Who Brought the Funk to Dance-Pop?

Oct. 29, JORDY brought the electric “Sex With Myself Tour” to Salt Lake City.

“Wait A Second Let Me Get Into Character”

From the beginning, the dramatics were never-ending. Having a theatrical background, it was no surprise that JORDY carried through effortlessly, jumping and swinging about on stage. Tonight was truly made for us.

I was in a trance between the callouts, hugs, handholds and duets. “Y’all are f***ing hot,” was his first exclamation as the show opened. From this, I knew the night was going to be good. The set included songs from his latest album, “Sex With Myself,” with many additions from previous and upcoming works.

During the show, JORDY pulled out a phenomenal performance of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” which not only caught the attention of the audience and had us screaming for more, but it’s a song that sings to his history as a musician.

Preceding the show, we had the opportunity to sit down with JORDY and ask a few questions about him, his process and what’s next for the rising pop star.

Laney: Do you want to tell me a little bit about yourself? 

Jordy: Well, I'm from the suburbs of Chicago. I grew up singing. I grew up in theater and choir. I was always performing as a kid. And then after I graduated college in 2017 I decided to move to LA and literally just started writing as much as I could. I was cold emailing people and cold messaging and DMing people on Instagram, just to get in rooms with people. And it kind of just was a domino effect. From there, I started writing songs and started putting them out, and was developing somewhat of a fan base via Spotify and that kind of thing. 

And then once the pandemic hit, I started messing around on TikTok, and then things kind of blew up from there. And I mean, that's a huge reason why I'm here today so it's been a journey ever since then, but it's been a crazy seven years since I moved to LA so that's crazy.

Laney: Have you liked it in LA? I’ve heard mixed emotions about it.

Jordy: I do. I do. I think once you find your people, I feel like, if you have four people or, a good crew anywhere, that's all you really need. Is just like people who like you, love surrounding you. And I feel like, at this point, I really do have that, so I'm very grateful. 

And it’s maybe a little bit warmer than here. But I’m from Chicago. I miss the season. So even being here on the tour, it’s kind of nostalgic, for sure. 

Laney: Yeah, and it's a gorgeous day out, too.

So then, how's the tour been so far? 

Jordy: The tour has been great. This is the third stop. LA was home, and then we got to Denver a couple of days ago which was amazing. And now we're here, and I've only opened for people here in Salt Lake. So this is my first headline show in Salt Lake City. 

Laney: That's amazing. Who did you open for?

Jordy: I opened for Lauren Sanderson a couple of years ago. Here at Kilby Court. So it feels like a full circle time. 

Laney: That's so fun, so cute. You have the deluxe album coming out. Will you be playing any of those songs tonight? 

Jordy: Yes, no, definitely. A couple of them, actually, like three of them, “Break My,” “Breakup Sex,” and one of the focus tracks off the deluxe album is called “Drinking of Me.” And it's kind of one of the more emotional songs on the record. I was getting really spicy with this project, and I went through a breakup of sorts, and I obviously wrote about it.

It's about letting go of somebody in my life who had a drinking problem honestly, and I was with them for five years. There was just a lot of lying and a lot of gaslighting, and it was really, really hard on me. When I was developing this track list for the deluxe album, I was like, ‘All right, this song isn't necessarily spicy, but it's about letting go of something to put yourself first.’ And I feel like Sex With Myself is all about being in touch with yourself and what's best for you and your body. And so I felt like it was totally appropriate to put it on the project. It’s one of my favorite songs. So I'll be doing that tonight. 

Laney: That's so exciting. I will be crying.

Jordy: I want you, but I don't want you to cry.

Laney: So then, sort of a follow-up to that, what is your favorite song to perform? Is it that one? 

Jordy: I mean, I'm doing a lot of songs from all of my eras, on this tour. So, there's some older ones that are just ones that I've always loved, that I'll never take off of the setlist. Songs like “Trevor,” “Until It Hurts” … And then songs off of my last album, “Boy,” like “Story of a Boy,” and “I Don't Know Shit.” And then a bunch of the songs off of this new project too. So it's kind of a good mix of everything. I feel like I do love “I Don't Know Shit,” that's like one of my favorite songs to perform, just because it's really upbeat and it gets the crowd involved, and it's fun to sing. It's just a feel-good song. So I guess that one, but I love all of them.

Laney: Yes, and I feel like everyone just gets a chance to scream. 

Jordy: Exactly, exactly. I want people losing their voices. 

Laney: No, real. I will be.

So you've been on the reading grind during your tour, what has been your favorite book? 

Jordy: Oh my God, you're so on top of it, you get it.

I just finished a really good book the other night called “The Good Lie.” I'm a thriller junkie. So anything that has to do with true crime, or who done it, kind of plot twist, like, a fucking plot twist that makes my jaw drop. And, you know, some of these drives are so fucking long, so the fact that I can kind of dissociate and read a good book has been really great for my mind.

Also, this book called, “The One” by John Mars. It's about this company that uses your DNA to match you with your soulmate. Things get really fucked up, so I recommend that one. 

Laney: Okay, I'll look into it.

Your music is very electric dance pop. Who inspires your music? Who

do you look up to?

Jordy: From a lyrical perspective and a production perspective, Fletcher has always been a huge inspo. To me, I feel like the show also leans a little more rock than it does dance. I mean, the tracks are in there, so people will be dancing. But it is important for me to have the full drums, have the electric guitar. It just gives it more of of that live experience. 

But also, the Charlie XCX record was really inspirational to me. The Troy record.

Laney: I was actually gonna bring it up. I was like, ‘They gotta be in there.’

Jordy: Yeah! I feel like “brat” was so iconic, and I totally blanked on that one. So, yeah, and people like Sophie and Betty Who, and a lot of people I have been listening to for years, all queer people. So, yes.

Laney: Then, how would you describe your music?

Jordy: Oh my God, this project, in particular, “Sex With Myself,” definitely was leaning more like dance pop, but I feel like there are always rocky elements, especially to the live show. So I don't know, like dance pop rock? I'm making up my own genre.

Laney: Yes. Do it. 

A follow-up to that. If you could play with or open for any of the people that you just mentioned, who would be your number one? 

Jordy: I mean, opening for the Sweat Tour, Oh My God, I feel like would be the perfect fit. So much. So that would be a goal. I mean, I again, love Fletcher. I would love to open for her. 

There's this great artist, Olly Alexander. He was in a band called Years and Years, but now he's doing solo stuff, and he's going on a European run in the spring, and I'm like, ‘Please take me with you. I love you.’ So yeah. I mean, there's countless amounts of people that I look up to that I would love an opportunity to collaborate in some way.

Laney: Awesome. So then, what's up next for you after this tour? Are you coming out with more music?

Jordy: We put out the deluxe album on November 15, and then the tour ends in Chicago on the 21st and then I'm gonna take a big fat nap. And I'm really excited to take a nap. 

But I'm gonna start writing again in December with some friends. And I think, honestly, I put out a lot of music this year, and I think it's important for any artist to go live life and get that inspiration and get your heart broken a little bit, or whatever it may be. I'm excited to take a step back and think about what's next, and what this next chapter will bring for me. I think, “Sex With Myself” was me kind of like exploring with a lot of new things and concepts, and I think it opened the world of endless possibilities. Now that all of the doors are open, I'm excited to see which ones I go through for this next chapter, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm excited to start the creative process again. I miss writing.

Laney: Yeah, that sounds perfect. You go get that nap.

So you mentioned you'd be writing with friends. Will there be any features? I would love that.

Jordy: That'd be sick. I mean, there were no features on this project, so I would love to do some collaborations in the near future. That is a goal, for sure. 

Laney: Yeah, big fan of features.

Jordy: It's cool. It's a good way to bring the fan bases together. And incorporating both of your styles and genres. So, yeah, that'd be dope. I would love that for sure. 

Laney: Do you have anything else that you want to talk about? You want to shout out? 

Jordy: Oh, my God, I mean, again, first headline show in Salt Lake. Salt Lake has always been such a fun city to do shows. And I feel like everybody here just goes so hard and is so excited when artists roll through. I've done Pride here. I've opened here twice. And so to be here for my first headline, it's very special. So I'm just happier here and I hope you enjoy the show.

Our time spent with JORDY was filled with endless amounts of gratitude and love towards Salt Lake City and being back at Kilby Court. We truly all walked away feeling sexy and confident.

“All of you are so valid the way that you are.” – JORDY

You can check out more about JORDY on all his socials here!

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