The young pop singer-songwriter JC Stewart shares the official video to his current single ‘I Need You To Hate Me’.Reiterating the darker themes that he explores in the song, its opening shot of a car blazing out of control sets the mysterious tone that follows. JC and Emilia Jones (best known as Kinsey from the Netflix smash ‘Locke & Key’) are then shown as a couple somehow together but separated, seemingly lost within a derelict building.
The video was directed by Charlie Sarsfield, whose credits include Stormzy, Sam Fender and Dermot Kennedy.
JC commented: “Honestly, when I asked if we could set a car on fire outside an old country house I was half-joking. But here we are. I’m so proud of this video and it represents everything I want this song to be. Epic, emotional, ambitious. It was amazing to have Emilia Jones involved as well. She’s an UNBELIEVABLE actress so it was honour that she said yes! Hope you enjoy!”
‘I Need You To Hate Me’ has boosted JC Stewart’s surging status. Gaining 29 New Music Friday playlists across the globe plus repeated Radio 1 play from Scott Mills, the track has elevated the young pop singer-songwriter to 2 million monthly listeners at Spotify.
As the fourth generation of JC Stewarts, the young musician was destined to continue the family business in Northern Ireland, but instead deviated on the road toward pop stardom by focusing on his songwriting craft since his mid-teens. Everything that JC does captures his ability to connect. That’s a lot to do with the purity – of emotion, texture and delivery – in his music. He possesses the ability to express deep emotion and universal truths in language that is consciously direct and uncluttered.
That ability to make a connection is quickly winning the hearts of fans and influential supporters alike. Radio 1 has emerged as a key backer, resulting in a playlist for previous single ‘Lying That You Love Me’ and a live performance for their virtual Big Weekend. Apple Music also tipped him as a rising star, when they named him as their new artist of the week. And the scenes he orchestrated at his sold-out London residency have been repeated with shows as guest to Lewis Capaldi, Lauv, Anne–Marie, Maisie Peters and Freya Ridings as well as an MTV Push event alongside Yungblud and Raye.
His talents have extended to co-writing with other artists too, most notably ‘Hollywood’ from Capaldi’s smash hit debut album.
While his lyrics often hone in on the devastating minutiae of faltering relationships (both ‘I Need You To Hate Me’ and ‘Have You Had Enough Wine?’ tackled different stages of the same break-up), JC’s quick wit and self-deprecating sense of humour are immediately apparent. Those personality traits also resulted in him going viral on a global scale.
Bored during lockdown, JC filmed his quarantine-themed take on the ‘Friends’ theme song ‘I’ll Be There For You’, singing, “It looks like we’ll be inside for a year/ Or it might only be a day, a week or months it’s really not clear.” It exploded after Jennifer Aniston shared it on Instagram. Suddenly it was featured on ‘Good Morning America’ and Nina Dobrev also shared it with her 20 million followers as it raced to five million views.