New Find: John-Robert Makes An Auspicious Debut With “Adeline”

Mike Wass | April 16, 2019 1:58 pm
New Find: 12AM's 'Can't Love'
The rising R&B singer impresses with the moody 'Can't Love.'

Remember the name John-Robert. The 18-year-old makes an auspicious debut with “Adeline,” a haunting ballad released today (April 16) via Ricky Reed’s Nice Life. Stripped-back singer/songwriter fare is staging a revival at the moment with artists like Dean Lewis, Lewis Capaldi and Alec Benjamin, but James Blake and Bon Iver feel like more appropriate reference points here. “Oh Adeline take me home, walk me through the barren streets I used to roam,” he begins the song over strummed guitar. “Say you never saw us growing old, we can still live young.”

Things take a decidedly emo turn on the chorus. “And if you’re cold, then don’t leave lonely,” John-Robert sings mournfully. “I’ll walk you home, no you don’t have to love me.” It’s all rather bleak, a tone that is expertly conveyed in the Hunter Lyon-shot video (below). It finds our hero locked in a glass box with a rather unnerving amount of water. It’s simple and memorable, just like the song. If you like what you hear, the Edinburg, Virginia newcomer will perform at Pharrell’s Something In The Water festival later this month.

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