JP Saxe: If The World Was Ending - feat. Evaluna Montaner
The Toronto pop songsmith’s huge hit is given a Spanglish makeover in charming fashion.
By Kerry Doole
JP Saxe: If The World Was Ending - feat. Evaluna Montaner (Arista): Toronto-born, Los Angeles-based pop singer-songwriter JP Saxe has broken big via the hit single If The World Was Ending, a tune featuring Grammy-nominated US singer Julia Michaels.
The song comes from Saxe’s recent Arista Records EP, Hold It Together, and currently, the original version (produced by Billie Eilish hitmaker Finneas) has over 350 million streams across all platforms, 70 million views of the official music video on YouTube and was certified gold in the U.S. and platinum in Canada. The track is currently charting in the top 15 at three radio formats in Canada, Top 40, Hot AC, and AC.
Not content with those heady stats, Saxe is seeking further mileage from the song with this brand new bilingual version, featuring Venezuelan singer/actress, Evaluna Montaner. Alongside the new duet is an emotive visual starring both JP and Evaluna on split-screen in their respective homes.
As with the original version, this rendition is a poignant piano ballad. Saxe and Montaner alternately sing the first two verses, then join in sweet harmony. Montaner’s voice is easy on the ear, reaffirming that Spanish really is the loving tongue.
In a label press release, Saxe explains “The first time I heard Evaluna singing her part in Spanish, I got teary. I love the new life she brought into it and I’m so excited for more people to connect with this song that I love so much.”
Says Evaluna, “This has been my favourite song since it came out. Singing it with JP whom I admire so much, in this new Spanglish version, is the biggest blessing. Yes, I cried when I recorded my part. I hope it makes everyone feel what I feel when I sing it.”
Of note: the title of the track is certainly timely, but Saxe wrote it pre-pandemic.
Over the past year, Saxe toured with Noah Kahan and Jeremy Zucker and supported Lennon Stella on her European tour. In January he had a sold-out show at Toronto's Drake Underground at which he was surprised with a Canadian platinum plaque by Sony Music Canada for the hit single.
Aya NakamuraMarion Gomez/Billboard France