Virgin Islands native, Iyaz, is the face behind one of the biggest pop songs of the past year, “Replay” aka “Shawty’s Like A Melody.” The 22-year old had everyone singing his first single which hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Discovered on MySpace by Sean Kingston, the singer has been signed to Beluga Heights Records since 2007.
Iyaz’s look is trendy which he makes work with his own personal twist. Rocking Beats headphones, Carrera shades and only Adidas on his feet, his head-to-toe look is undoubtedly fresh. His boy-next-door charm and outgoing personality (he tends to break into dance on occasion) help him steal the spotlight when he walks into any room.
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On top of his ability to sing and dance, he can quickly change up his accent from Jamaican (when he wants to impersonate Sean Kingston), to a New York accent (when he wanted to impersonate the citizens of the city where the interview was taking place). As he’s travelled all over the world, he’s quickly learned the little tidpits important for fitting in at every location.
With his debut album, Replay dropping today (June 8), we have so much to look forward to from this young artist.
His first single dropped just this past fall but he already has an appearance on Oprah and a cameo on Hannah Montana under his belt. He must be doing something right, ready to takeover the music game one song at a time. The past year of his life has been a serious whirlwind: Recording an album, traveling to different countries all over the world and making his name in the music industry known.
Surprisingly, he stated his dream collaboration would be Green Day. “(They’re very different from me) and that’s why,’ he said. ‘They’re very different and I’m very different. I like to think out of the box…I try to be different and that’s why I want to work with Green Day, I want to see what it would be like to work with them in the studio. They can do the Iyaz and I can do the Green Day.”
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His genre, which he refers to as “Island Pop,” will surely resonate well with fans. “When you think of the islands you think of pina coladas, beaches, vacations, fun. When you think of pop, I don’t want you to think of pop music, I want you to think of mainstream music, everything that’s hot. It can be rap, it can be reggae, no matter what the case may be, it’s mainstream. So think of mainstream, high energy music. Feel good music, that’s what it is, just feel good music.”
His album was produced by J.R. Rotem (Rick Ross “Pushin’ It,” Plies “Becky”) which immediately sets the album up for high expectations.
“When it comes to samples, J.R. Rotem is the king,’ says Iyaz. ‘He is on top of his game, he knows everything when it comes to music. So that’s why certain creative stuff I would leave up to him, like just pitch the ideas and the beats. Or if I have an idea I would hum it into my phone and text it to him, and he would say ‘Oh yeah I know where you’re trying to go with this.’”
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The album was due out earlier this spring but was pushed back in order for the singer to do some more promotional appearances. With such a packed schedule it was even hard for him to find time to get in the studio to put the finishing touches on the alb
