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 three-years-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 Award-winner’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.”