New York, NY (Top40 Charts) John The
Blind marks the latest solo endeavor by songwriter/producer John Henry Ryan II - continued today by the release of new single "Hallelujah." The track arrives along with a Justin Daashuur Hopkins-directed video companion.
"
Hallelujah" follows two buzzworthy tracks off John The Blind's forthcoming debut self-titled EP, arriving May 10th on Atlantic Records. Upon release last month, "
Sticky" was deemed as "a free-flowing song that is all his own" by L'Officiel USA while Ones To Watch praised the song's "honest lyricism." His debut release "Two Months" saw support via Flaunt and PAPER Magazine, the latter of which credited the song's "incredible singing and quirky production" for earning a spot on their Bops Only round-up.
"I remember this being a really late session with
Ali Tamposi and AfterHrs" recalls John The Blind. "We were discussing 'late-night meet-ups' and wanted to celebrate that, instead of feeling bad about it. The whole song came together in about an hour - I was in the honey-moon phase with a girl I was seeing at the time, the sparks were flying and the uncertainty was exciting. 'Hallelujah' really encompasses how those nights feel."
Ask John The Blind, and he'll tell you he's had one true identity: recording artist. Raised in Rochester, NY, the young musician turned to music as his refuge. By the time he graduated from Berklee College of Music, he became infatuated with the
Beatles and was writing and creating in a thriving community of other passionate musicians. After moving to LA in his early twenties, recognition and success followed as he became one of pop music's most in-demand songwriters with chart topping singles for artists such as Harry Styles, Maroon 5,
John Legend and Niall Horan. However, he always knew it was a matter of when - not if - he would unveil his own material and jumpstart his future as a solo artist. "I didn't feel like I was exercising my whole creative muscle," he says of the years spent principally writing songs for other artists, and simultaneously penning what became John The
Blind songs in the evening hours. "I still had stuff that I needed to get off my chest."
Putting himself in such a vulnerable position is a hardly frightening proposition for Ryan. In fact, the singer, who plans to release his debut EP and tour in 2019, says being front-and-center via John the
Blind is exactly how he prefers it. It's this uninhibited, enthused approach to his craft that has shaped the John The
Blind project. Or, as the musician sees it, the coming months represent the culmination of a multi-decade musical journey that's been nothing short of a dream fulfilled.
