d4vd Talks Touring With SZA, Connecting With His Fan Through His Music & More

2 years ago

d4vd talks about his music journey through his two EPs, connecting with fans through his music, going on tour with SZA, how he feels about his rapidly growing music career, and more!

Transcript

00:00 I was like at a press conference,

00:01 everybody had their phones,

00:02 we were playing the same clip,

00:03 and it was like SZA sitting down saying,

00:05 "The D4 emo music guy."

00:07 I was like, "That's me, that's me,

00:08 "he's talking about me."

00:09 It was so fire.

00:11 Hey everybody, I'm David,

00:12 and you're watching Billboard News.

00:14 (upbeat music)

00:16 - Hey, I'm Lindsay Havens for Billboard News,

00:22 and we are here with genre-agnostic, I'm gonna say,

00:25 singer-songwriter David.

00:27 - Hello. - It's so good to have you here.

00:28 - Thank you for having me.

00:29 ♪ I gave her a long eight, ten days ♪

00:34 ♪ I used to say that our love ain't real ♪

00:39 ♪ In the back of my mind ♪

00:42 ♪ You died ♪

00:45 - You have been on quite the run this year.

00:47 - Quite the sprint.

00:49 - The sprint, that's a better word.

00:50 So if you think about it, just a few years ago,

00:53 I'm picturing you recording vocals

00:54 in your sister's walk-in closet,

00:56 and this year alone, sold-out tour, two EPs.

01:00 If you had to describe what 2023 has been like for you,

01:03 how could you put it into words?

01:04 - Absolutely blessed rollercoaster.

01:06 - Yeah. - Like,

01:07 front row seat on a rollercoaster, honestly,

01:09 and it goes this way, it goes that way,

01:11 it goes every which way.

01:12 It's honestly just been a wild ride,

01:14 let's just, let's not explain it.

01:15 - Has there been one moment

01:17 that has surprised you the most?

01:19 - SZA tour, honestly.

01:20 - Yeah. - Honestly, it was like

01:22 months and months of seeing her to this moment,

01:26 and I was just completely star-struck.

01:28 It wasn't even real to me when I heard the news.

01:31 - How did you find out?

01:32 - My manager called me.

01:33 - Okay. - He was like,

01:34 "Yo, I think we got it."

01:35 I was like, "Wait, what?"

01:37 And then I instantly, I went and I was like,

01:39 posted, I was like, "What is the caption?

01:40 "What do I caption this?"

01:41 I posted a flyer with the caption,

01:43 and the fans went crazy.

01:45 I was like, "Oh my goodness, this is a moment."

01:47 ♪ 'Cause every time the sun comes up ♪

01:51 ♪ I start feeling worthless ♪

01:54 - Let's talk about your music.

01:55 Two EPs this year, which is crazy.

01:58 So, debut, "Petals to Thorns."

02:00 How did you celebrate the release of that?

02:02 - I was streaming.

02:03 (laughing)

02:04 I streamed it.

02:05 Yeah, I'm super big in gaming,

02:06 super big in streaming and all that.

02:08 So I was like, "Let me get on Discord.

02:10 "Let me invite 100 people in Discord

02:12 "and get on video call,

02:13 "and let's all listen to it together."

02:15 And I listened to it with my gaming friends

02:17 and fans of the music,

02:18 and I celebrated it as a community.

02:20 It's the first project I ever put out,

02:22 first body of work.

02:23 I wanted it to feel very special,

02:24 and it was a collaborative effort.

02:26 Team, the listeners, the Fortnite, everything.

02:30 It just came full circle.

02:31 ♪ I use your picture as a band-aid ♪

02:34 ♪ To cover every single hurt and place ♪

02:37 - So then the second EP came out, "The Lost Petals,"

02:40 which sonically feels like in the same realm

02:43 as your debut EP.

02:43 So what made you wanna stick with that for a minute?

02:46 - Originally, the idea was to leave the songs

02:51 off of the first project so it didn't feel too much.

02:54 So "The Lost Petals" is basically the songs

02:55 that didn't make it on the first project.

02:57 So that's why I feel it's like a continuation.

02:59 I feel like the bridge was a cliffhanger,

03:01 and I just finished that story with this,

03:03 and now we're changing the chapter,

03:05 moving on to the next chapter

03:07 of this whole story, book, or whatever.

03:10 I'm writing it as I go.

03:11 - Yeah, you kinda have to,

03:13 as fast as it's happening for you.

03:14 - Who knows what's gonna come next, to be honest.

03:16 I don't even know what's gonna come next.

03:17 - What would you want to come next?

03:19 - I wanted it to be a movie.

03:20 This was like, you know, a cartoon.

03:23 Maybe we'll TV show first, then we'll go movie.

03:25 Super cinematic.

03:26 ♪ You're here with me ♪

03:29 - Do you think that there will be more EPs

03:34 before we get hit with a debut album?

03:36 Have those conversations happened?

03:38 - Who even knows?

03:39 It depends, I mean, I have so much music.

03:41 There's so many opportunities to just put it all out.

03:45 And being genre-less, like you just stated,

03:48 there's areas for everything.

03:49 There's things for every fan, every listener.

03:52 So it just depends on what they want.

03:53 I just, you know, I feed the fans.

03:55 So if they ask for it, I'll give it, yeah.

03:57 - And I mean, it's amazing, like you said,

03:58 starting in the gaming world,

03:59 like you have such a direct relationship with them

04:02 that if they want something, you'll know.

04:03 - Exactly, exactly, don't tell me, exactly.

04:05 - Have you, on your own shows,

04:06 looked out into the crowd and seen people crying?

04:08 - Yes.

04:09 - What's that like for you?

04:10 - It's usually like the first four people

04:11 in the front row every time, which is really strange.

04:14 - Those are the people that get there early.

04:16 - Yeah, it's been consistent, and it's like,

04:17 oh my goodness, I try my best to sing to them

04:20 and make it the best experience that they can

04:22 because some of those kids, it's their first concert.

04:24 And I'm surprised that it's my concert

04:25 that they're going to first.

04:27 So I try to make everybody feel as important

04:29 as they need to be, and it's insane.

04:31 - The other thing that I love is you bring out your sister.

04:33 - I do.

04:34 - Which is very moving.

04:36 - Say thank you for being here with me.

04:37 - Thank you for being here.

04:40 - Do you think that she, has she told you

04:41 if she wants to follow in your footsteps?

04:43 - She has. - To be a performer?

04:44 - Yeah, she said she wants to call herself David, too.

04:47 She said that's her artist name.

04:49 And I-- - What did you say to that?

04:50 - I said, okay, 'cause I don't want to get

04:53 my studio taken away.

04:54 I need her closet, so I'm not gonna--

04:55 - That's true. - Whatever I can do

04:56 to make her happy, I'm gonna keep her happy.

04:57 - Keep her happy. - Exactly.

04:58 - And then when you think about going forward

05:00 into your career, what is the bucket list item

05:02 that is top of mind for you?

05:04 - I want to make the best music possible.

05:06 I just want to keep growing as an artist.

05:08 I want to tell great stories.

05:10 I feel like that's the art that's kind of lost

05:12 in music right now, especially with new artists

05:14 and stuff like that.

05:15 I want to just tell a great story that people

05:17 of every background can kind of latch onto and relate to.

05:21 - Yeah. - And just have my music

05:22 connect to so many people.

05:24 It doesn't matter what genre it is,

05:25 where you come from, who you are.

05:27 Like, something will touch you.

05:29 - Thank you so much for coming by today.

05:30 - Thanks. - And we'll catch you

05:31 on tour with SZA. - Yes.

05:32 - Can't wait. - Can't wait.

05:34 (upbeat music)

d4vd Talks Touring With SZA, Connecting With His Fan Through His Music & More | Billboard News

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