JC Stewart is taking 2025 by storm. He’s a newly independent artist who will release his new EP and go on tour.
The singer-songwriter from Derry has been working in the industry for a decade but really hit the mainstream when Jennifer Aniston reshared his parody version of the Friends’ theme song in 2020.
He’s written songs with Niall Horan and Lewis Capaldi and toured with the likes of Anne-Marie. This year, he’s looking to put himself on the map. While his songs may not be the most upbeat tunes, JC couldn’t be more chatty and friendly when VIP Magazine speaks to him…
“We just love the misery,” we joke as we chat about his love of heartbreak songs, but it’s time for a new angle. It’s time for a new JC Stewart…
Tell us a bit about your new single, Tomorrow.
This one’s a slight departure for me in that it’s a happy, upbeat song, and I never do that. It started a couple of years ago with a few friends. We wanted to go to the pub, but I had to go to work. So, I wrote a song about wanting to go to the pub with my friends. If I was going to put together a body of work that represents me, I just had to include that. When I was growing up, I loved indie bands like Two Door Cinema Club, Twin Atlantic, Biffy Clyro, and Snow Patrol. Although I never explored their upbeat sound, I wanted to incorporate it into my live shows, so I thought, “Let’s have a crack at it.”
2025 is going to be a busy year for you, you’re heading on tour…
I’m an independent artist now, and I want to do all the things I never did. I’m going to play a load of pubs around Ireland, which is something I didn’t expect. I’ll be going to places I’ve never been before. I never thought I’d be playing a gig in Donegal, but here we are.
Where do you get your inspiration from for your music?
I write music every day, whether it’s for me, for other artists, or for different projects. Inspiration kind of comes from everywhere, it’s just life. I think everybody can write something if they just stop and give themselves a minute to think, “What am I feeling today?” You’ll find something to write about. Also, other people’s stories, I think to myself, “I’m definitely going to steal that for a song.” So it really
comes from anywhere and everywhere, and it’s about being open to it.
Ireland is a great place for music. Did you always think you were going to be a musician when you were little?
No, not at all. It was only when I was 16 or 17 that I got into music. My first dream was to be a professional rugby player, but that didn’t work out due to my severe lack of any natural ability to play rugby. Then music came along. It was a lot of local music, especially in Northern Ireland, that got me into it. Then bands like Kodaline, Snow Patrol, Van Morrison, and Foy Vance came along. They talked like me, said the same things as me, and they were singing them, I clicked with that quite quickly.
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Who did you listen to growing up?
It started with Busted, that was definitely my prime. Then, as I got older and my frontal lobe started developing, I listened to a lot of different stuff: Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, American bands, a lot of pop as well, bands like The Script. Really, it was a bit of everything. I loved the writing behind any genre, if I connected to the song, it didn’t matter what it sounded like. Charlie from Busted even put up a cover of one of my songs.
Who is your biggest musical inspiration?
It’s a tough question, but I think Foy Vance. I was actually lucky enough to write with him. I just love how, when he writes his own stuff, it sounds unequivocally like him, but when he writes for other people, it sounds completely different.
What was your first gig?
This isn’t making me the cool, mysterious person I want to be, but my mam took me to see Ronan Keating in Belfast, and that was an experience. I think my second gig was X Factor Live.
What is an album that shaped you?
Paolo Nutini’s Caustic Love. That was a big album for me. It came out in 2014, and it kind of shaped what I wanted to do.
What is the best concert or gig you’ve been to?
It’s quite niche, but a Northern Irish band called And So I Watch You From Afar. Either that or I saw Hozier last summer in Nashville, which was incredible. Hozier is the official answer, but And So I Watch You From Afar is the cool answer.
Were you in Nashville for music?
Yeah, I’m quite lucky, I go to Nashville a lot and work with other artists, which is one of my favourite things to do. I spend a month or two there every year and try not to buy a cowboy hat every single time.
Is there an artist you worked with where you couldn’t believe it was happening?
I got to work with Tom Odell a couple of years ago for 2-3 weeks. That was, to this day, one of the best things I’ve ever done. His first album is one of my favourites ever, and his new stuff is unbelievable.
What are your biggest ‘pinch me’ moments?
There have been a few. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to be nominated for an MTV EMA award. I got to go to the ceremony in Budapest and hang with musicians, that was incredible. Also, getting to play a show at Limelight in Belfast, my hometown. It was the first show back in years. I did a song about my hometown, and hearing 700 people sing every word was amazing.
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What is a song you never get sick of listening to?
This is a really rogue answer, but Sam Smith’s Unholy is a banger. It’s not the music I usually listen to, but that song does something to me. Either that or Taste by Sabrina Carpenter. My shower song is all the pop songs at the minute.
What has been your biggest achievement so far?
Honestly, getting to release this music has been a big achievement. It hasn’t been easy to get this out. I dropped my major label a few years ago, and being able to come back, write more stuff, finish it, and get it out, I’m really proud of that because it was a proper graft to get here.
If you could go back to when you started your music career, what would you tell yourself?
I would just say, “Do whatever you want to do.” It’s easy to think about what other people want you to be or what you should be. Just be yourself and lean into it. Who cares what other people think? As long as you’re enjoying it and some people are connecting to the music, you don’t have to win over the whole world.
Is it hard knowing that when you write a song, it’s about you and going out to the world?
Yeah, for sure. I’m still embarrassed about some of the things I’ve released. Not because I don’t like them, but because they’re personal. One song, Hey Babe, I’m A Mess, I’m Sorry, I put out, and I was instantly like, “I can’t believe I’ve done that.” But that’s part of being an artist, you have to push yourself and sometimes be scared a little bit.
What is on your bucket list?
I want to sell out a big outdoor show in Belfast. I want to do a collab with a massive artist I love, I don’t know who yet. And maybe swim with a turtle.
If you could collab with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
Dolly Parton would be quite fun and rogue. Or Tom Waits, but nobody would come out of that show happy. Pure depression.
What are your plans for 2025?
I’m going to America to play shows in new places, playing festivals, and writing new music. That should keep me busy until December.
What is the reception like in America for Irish artists?
It’s amazing. I could list so many Irish artists who are doing so well in America. Irish culture is just really trendy right now,
and they find it authentic, which it is.
Rising Irish singer-songwriter JC Stewart returns with his new single, Tomorrow, which is part of a 5 track EP that also includes his most recent releases: Hey Babe, I’m A Mess, I’m Sorry, Waste, Can’t Stop and BT45. JC will embark on another set of headline dates in March and April across Ireland, Spain, Finland and Poland. Listen to Tomorrow here.