New York, NY (Top40 Charts) blackbear's new single "the 1" was today's World Record on Apple Music's Beats 1 with Zane Lowe. Released via Beartrap/Alamo/Interscope Records/Universal
Music Canada, the country's leading music company, "the 1" is available now via all digital retailers.
Written and produced by blackbear and Andrew Goldstein (Linkin Park, The Ready Set, Louis the Child), "the 1" is the singer/songwriter/producer's first single since his album cybersex arrived last November. With its moody blend of R&B and electronic pop, the track perfectly showcases blackbear's gift for infectious melody and bracingly honest lyrics.
"the 1 is a new more mature feel, a clear headed track about past relationships and inspired by ongoing changes in my personal life - the common everyday simple struggle of drugs and alcohol ruining everything. Rest assured teenage tumblr hearts will feel this one." - blackbear
The video for "the 1" was directed by
Alexandra Gavillet, an L.A./NYC-based photographer and filmmaker who's previously worked with Mitch, Jonas Blue, and Lewis Capaldi. Building off the song's raw emotion and stark confession, the video brilliantly contrasts its flashes of bold color with a dark and dreamlike mystique.
Having performed at Lollapalooza earlier this month (and played a sold-out show at House of Blues
Chicago that same week), blackbear is set to play Life Is Beautiful Festival in Las
Vegas next month and headline Red Rocks Amphitheatre on October 19.
blackbear is now at work on his next full-length project, which is due out in 2019.
Born Matthew Musto, blackbear put out three independent albums (2015's Deadroses and Help and 2017's digital druglord) prior to cybersex. In addition, he released a self-titled album with his hip-hop duo mansionz in early 2017. Featured on the certified Gold digital druglord, "do re mi" became blackbear's first single to crack the Billboard Hot 100; the track has since gone double platinum. A remix of "do re mi" featuring
Gucci Mane was released in July 2017, and soon reached No. 5 at Rhythmic and No. 26 at Top 40 radio. Meanwhile, its video has racked up more than 81 million views on YouTube.
Featuring appearances by 2 Chainz, Cam'ron, Machine Gun Kelly, and Rick Ross, cybersex delivered such singles as "g2g ttyl"—a track that earned acclaim from TIME, who named blackbear "a versatile artist on the rise."