Pop artist Rhian! released his holiday single ‘Be My Baby This Christmas’ on 25th November 2022. The track follows his highly successful debut single “I Need Your Love” released this June that peaked at number 21 on the UK iTunes Pop Chart. The singer is the two-time silver medalist at the World Championships of Performing Arts in California and played at 12 sold-out shows in Shanghai in 2019. Produced by Rhian! in collaboration with Massimo Braghieri and recorded at Intonoise Studio in London, ‘Be My Baby This Christmas’ is 2022’s freshest holiday anthem, equipped with sleigh bells and shakers and boasting catchy and memorable lyrics that will get you straight into the Christmas spirit. Music News caught up with Rhian! To find out more…
Hi Rhian! How are you? I’m wonderful. Christmas time is my favourite time of year.
Tell us about your latest release ‘Be My Baby This Christmas’? Because I love Christmas so much I wanted to create something that has a timeless feel to it. Christmas is a very reflective time so I looked back at all the moments from my childhood up to today for inspiration.
I also acknowledge that Christmas can be a lonely time for many people. The core of the lyrics are rooted in that yearning for love.
The music video is very festive and perfect for the upcoming holiday season, tell us about the filming of this video. Filming this video was so much fun. It all came together at the very last minute in a mad rush. I wanted to capture the beauty of the London Christmas lights at night in all its glory but also threw in a little festive performance equipped with a snow machine and drag queens.
What drew you in to make a Christmas song and it would be great to know what Christmas means to you? I actually wasn’t planning on writing a Christmas song at all but the idea came to me and I feel like my songs are my babies. This baby came and I couldn’t send them back. Looking back at my voice notes, the chorus came to me back in June. I was walking in the street and I started humming this melody and I thought “Oh! This is Christmasy!” I hummed it into my phone there and then.
Flash forward to the end of September. I was asleep and someone rang the doorbell around 1am and it work me up. Something about the tone of the doorbell reminded me of the melody I hummed into my phone back in June. I never answered the door but I started singing and I completed the melody and all the lyrics that night as well as arranging the background vocals. I had a studio session booked the next day to record another song that I still haven’t recorded (haha). Be My Baby This Christmas took precedence as I felt and feel it’s so special that it had to be released this year.
Christmas is very special to me. To quote my own song, “It’s a festive time of year when friends and loved ones gather near.” It’s a time of coming together and putting differences aside.
The song has a very classic pop sound to it, tell us about the creative process behind it. Harkening back to what I mentioned before, I wanted to create something classic so I looked back at all the Christmas songs and memories that I loved for inspiration when it came to the production. Think Phil Spector’s Christmas album or all of the great Motown Christmas songs. I love that sound. The nostalgia and feelings they bring are incredible. I arranged and recorded all of the vocal parts myself. In the last chorus, there are 16 Rhian!’s singing.
Talk to us about your influences as an artist. Growing up my influences were Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. I still look up to them. I’m also very influenced by my environment and what’s going on around me. I write from my heart.
You won two silver medals at The World Championships of Performing Arts in California and played sold-out shows in Shanghai. These are very impressive. Could you speak more about these great moments? Going to LA was such an amazing experience. Not only being there but the lead up to going there. I was selected to represent Trinidad and Tobago at the World Championships of Performing Arts. I held a fundraising concert at my local church to get me there. The support I received from my local community was amazing. The show was sold out with extra tickets/seating added. I hold that moment close to my heart.
When I got to LA, I sang my heart out and made friends for life.
People always ask me. Why’d you move to Shanghai? One word…Adventure! I sang my own rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” at an open mic night and that snowballed into me getting a gig at the prestigious Pearl Theatre in Shanghai. I formed a relationship with the resident band and performed sold out shows covering the music of Queen, Prince and my favourite Michael Jackson. I really learned a lot about myself and honed in my stage craft there. I’ll cherish those moments forever.
What can we expect from you next? Just finished recording a disco/house remix of Be My Baby This Christmas with brand new vocals. Taking it to the club.
I’m also almost finished recording my debut EP, “The Real Rhian! Volume 1.” I’d like to release it in the spring of 2023. I can’t wait for everyone to hear these songs. I would like to do more live shows and festivals next year. So watch this space… Rhian! could be coming to a city near you.
