JOY.

Australian singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer JOY. performs atmospheric R&B-influenced pop similar to Banks and Vaults. Influenced by acts like Drake, the Weeknd, and David Bowie, the Brisbane-based artist born Olivia Joy McCarthy was classically trained on the piano (fittingly, the first song she learned to play was Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”) and she developed a deep appreciation for her parents’ favorites like Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, and Enya. As a teenager, she began recording music on a laptop in her bedroom. Her debut single, 2014′s “Captured,” was released before she turned 18. In 2016, she issued her first EP, ODE, a four-song set of rhythmic beats and layered synths modeled after Lorde and London Grammar. That year, she also released the Joy to the World mixtape, which included “Birthday” with Lil Aaron, and appeared on collaborations with What So Not and GANZ (“Lone”) and Manu Crook$ (“Touchdown”). The singles “Smoke Too Much” and “Change” attracted radio attention in Australia and increased her fan base, just in time for her sophomore EP, Six, which landed in 2018. Produced with Khaled Rohaim (Rihanna, Ty Dolla $ign, Ariana Grande), Six also included the Rammstein-sampling “Lose Control.” ~ Neil Z. Yeung