Canada-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, Brooklyn Juliana, has released his first single of 2023 “Thinking About You,” today. With a music video coming soon, "Thinking About You" is a deeply personal and introspective song inspired by Brooklyn Juliana's own experiences and the communication challenges faced by his generation. Brooklyn not only showcases his powerful vocals on the track but also demonstrates his versatility as a musician by writing the music and playing the guitar. The single seamlessly combines elements of alternative and pop, with a catchy guitar groove and rich vocals that will undoubtedly resonate with a wide range of music lovers.

In a music landscape dominated by rock crossovers, the release of "Thinking About You" marks a new era for Brooklyn as he brings a fresh and relatable perspective, while also offering a warm and authentic story for his fans to connect with. While people might be expecting sterile, digital perfection as a holdover from his K-Pop days, Brooklyn delivers his affinity for all things analog in a warm and universal story for his fans to enjoy. Despite his rise to fame through viral TikTok videos, Brooklyn remains grounded and true to his artistic vision, emphasizing the analog warmth that permeates his music. With only 5 songs to his name, as of today, Brooklyn has amassed a dedicated fan following with millions of views and streams across social media and YouTube/Spotify.

Hashtag: The song has been out for a few days, how are you feeling now that it’s out in the open air?

Brooklyn: I'm feeling great. I think the one word that comes to mind is probably “relief." As someone who writes a lot of their own material, and just overall has a huge hand in the creative process, I tend to find myself in limbo, especially towards the end of the journey. And I work until someone takes it away from me. So to finally have it out there and hear how my fans are enjoying it, really just fills me with a sense of relief. And I get to say to myself, "Hey, you did alright."

Hashtag: Always so curious about why an artist would put a bit of dialogue/sound clip in their song. So, I want to know where the clip, in the beginning, is from and why you chose to put one in this song.

Brooklyn: The clip that's in the beginning of this song is from the movie, “Baby Driver,” which came out in 2017. It's one of my favorite movies — I love driving, I love action, I love analog things. And that movie has all that in a really cute love story. This song is about all those things, sans driving and crime, I suppose. But the character, “Baby” — he's in a huge transitional phase in that movie between crime and hopefully happiness for the rest of his life. He meets a girl in a diner that he thinks a lot about. I kind of imagined characters like that when I wrote the song, so that's why I decided to put that clip in the beginning.

Hashtag: As for the song itself, have to know, Who were you thinking about?

Brooklyn: If I’m being completely honest, I was thinking about my cat the entire time I wrote the song. She’s so beautiful and she was there with me the entire time I was writing and recording it.

Hashtag: In an older post you made on Instagram in regard to your grandfather’s passing, did you use any of his instruments for this song? If you did, did it feel like he was helping you in this song as well as future songs?

Brooklyn: Seeing someone great at music — especially when they're connected to a completely different era than I grew up with — really opened my ears and my eyes up to the notion of making music that might last a little longer than just a year — perhaps something a little more timeless. I didn't use his instruments on this record. However, where I recorded it was a place that belonged to him. This house is filled with a rich musical history and I feel like that’s really starting to make it into my new music

Hashtag: When it comes to sitting down and writing anything, what do you do to get yourself in that mindset? Are there any rituals like putting on a favorite artist’s music, setting a timer for a designated time, etc?

Brooklyn: I love listening to my favorite artists. A lot of people would be surprised to hear what I listen to. It's not what a lot of people expect because they think, "Oh my gosh, you're just a pop artist, Brooklyn, and so, therefore, you must listen to a lot of pop music.” Truthfully, I listen to a lot of classical music, movie soundtracks, and even some Japanese rock. So that's the first thing I do — I listen to songs that I think have really impacted me. And then another one of my rituals — and this is a really big one for me — is spending some quality time with a video game. When I was writing “Thinking About You” and putting some finishing touches on it, “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” had just come out, so I got to sink around 20 hours into that. It’s such a creative game and being in the studio is such a creative process. So that really got my brain working in a way that helped me connect with my music.

Hashtag: What is next for you?

Brooklyn: Well, on August 4th, there’s a music video for “Thinking About You” that’s coming out that I actually directed. I've seen the footage and I've seen a rough edit of the whole thing. It's incredible, it’s beautiful, it’s really fun, and you're really happy for everybody in it. It's my favorite and my best video to date. It makes you feel good. And right now I’m working on an album. I'm writing and working with people every day to make this something that I will be proud of. Without spoiling anything, I'm looking forward to rehearsing and preparing my next shows. When I hit the stage next, it's going to be even better than it was last year. I think it's going to be incredible for everybody who loves Brooklyn.

Hashtag: Has a stranger ever changed your life?

Brooklyn: If you considered my fans strangers, then I'd say yes, there have been a lot of strangers who have collectively changed my life for the better. And that's why I'm making music.

Hashtag: What are you craving right now?

Brooklyn: Everyone knows this about me, but I'm craving lobster. I’m not sure there’s a day that goes by where I don’t think about lobster.

Hashtag: What makes people gasp when you tell them that you don’t like it?

Brooklyn: As a Canadian, people really like pineapple on pizza around here. When I tell people that I don't like pineapple on pizza, they're pretty shocked.

Hashtag: What simple task are you surprisingly bad at?

Brooklyn: I'm a terrible swimmer. And spoiler alert... a few weeks ago, when we were filming the music video, there's a great finale scene that happens at the end that takes place in a pool. This was at the end of maybe about a 20 hour day for me. I get up early for these things. I've got a lot of work to be doing while I'm on set between directing, working with the crew, working with the cast, and of course performing in front of the camera. By the time we got to the end, we filmed a scene in the last hour of our shoot. So I'm about 19 or 20 hours in and I kind of space out a little at the end of the scene. I travel a little too far into the deep end and I get a little exhausted. I stop treading water and the next thing I know, I'm sinking. I’m too tired at that point to make it out of the water by myself. And so I just... I guess I'm drowning, but I just stick my hand out of the water and my manager has to pull me out. I'm safe now and it was alright — it wasn't a big deal. But it was at that point we decided, “You know what? We have everything we need. We’re going to wrap for the day.”

Hailing from Canada, Brooklyn Juliana gravitated towards music from a very young age. As a teenager, he would occasionally skip class to sing and play the piano in his high school auditorium. Brooklyn’s passion for entertainment captured the attention of fans online and led to him performing around the world throughout 2018 and 2019 (Canada, South Korea and France), in tandem with his first official single release of “Young Love.” Brooklyn kicked off the Summer of 2022 with his first North American tour, weaving through the U.S. and Europe. Days before the final show, a fan’s TikTok video of him went instantly viral. Within 18 hours, Brooklyn’s personal TikTok account gained over 200,000 followers, introducing a wave of enthusiastic new fans to his music. This earned him headline appearances at various music events and festivals around the world. Fans of Brooklyn – who refer to themselves as ‘Butterflies’ – have fallen in love with his voice and passion for performing. Brooklyn is currently writing and recording material for his upcoming debut album, coming soon.

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