Just 14-years-old, Brooklyn-based R&B singer Jovanie is already establishing
himself as a major new talent with a timeless sensibility and unforgettably fresh
feel. Also a naturally skilled artist whose graceful moves amp up the magnetic
power of his performance, the double-threat R&B phenom is set to make his
Atlantic Records debut with the feel-good jam-packed mixtape What’s the Move
Pt. II. As heard on his unstoppable premiere single “Whip!”, Jovanie shows off his
warm and soulful vocals while delivering a super-smooth flow, proving he more
than knows his way around a powerfully catchy beat.
Growing up in a family of ten in East Flatbush, raised on the R&B artists his mom
constantly played at home, Jovanie first started singing when he was only threeyears-old. “We used to play this game where we’d all get in a circle and take
turns singing, and I’d always be the first one out,” Jovanie recalls. “So I kept
practicing and practicing because I wanted to win — and I guess I got better,
because after a while they told me I was so good I had to stop playing and be the
judge.” Later on, when he was seven, Jovanie took his first shot at singing for
people outside his family. “My sister would have me sing cover songs for her
friends, and then her friends would ask me to come sing at their family’s house,”
says Jovanie, who lists Michael Jackson, Usher, and B5 among the artists whose
songs he most loved to perform as a kid. “I’d get so scared I had to keep my
eyes closed, but I think all that helped make me a better singer.”
As he worked on developing his vocals, Jovanie eventually added dancing to his
repertoire, learning choreography with the help of his older brother and by
studying YouTube videos of dancers he admired. “My dancing’s inspired by
Michael Jackson, and through learning about him I found out that he was inspired
by Fred Astaire — so then I watched a lot of videos of Fred Astaire too,” he says.
In cultivating his overall artistry, Jovanie’s taken a similar approach to mining his
musical influences. “Learning about different artists and the history behind what
they do is really important,” he says. “When I first started out I was inspired by
Justin Bieber, because he showed me that it doesn’t matter how young you are,
as long as you work hard enough. Then I found out that he was inspired by
Usher, and Usher was inspired by Michael Jackson, and Michael Jackson was
inspired by James Brown. So I started learning about all those different artists,
and because of that my tastes have really expanded over the years.”
At age ten, after a chance meeting with a New York-based music manager,
Jovanie moved forward with his singing and dancing and began performing in
schools around New York. “I was still really nervous singing for an audience and I
still get nervous now,” he says. “But after a while I realized it’s not about getting
over it, because it’s a natural thing. If you’re nervous, it just means that you care
and want to do your best.” Thanks in part to video posts on Instagram — where
Jovanie would share clips of himself singing — he steadily built up a serious
social-media presence that now includes a great deal of Instagram followers.
Then, with the 2013 release of his original song “Heartbreaker,” Jovanie found
his way into the spotlight when the track achieved major viral success. By the
end of 2013, he’d joined Ne-Yo as a special guest on the Grammy Awardwinner’s annual Giving Tour, a four-city stint that prompted Ne-Yo to praise
Jovanie as “an incredible artist on the rise.”
Soon after landing his deal with Atlantic Records, Jovanie headed into the studio
in Los Angeles to start working on What’s the Move Pt. II. Made in collaboration
with such first-rate producers as the Featherstones (Trey Songz, Wiz Khalifa),
the mixtape affirms Jovanie’s uncommon versatility as he shifts from the sweet
yet swaggering “Whip!” to the beat-heavy, dance-ready “What’s the Move” to the
lovesick and shimmering “Ooh Girl.” “What I love most about the mixtape is
there’s all these different flavors, different beats, different feelings,” says Jovanie.
“I get to be different characters and try different things and in the end it all fits as
one really cool story!”
In the midst of making What’s the Move Pt. II, Jovanie also took time out to star
in the deeply affecting video for Wale’s “The White Shoes,” revealing his acting
chops and adding a whole other element to his undeniable appeal.
As he gears up for the release of What’s the Move Pt. II, Jovanie’s looking
forward to taking the stage and offering up a performance that shows the full
force of his charisma as an all-around entertainer. “I love being in the studio,
getting in the booth, getting in the zone — but I also love being right there and
seeing the reaction in the audience when I’m singing and dancing,” he says.
“Music’s like my getaway, and I just try to give it my all and show everyone how
much I love what I’m doing.”