Joshua Orlando Grimmie from New Jersey is many things: a talented songwriter, emotive vocalist, extremely fashion-forward, witty and socially conscious. One attribute that cannot be applied to the handsome 19-year-old artist is reserved. One only has to view his Twitter feed to realise that the young star is not afraid to share his opinions on current affairs and daily life. It's hard to imagine that Grimmie was "silenced" for nearly 18 months during a legal dispute with his record label. Following the advice to "lay low" throughout his court case, Joshua now has a lot to say as he is finally free from legal issues and ready to return to the music scene.

Chocolate brown hair, a sparkle in his eyes and an air of naturally coolness surrounding him, the bets have all been placed for Joshua to become the next big music star in 2017. While he may not be topping the charts for 14 weeks straight (yet), the fresh-faced musician already has an army of loyal followers who take his words as Gospel. Joshua's early success was and accumulation of being the younger sibling of beloved singer/reality TV star Ashley Grimmie, being a firm favourite on the ill-fated third season of StarFactory, a very high-profile appearance on Ellen and the release of his critically acclaimed debut single. The song in question, "Prayer", was released back in May 2015 and became a worldwide top 10 hit for Grimmie, even just missing out on the top spot in Canada and managing to actually reach the coveted summit in Australia. Stardom seemed to come naturally. "I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a singer-songwriter. My entire family is musical. It's in my blood and there's no denying that. My mother is a vocal instructor and my father, although a mechanic, still taught people how to play instruments in his spare time. I'd see him teaching guitar in our living room and hear mom singing her heart out in another room along with Ashley. It was all just embedded in me from a very young age." Being the younger sibling to the first star of the family may be something that many famous little brothers and sisters resent but not Joshua. He glows whenever the topic of his family crops up and success does not have appeared to have created a rivalry within the household. "I have a great relationship with Ashley. We actually live together out in L.A. now. With the work StarFactory brought us both, we were able to get a place and although we'd like our own space, we aren't that rich just yet. It's easy to split the bills and as we're both in the same profession, we can help each other out and use all the equipment we bought. L.A. is a real weird place...and I say this as a guy from New Jersey. There's always something going on out there but it's a land of opportunity. Almost everyone who lives there is trying to make it big some way or another."



While a natural passion for music is basically a necessity for anyone interested in even making the smallest attempt into breaking into the industry, to truly survive and thrive, one needs much more. A vocal teacher for a mother meant that Joshua knew about a falsetto register while in diapers and his father taught him how to play the guitar, his signature instrument, as well as drums, piano and cello. While all of that is outstanding in its own right, we know that Joshua is all about the words. "Songwriting is a big thing for me. The first song that I had ever written was f***ing awful though, to be honest. I was about 9 or 10 years old. I had formed a "band" in school with like six other kids, a mixture of girls and boys, and we said that we'd go home, write a song and bring them in the next day. I was the only one who actually bothered to write one. Well there was this other girl who came in and tried to pass off "I Love Rock 'n Roll" as her own. Anyway, my song was called "Closer" and looking back on it now, it was way too sexual for someone my age. I wasn't even writing it thinking about sex or that level of intimacy, I was just borrowing from what was in my CD collection. Wanting to get "closer, baby, under the moonlight" is kinda creepy for a kid to say." Joshua may laugh and cringe but not many kids that age have the ability to craft a full song not only lyrically but melodically. Many of today's artists even need a hand or ten in creating their own.

With the skills and charm already pre-packed, it would be easy to believe that opportunities came knocking on Joshua's door more times that sugar rush craving kids on Halloween night but that was not the case for the then schoolboy. Young acts are propelled into stardom after being scouted by a rich bigwig who proposes making an album and signing a contract overnight. Joshua was sadly overlooked and really had to step up his game if he wanted to at least stand a change in this dog eat dog industry. "I saw StarFactory as a foot in the door. I was pretty reluctant and first and I was never a huge fan of the show prior to that. I was hounded by friends and I eventually gave in. I gambled and took a shot, hoping for the best. I had been trying to get the music thing up and running for a long time but everything was just stagnant. My sister competed in season one and it really helped her. I tried to do the whole viral thing but I guess YouTube was overcrowded. Nothing was picking up. I was juggling school, a part-time job and working towards my career in music. I felt like I had nothing to lose by giving it a go. I swallowed my pride and went for it. I wish I hadn't."



Many would be quick to brand Joshua as ungrateful and somewhat of a brat for the way he screws his face up when talking about the show that did land him right in the public eye. It wouldn't be the first time that a star has dismissed and tried to forget about their true roots when they hit the big time. However, Joshua presents and entirely different case. He is not embarrassed by his time on the show nor thinks that he was the best part of it. Instead he enlightens us as to why he's so saddened and disappointed in learning the true meaning behing the beloved family programme. "The show is rigged beyond belief. Nearly all talent shows are. Perhaps not every single aspect of the show, but the producers know who they want to keep on. I heard some of the other people auditioning and they were far superior compared to a bunch who actually made the final cut to the live shows. It's not so much about talent. It's about chasing ratings. The producers drop hints to the judges and indicate who should be saved and who should go. There are certain "characters" that they want to keep for the longest time. Song choice, running order and even all the editing can really sway people to think one way or another about a certain act. If you put on a singer with a song that really suits them and they nail it then follow it up with an act who's equally as good, if not more talented, but their song isn't as interesting or well known as the previous one or it clearly doesn't suit them then they are going to look bad in comparison to the first act. It's very strategic." Joshua literally sips on his peppermint tea as he finishes this statement but looks rather disheartened than smug. Not wanting to bring the entire room down with his tail of dismay, Joshua is quick to remind us that his entire experience was not all doom and gloom. "There are some good things about the show. Yeah, it was fun to take part in because I met many great people and I got to sing. Prior to that, I'd never been in a situation in which all I have to do is turn up and sing my ass off, which I love doing. I also met my first girlfriend [Valerie Hue] on the show. It wasn't an overwhelmingly negative experience, just not all it's cracked up to be."

Following his ordeal on the hit TV show, Joshua was quick off the mark to enter the recording studio and wasted no time, striking while the iron was hot. News broke no sooner than two weeks after the show had been axed that Joshua was working on his debut album with the intention of being an independent artist for a period of time before signing if a decent deal came along. His soulful, sing-a-long acoustic pop influenced debut single "Prayer" soon followed and received rave reviews not only from music critics but fellow pop counterparts too. The single peaked within the top ten of most countries it was released in and Grimmie looked set to tackle the music big leagues. He even inked his first record deal off the back of his debut single's success. Silence ensued. "I had to go through a lawsuit. It went on for like a year and a half. I had to sue my record label that was based in Canada. It wasn't pretty." Coming as a shock to us and probably most of Grimmie's fans too, it certainly was news to us that the teenager was involved in a massive legal dispute which silenced him and prevented the artist from releasing any material until it was resolved. Taking a deep breath and looking down at his feet, Joshua gives us a major insight into what life was like for him throughout the bulk of 2015 and '16. "Well I had signed a small deal in Canada first. Prayer sold and charted really well over there and they showed a keen interest. I signed with them but they only distributed in Canada which was fine. I started to write and record my debut album under them. A few months later, Five Pesky Kids approached. I was a little intimidated at first because they are a huge label run by music giants. I really have an aversion to the manipulation of the pop music landscape but after thinking things over for a while I realised that after trying so hard to put my music out there, for people to hear and connect with my messages, what better way than to sign with a major label and reach a wider audience? I thought it would be plain sailing from then on. I was wrong." Joshua forces a smile and raises his eyebrows, clearly expressing his disdain for how naive he was just a little over a year when he first signed that almost career-ending contract.

Slowly nursing away on the contents inside his cup and bringing his legs up onto our couch, Joshua relaxes and makes himself as comfortable as possible. There is obviously a lot more to the story and the forthright vocalist is definitely gearing up to inform us. "Pesky dealt with North American and European distribution while the other label was much smaller and only handled Canada. I think they grew jealous when I also signed to Pesky, a major label. They must have wanted me all to themselves because from then on, people started to become petty. I'm talking about guys in suits who are supposed to be "professional". They wouldn't let me use any of the material I had written under them if it was going to be included on an album that Pesky would distribute. So I scrapped it and started anew. A few weeks later I hear that they don't want to share anything with Pesky and they weren't interested in new songs either. Turns out what they wanted was for me to release a totally Canadian exclusive album and then an entirely different one for the rest of the world. They only wanted me to work with their team. Trying to record two different albums at once was ridiculous. Not feasible at all. It got to the point where I hated my job. It was stressing me out going back and forth, trying to make things work." Joshua pauses and looks off into the distance. A complacent little smirk gradually grows on his face as he clutches onto his cup, thinking about his favourite part of the entire story which is coming up next. "Eventually I took them to court and things worked out in my favour. I'm solely under Pesky now and in a really happy place. I learned a lot about the business over this past year. I also learned not to f*** with Pesky in a legal matter. They will take you down. The Canadian label soon went bust after that." The laughter of a champion fills the room and rightfully so.



Time out of the music industry has allowed Joshua to really grow as an individual, something which is grateful for. While fighting to release his album and attending court multiple times throughout the course of a year is not exactly the way he wished to spend his time at the ages of 18 and 19 years old, Grimmie has stated that it allowed him to enjoy pivotal years in his life as a "teenager" rather than as a "celebrity" or "recording artist". Even though touring the globe is a dream of his, Joshua's time away from the studio allowed him to do what most other guys his age do. He dated, experimented, expanded his mind, found new hobbies, met brand new people, partied and did not have to worry about waking up at 4:30 A.M. the next morning for a breakfast TV interview. One aspect that Joshua really immersed himself in was politics and it is not surprising after we all endured the latest US election campaigned and watched through splayed fingers. Openly admitting to being "ignored" about everything political beforehand, Joshua soon realised the importance of it all and the true impact it has on his country. Finally being of age to vote and educating himself on the matters at hand, this is clearly something the young star feels strongly about. "I feel like it's my duty as someone with a relatively large platform and access to a young audience to raise awareness and drive home the fact that we, the youth of today, NEED to go out and vote. We need to show people that we have our own minds and a very loud voice. A lot of people shy away and think that their votes won't count. There's also the lazy ones who just cross their fingers and hope that the others will make the right choice for them. No. We are the future and choices made today will have the biggest impact on us and our future generations. If you don't use your right to vote then the old, rich, angry, racist White man will choose for us. They don't make the best decisions if you haven't already noticed." Joshua's demeanour soon switches from very laid-back and approachable to impassioned and a tad irritated. Although the pop star is still far from threatening and intimidating, it's rather obvious that this topic strikes a major chord within him.

Joshua's social media follower count sky-rocketed overnight all thanks to his brutally honest running commentary on the live election results. People who had never heard of him before started kicking themselves for not discovering this bright, educated and refreshing young artist who they brand as "woke". Joshua joked prior to this interview that more people probably know him more now for his rant rather than his music. Although it's safe to say we already knew the answer, we asked what his thoughts on the election results are now that some time has passed. "Well it was pretty f***ing awful, wasn't it? I can't say that I'm all that surprised though. This country is full of uneducated people. It's filled to the brim with truly disgusting folk. There's also the d***heads who wrote "Harambe" on their voting paper. We really aren't going to get far if people don't open their eyes. In a way, the silver lining in this election is that it's shaken us and given America a much needed wake-up call. Racism, sexism, homophobia and ableism are all very much alive today...and f***ing winning!" Taking a risk, we pushed him for an opinion on the man himself, Donald Trump. While we expected another outburst and plotted our escape routes, Joshua just signed and retorted with; "All I'm going to say is that I hope the next p***y he grabs has really f***ing sharp teeth" right off of the bat.

Even though Joshua is a skilled vocalist, instrumentalist and lyricist his talents do not stop there. Conversing with the well-spoken teen, it's very clear that he could have a bright future as a politician, an activist or anything that involves speaking to the masses and leading a huge movement. He carries himself brilliantly and while many disagree and possibly hate him for his stances, Grimmie is confident, unfazed and stands by everything he says. He's even not too proud to admit where everything went wrong for his party of choice and highlight what Trump and his team got right, to a certain extent. "I think that the Democratic Party weren't as strong as they could have been when it came to making a stance on standing up for the working class people. With people struggling to pay their way through everyday life, companies and potential jobs moving abroad, prices of everything going through the roof, I feel like a lot of people believed they were sinking without any life jackets in their sight. Trump touched a nerve when it came to looking out for "his own" and I think it resonated with a lot of desperate folk. He defined an "enemy", in the form of the immigrant, and offered up someone that people could put their finger to and blame for all of their shortcomings. It's laughable but there are a lot of angry people out there who just need the tiniest of seeds to be planted to let their hatred grow." People in the room with us all appear to be taking a keen interest in what Joshua is saying and all have a similar looking a pleasant surprise upon hearing how the articulate teenager presents himself.




Joshua does not have the massive following that acts like Isabel, Weekend and SYNCO do and that is a fact we cannot shy away from. He does have his own platform though and with his political views making headlines and garnering more interest in what else he has to say in the future, we wonder if Joshua takes his job as a role model seriously or if he even considers himself as one. After all, his words have already made a considerable impact. "I do think that artists have a duty to be a role model to a certain extent. We should use our positions for good: raise awareness of situations that need to be tackled in the world, spread love, show younger kids or people who've lacked confidence in the past that it's possible to achieve your dreams and stuff like that. There are limits though. We are not these kids' parents. We're all human which means we are not perfect. We f*** up. I don't like when parents point the finger and accuse celebrities of being bad influences on their children. Newsflash: YOU should be raising your own kid. If you don't want them watching or listening to certain things then monitor and supervise it. You are the parent, not me or Andrea or Kai Wynter. I like to think that I have a positive impact but I am still a 19 year old guy. I swear a lot, I get high...I'm not f***ing Mary Poppins here to change your family's life for the better." The same people who were giving him looks of approval around the room suddenly seem to have a change of heart at the mention of drugs. Suddenly, a huge chunk of Joshua's cool persona appears to have faded in a matter of seconds but he does not seem to care in the slightest.

If we were to take one thing away from this interview it would be that we learned just how honest and candid the singer is. Curious about his recreational drug of choice and genuinely caring about his healthy and well being, we ask if he wants to share with us what it is he uses. "Just weed and nothing stronger. I only use it in the form of edibles too. I don't smoke. I used to do that as well as regular cigarettes but as a singer it's a pretty dumb thing to do. My voice was suffering." Although he's not as clean cut as we would like him to be, there's an overall sigh of relief throughout the room as marijuana no longer has the stigma attached to it that it once had. We also believe that if the singer was in fact taking anything stronger he would make no bones about informing us either. Finding a happy medium between the rock star antics of Erich Hess and Dustyn Blue and the golden child, probably virginal lifestyle of stars such as Lincoln and Isabel, we're intrigued as to why Joshua is happy to partake in such an activity. "It helps me creatively if I'm being totally honest with you. Plus it really mellows me out which is always a good thing because when you're working on an album under a major record label, things can become pretty tense. I've also had a note on how uptight I can be at times and this makes me pretty chill...dude." Mimicking a stoner and lowering his eyes, Joshua soon slaps his knee and laughs at his own lifestyle. Just like his views on the music business and politics, Joshua is not bothered about expressing his love for weed and will not be shaken by anyone else's opinion.



With the world at his feet, good looks and being in a profession that allows him to meet many different people on a regular basis, meeting someone special surely cannot be that hard. Quite frankly, meeting anyone willing to keep him company through the cold winter nights shouldn't be that much of a challenge. Alas, Mr Grimmie reveals he does not live the lifestyle of your regular pop Lothario. In fact, the subject of romance is the first time we detect any sort of hesitation in his voice. "I don't have anyone in my life right now. I'm...I'm not really looking for anything but if someone comes my way and we hit it off, why not?" Joshua confirms out suspicions that he and Valerie Hue, fellow StarFactory 3 alumni, are no longer together. It has been speculated for the longest time due to no updates from either artist for a prolonged period and Hue deleting all traces of Grimmie from her social media photo sharing accounts but no official statement had been made until now. "Valerie and I split earlier in the year. She's a great girl and I wish her all the best but things just didn't work out. That's the way the cookie crumbles though. Just gotta keep on at it." Joshua's grin is short and forced. He seems more interested in rubbing his ankle than elaborating any further on his relationship with Valerie. It's obviously not a topic that he wishes to be pressed on any longer.

Fans have been curious over Grimmie's sexuality for a while now. Despite dating Valerie for quite some time, there was always a ripple travelling around online which doubted that the singer is entirely straight. While it may be downright ignorance and stereotyping, people seemed to take issue with the often "slightly camp" way he presented himself and his constant support for LGBTQ rights. Nonetheless, Grimmie has never corrected these accusations and openly tells us the truth of the matter as he finishes off his "healing" tea. "I really don't like to label myself. I think that us humans are obsessed with categorising everything and putting people in a box. It's like; "OK, you're straight so you've got to do this and act like this". Same goes for every type of sexuality, gender, age and race. Society creates a mould and expects you to fit right into it. I think a lot of people get scared when others stray away from "the norm". I've dated a girl before but that's not to say I'll always date girls. If I ever hit it off with a guy and think that he could make me the happiest soul on Earth then who am I to deny it? The heart wants what it wants and people should realise that they don't have to be afraid of that." While sexuality is still a major, life-changing topic that impacts, represses and sometimes kills millions, Joshua seems to have accepted his with ease and does not let his define or drag him down. He is living proof that love is love regardless of gender as he refuses to be pinned down and labelled by our often harsh society.

Grimmie is also happy to inform us that not only are people pressured to act a certain way because of their sexuality and risk losing opportunities because of it, there are many other qualities and attributes that have halted him in this business as well as others who he knows. "We're all pressured to look a certain way. Females get it so much worse and as a male, I know that I have some nerve to talk about being excluded from certain things, but it is true though. Talent is only a fraction towards helping you progress in the industry. I've tried to get endorsement deals, TV slots, magazine covers and all that jazz but some of the things I've heard when being rejected is unbelievable. "You're too tall!", "you're too skinny!", "you don't have enough muscle", "we decided to go for a hot guy instead", "you have a lazy eye and that'll distract people" and just straight up, "you're ugly!". Like, I can only be me and if they can't see me for my talents and the person I really am through all of that superficial crap then f*** them!"