User:Joseph A.A. (Singer)/sandbox

Joseph A.A. is an American singer-songwriter. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, he began singing at a very young age. Once he reached third grade, he began taking vocal and guitar lessons, where he began to perfect his craft. He is also a self-taught pianist and is known for his brutally honest, very personal catalog that touches home to many teenagers around the world.

Beginning with his debut single, "SEASONS" in December of 2020, Joseph was finally ready to take on his dream of being a singer-songwriter at only sixteen. He delivered two things few artists in his niche did: impeccable vocals and relatable songwriting. Over the course of the next three months, his vocals became even more incredibly strong, powerful, and unique, while being able to deliver immaculate low notes while still retaining his signature wide vocal range.

After returning from his three month hiatus in March of 2021, in which he spent working on his debut album, he released the first single, "self reflection" which soared as an emerging artist with over twenty-thousand streams in the first week. To this date, this single continues to be his most streamed/purchased. Many people were surprised as to why "SEASONS" was not announced as the first single to his debut LP, but Joseph explained how the song simply "just didn't fit the mood.”

The second single to the LP was released three months later, in which it had been titled, "solstice.” This fun, upbeat early summer song proved that Joseph wasn't just another artist who sings about breakups and heartbreak. He was really reaching for the stars while trying to prove himself in the industry. However, at the same time, he was still maintaining that fine balance of relatability for teenagers and young adults everywhere.

Then came the debut album, “HALCYON,” announced just five days after the release of “solstice.” The artwork, a blurred image of Joseph staring into the sun on a summer day wearing a burgundy t-shirt, is nothing short of brilliance. The record was completely composed in isolation during the Coronavirus pandemic, and Joseph explains how the artwork can be interpreted in many ways. “You know, it was a really weird time with the world’s current state as I was making the album, and everything just felt blurry and hazy. But then I thought deeper into being a teenager and what that’s like, and I realized it’s pretty much the exact same way — blurry and hazy. I knew who my audience was going to be going into this and I knew that the backstory was relatable to most teenagers out there who are finishing high school or just got out of it and are totally lost of where to go in life. Everything’s just blurry.”

This record, opening with the blood rushing pop-punk anthem, “tired.,” which bears tones of Paramore and Olivia Rodrigo’s “brutal,” explores the angst and wit of a rising teenager star. It’s remarkably interesting to see how the track is stylized with a period after the title, furthermore proving that he is done with the specified situation, or ending the conversation. Already, at only seventeen, his lyricism could be mistaken for that of a songwriting giant — that’s how great of a niche his storytelling truly is.

Overall, angry, annoyed, revengeful, bittersweet, and melancholic are just a few words to describe Joseph’s debut LP, and there’s only one way up from here. Getting brutally honest on tracks like “false hope” where he explains all of his fears and doubts about the music industry, he has truly proven with his musical debut that he’s here to stay. It’s also an interesting switch-up going from the all-capitalized style of “SEASONS” to the lowercased track listing on “HALCYON” — an interesting, but clearly affective aesthetic tactic that is sticking like glue.

Since releasing “HALCYON,” Joseph released “double homicide”, the bonus track that was meant for the record but never made the final cut. He also dropped sister Christmas songs, “evergreen” and “sweatshirt,” which have polar opposite storylines, rhythms, and even genres (“evergreen” being listed as alternative whereas “sweatshirt” is listed as pop). However, somehow they still feel like long-lost siblings — almost as if there is a song for both your happy and sad emotions.

The most recent and prominent musical drop by Joseph is one that he announced just shy of three weeks from its December 18, 2021 release date. On November 29, he announced that he re-recorded his debut 2020 single, “SEASONS” and that it would release on the one year anniversary of the original (“SEASONS” released globally on December 18, 2020 but didn’t hit streaming platforms until December 24). There was no particular reason that Joseph decided to remake the track, except that he claimed he “knew he could do better.” And that he did. While the original single was strong on its own, the remastered version really shines on his matured vocals and vocal capabilities — and all of that progress happened in exactly a single year.

It is clearly evident that mainstream pop is Joseph’s strong suit, but he it’s very important to note that he tackled pop-punk on tracks like “innocent” and “tired.” along with touches of alternative-pop on tracks like “london fog” and “evergreen.” No matter which genre route he plans on taking with his next project, it’s obvious that he is going to dominate the project with somehow even more potential.

~Mark Thunderwall