Reading that first line, you may still be a little disturbed by the beautiful intense blue eyes staring at you. If it can reassure you, we were bewitched by Joonas just at the sight of those photos, and even before listening to his song! There is indeed a lot going on in this look. A vulnerability, a fragility, and an emotional intensity that shines through as soon as you immerse yourself in this azure blue. And that is confirmed by listening to the song.

"Live a Little (Gold)" is his latest single, released on April 7th. Quite far from his generally more pop repertoire, this song intelligently mixes pop sounds with a few touches of folk from its acoustic side.

Vocally, you might think of great sensitive singers like Ed Sheeran or Shawn Mendes, but with a bit more power, and ease in the high notes. And besides, it's in the chorus that a high and powerful note stuck with us with our mouths wide open. What vocal ease! It is almost disconcerting! But wait for the bridge if you like high notes.

It is often said on IMC that Scandinavian artists have an innate gift for creating very powerful emotional songs, and this is confirmed once again with Joonas, who was born in Norway but now based in London.

Regarding the songwriting, it's very clean and worked down to the smallest detail to be able to enter your brain with a perfectly mastered art of metaphor. Easy to remember, the lyrics are also very relatable, and are surprisingly mature. If you happen to wander off in thought while others are having fun, you've come to the right place, as Joonas explains:

"It's a song for when you are young and free, but awake at night, overthinking; a song for when think you love partying, but then you sneak away to smoke a cigarette on the roof. It's a song for when you are heartbroken but you can't fully understand why. Intimate, folky, dreamy and painful, but most of all honest - something I've never really been before".

And that's good! Because honesty is precisely what shines through in his most sincere interpretation, alternating restraint and power in a perfect balance of juggling.

No bad pun on its title, this song is truly gold. And Joonas is one of the artists we are most proud to have discovered this year on IMC. What a terrific artist!

Reach out to Joonas