Jai Waetford Friends Video

Sony Music Entertainment Australia is excited to announce that recording artist and social media sensation, Jai Waetford, has released his official video for new single 'Friends' – watch it below.

The video for 'Friends' premiered globally overnight on major US pop-culture website Idolator, who dubbed it as "hip-hop/pop hybrid with shades of Drake." The official video launches off the back of an incredible month for Jai, which saw 'Friends' hit 200,000 worldwide streams in its first week.

The video was filmed in Sydney by Entropico, directed by Chester Buchanan, produced by Erin Moy and Tim Burnett, with Grégoire Lière as DOP. Jai says "I was so excited to shoot the Friends video, and see our creative vision come to life. When I got to set, it was exactly how I had imagined it to be, and it was so cool to see everything come together. The colours and themes throughout the video are the perfect accompaniment for the track, and I can't wait for everyone to see it."

'Friends' has its first look when the audio premiered on COMPLEX, who described the new single as "delving into the alt-R&B territory that acts like The Weeknd and Justin Bieber occupy, demonstrating his developing maturity as he continues to maneuver through the music industry".

The track was co-written by Jai alongside James Angus (Carmouflage Rose, Tigerilla, Tkay Maidza, Gallvs), with Angus also producing the track. Jai says "James and I were trying to find a sound that mashed urban drums with pop instrumentation and vocal melody. We then stumbled across this beat James had made a while back, ran with it, and ended up really digging the result".

'Friends' is the first official single to be released by Jai in 2018. Describing the track, Jai says "Friends was inspired by situations where the online world and the real world collide. Often people say things online that they wouldn't say in real life, and 'Friends' is about that scenario".

Earlier this year Jai released 'Lost In You' and 'Get Over', giving fans a taste of what to expect from him musically. The moody and melodic RnB tracks showcased the now-19 year old's musical evolution, with the lyrics revealing Jai's vulnerabilities and emotional maturity.

Jai's ever-growing online empire now encompasses over 407 million worldwide streams and over half a million followers on Instagram. He has supported the likes of Little Mix and Selena Gomez, as well as embarking on a sold out headline East Coast Australian tour in 2017.

Jai has today announced he'll be back on the road in 2019, with a series of Australian East Coast shows announced today. Tickets are on sale now.

TOUR DATES

Sunday 27th January – Sydney, The Lair (All Ages)
Thursday 31st January – Melbourne, The Workers Club (18+)
Friday 1st February – Melbourne, Wrangler Studio (U18)

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW FROM WWW.JAIWAETFORDOFFICIAL.COM