Universal language pop artist vaultboy utilizes touches the hearts of many and creates music for what it is meant for — expression. Rising to stardom from his viral debut single, “everything sucks,” the self-producing artist now travels from continent to continent performing his colorful discography in front of hundreds. In an exclusive Zoom interview with EnVi, vaultboy shared details on his debut album, ingraining authenticity in his music, and soundtracking the lives of listeners.

everything, everywhere with vaultboy

Embarking on his multi-city global tour, the everything and nothing tour marks one of the most impactful moments in the pop artist’s career. Currently performing in cities for the United Kingdom and Europe, vaultboy’s headliner is scheduled to be in Australia and Asia (from June 6 to June 14) and concludes in the U.S. (from October 3 to November 15). Having achieved such an impactful milestone in his musical career, vaultboy couldn’t contain his smile at the mention of his tour. He expressed his disbelief and excitement toward the major event, saying, “Most of the wild things that have happened to me since I started my career as vaultboy don’t really feel like they’re happening, until I’m there actually doing it. It feels super cool! I’m a bit nervous, but I’ve got a great team, and we’re getting everything sorted. So it’s gonna be great!”

When it came down to the inspiration behind his debut album, everything and nothing, the artist confessed to initially creating another album he ended up never releasing. This ultimately resulted in a bundle of unpublished songs. After the event, vaultboy had a shift in his expression and began to compose much darker themed songs. Traditionally known for his pop infused tracks, such as “everything sucks” and “rocket science,” and soft ballads, such as “i wish u knew” and “way after forever,” vaultboy detached himself from the familiar and headed a different creative direction with his new project. “I wanted to make an album [where] I can express both of these parts of myself. Before I came up with the name of the album, I ended up just kind of coming up with the concept of an album that’s built around the idea of duality. The first half of the album holds happier and lighter-sounding songs while the second half holds a bit darker-themed songs.”

Everything and nothing embodies the pleasures and discontents brought by one’s emotions as it delves into the light and dark of human life. The album serves itself as a form of self-exploration and a time of reflection. Each track possesses varying emotional turmoils and complexities experienced by the ordinary man. From the pleasures of love to the pain of heartbreak, the dark, energetic pop songs speak to the human psyche. With tracks like “this is heaven, this is hell” and “hello, goodbye,” vaultboy plays with the concept of light and dark in hopes to show a new side of his artistic style. Curious about his description on the album, EnVi asked vaultboy to describe his album with one word. Vaultboy pondered for a while before a smile crept on his face before he cleverly delivered his answer, “I’m gonna have to say everything!”

Getting closer with vaultboy

Discovering what makes his music distinct from others is an exploration vaultboy has been on for a long while. Through the production of his debut album, vaultboy contemplated his discography’s color and attempted to create an exclusive vaultboy sound . The artist strayed away from using any form of references and went into the studio with one goal: “I really wanted to make music that, when people listened, they [would] respond [with] ‘That sounds like a vaultboy song.’ I’m not quite sure how I would describe what a vaultboy song is. I’m the common denominator, I suppose! Art is such a weird thing to perceive after you make it.”

Despite his ongoing quest to find his musical identity, vaultboy’s music continues to receive love and admiration amongst the public. Accumulating over 200 million streams on his debut single “everything sucks” and amassing over five million followers across all of his social media platforms, the young artist shows impact through numbers and music by way of his lyrical narratives and hooking melodies. Vaultboy believes that loyalty and being honest in his songs play a major role in these tracks’ relatability and authenticity. He acknowledges the majority of feedback he received condemns his ability to produce relatable pieces in both writing and sound production. “The song could be about something that happened to me or it could be a story I made up, but it’s going to be a really authentic and honest take and experience for whatever that emotion is. The songs that are a little more distant from that honesty I feel like don’t even connect with as much, so I can’t expect anyone else too,” said vaultboy.

Vaultboy has always been the conductor of his own sound from the start. Raised in Jacksonville, Florida, the young visionary dreamed of producing his own music. As he participated in multiple projects in school and made his debut as folk singer-songwriter Jeremiah Daly, the artist honed his craft throughout his youth until he finally made his official pop debut as vaultboy. Having experienced a separate music persona from the one he abides to now, vaultboy confessed the tribulations he had faced, as he transitioned from folk  to pop.

“Ironically, folk music is so big right now. I’m actually a little salty about it because when I was doing it, it was a bit underground,” vaultboy said, chuckling at the realization, “I kind of gave up being an artist for a second there. I’ve made a couple albums, and I thought to myself, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’ My mental health started declining, and I did the classic, ‘If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it’s meant to be.’ And gave it up.” But what goes around comes around, and eventually he began to pick up writing again, finding his love for the pop genre and dreams to become an artist again.

Photo courtesy of Cody Austin.

For the pop singer, his exposure to the folk scene had led him into the pool of sounds in pop. “Ironically in folk music, I think the way to be a great artist is lyricism more than it is the sounds of the production. Generally speaking, [folk] keeps a much smaller box for how a song will sound in folk,” vaultboy said. He confessed the thrill of exploring different ways to produce genre-bending sounds in the realm of traditional pop and molding it into a new pop sound. He added, “I feel like I have a little bit more of an empty page when I’m making a song nowadays. I still care a lot about lyrics, but I also care a lot about every part of the song. I really want it to sound good and I want it to make you feel a specific way. I feel like I have more freedom now.”

Connecting With Sound, Words, and Voice

Being a big fan of video game franchises and anime series, vaultboy can’t deny his musical inspirations stemming from impressive game and anime series soundtracks. “The video game The Witcher 3 soundtrack is one of the best soundtracks of all time. [I] still listen to it!” he told EnVi. He also voiced his love for recent hit songs, such as the new Mashle opening theme, “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” by Creepy Nuts, and anime fan-favorite, “SPECIALZ” by King Gnu, which launched Jujutsu Kaisen to new heights last year. “Anime… I’m not sure if I’ve necessarily been directly inspired by any of it, but the music is so good in so many anime. I honestly feel like I’m so much of a big fan of anime that I’ve seen too much now, and I can’t remember anything — but I’ve seen so much!”

Looking toward the future, vaultboy hopes his music can make a positive impact in people’s lives and serve listeners during their times of need. “I want to make music for people that can be there for those people in darker times in their life or positive times in their lives. I just want to soundtrack people’s life a bit in the same way that my favorite artists do for me. I just want to make music that people really want to listen to, because it makes them feel good, and it makes them feel better than they did before they listened.”

Image courtesy of Mal Peterson.

Listen to vaultboy’s debut album, everything and nothing, on Spotify and Apple Music. Make sure to follow his social media accounts on X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Want more exclusive interviews? Check out our recent conversation with indie pop artist Rick Montegomery here!

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