybe you already know him: He supplied the vocals on Rudimental‘s #1 2012 smash, “Feel The Love.” Or, perhaps you’re already acquainted because of his #1 debut single “Love Me Again.” Or! Maybe you just know him because of his debut album Tribute, which was released back in October in the UK and debuted at — you guessed it! — #1.
But if you don’t already know him, know this: John Newman is a super soulful UK singer-songwriter with one hell of a set of pipes on him. Seriously — bananas o’clock gorgeousness. It’s somewhere in the ’60’s revivalist camp of Adele, Duffy and Amy Winehouse (and somehow, a little Anastacia too?), but male. And 23 years old. That is, more or less, John Newman. (And he’s also got a cool strip of blonde in the front of his hair, which I like.)
John’s got a new single coming out on December 16 and — whoa, boy. This one’s a serious killer: Think “Rolling In The Deep” for 2013. Seriously. (There’s even a similar chair scene in the video!)
The song comes armed with a stomping, shimmering sort of ’60’s-meets-modern shuffle, hand claps, heavenly strings, tambourines, a truly gigantic pearl-clutcher of a chorus and the kind of vocal performance that makes you cling desperately to each syllable pouring out of the speakers. Seriously, it’s incredible.
The song was co-penned alongside Steve Booker (Duffy) and hit-maker Benny Blanco (who only continues to prove his versatility) and should almost certainly land Newman his third Top 10 hit in a row.
And for those of you who could do with a little pep in their step, this Kat Krazy remix takes the young singer’s powerful pipes and layers ’em all over some crushing rave-ready dance beats. It’s also very, very good — add this one to your Friday night mix while you still can.
“Losing Sleep” will be released on December 16. (iTunes)
