“I stood on stage with people I grew up listening to, like Macy Gray and Michael Bolton. I never thought I would meet these people.”
Kansas City pop star Broderick Jones says he never saw himself making music.
Jones’ career in the entertainment biz didn’t start with singing. His first gigs were as a hip-hop hype man. As a high schooler working for rapper Rashiyd Ashon, Jones opened up for Mac Miller, Vanilla Ice and Machine Gun Kelly. However, when Ashon needed someone to sing a song for a performance, Jones figured he’d give it a try.
“It was the beginning of high school and I was a little nerd,” Jones says. “Justin Bieber was really popular and I wanted all the girls to love me.”
Jones spent the next few years under the radar, honing his skills as a singer, before releasing his first single in 2014. By 2016, he had a viral hit: a Pokémon Ü remix.
The viral hit came about when a German producer, who goes by the name it’sDifferent, reached out to Jones about tracking vocals on the remix. Jones was hesitant to take on the project at first, despite loving the game, but he ultimately did. Released on the precipice of the launch of the mobile game Pokémon Go, the remix got over a million views on YouTube in 24 hours.
In 2018, Jones made the move to LA to continue to pursue his career.
Last year, Jones’ music saw an even wider reach. Representing his home state of Kansas, the singer-songwriter was selected out of a hundred artists to compete in NBC’s American Song Contest—a show with judges Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson based on the international Eurovision Song Contest. While on the show, Jones made it to the finals performing his original music. He particularly enjoyed overseeing the artistic vision for his performances—handpicking dancers, costumes and more.
“I stood on stage with people I grew up listening to, like Macy Gray and Michael Bolton,” Jones says. “I never thought I would meet these people.”
Jones’ original music melds R&B and hip-hop, and lately, he finds himself heavily influenced by Motown, as heard in the rich vocal stacks on his most recent EP, Hope Youre Listening [sic]. The recording was released last year, around the same time the singer moved back to his hometown of Olathe.
Since returning home, Jones has been reconnecting with KC’s music scene, including a performance at Boulevardia this past summer. Now, the singer is eagerly working on a Christmas album—set to release on Nov. 4—that will feature a mix of original songs and classic holiday tunes. In terms of style, Jones is trying to make sure he doesn’t feel confined by conventions.
“If it feels good, it feels good,” Jones says. “It doesn’t have to be by the books.”
