Tyler Johnson
Ninelle Efremova
Tyler Johnson has spent countless hours in the studio helping artists including Sam Smith, Harry Styles and Cam find just the right mix of sounds. Now, the multi-talented singer/songwriter/producer is stepping out on his own for the first time with the hypnotic “Give Up on Me,” the first song from his upcoming debut solo project.
“I wrote ‘Give Up on Me’ over 3 years ago with my friend Sweet Talker and at the time, I didn’t have a publishing deal,” Johnson tells Billboard, which is premiering the song today (Jan. 18) ahead of its official Jan. 19 release. “Since then, I’ve been able to be part of projects I’m really proud of and I’ve gotten to work with a lot of talented creatives whom I respect. When we circled back on the conversation of putting this out, the timing just felt right and I’m excited for people to hear it.”
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The song rides a compelling mix of low-key beats, churchy keyboards and the kind of high and lonesome falsetto vocals that’s been a signature element of Johnson’s as part of producer Jeff Bhasker’s (Mark Ronson, Kanye West) killer’s row of studio wizards. The track slowly builds to the pleading chorus, on which Johnson sings, “Baby don’t you try to give up on me/ Know that you’re the life that’s inside my veins/ If you try to go, if I try to leave/ We’d be lyin/ Baby don’t you try to give up on me.”
In an earlier interview with Billboard, Johnson explained why he’s waited so long to unleash his own voice. “I see myself very much at the beginning part of my career — I’m 31 but I spent a lot of years building up and I just signed my first publishing deal two and a half years ago,” he says. “The Harry album was the second album that I’d ever really done. I feel like this is a good time for people who are interested in what I’m bringing to the table to say, ‘Oh, now I see what it is that he does.'”
At the time, he described the vibe of the songs from his first solo project as being “under-produced” and “a tad dark and brooding,” which makes perfect sense when you listen to the spare, soulful vibe he rides on “Give Up On Me.”
The song will be available on iTunes and stream on Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music starting Friday. Listen to it below.