Watching Joji perform on the BBC Radio 1 Stage this evening, it’s hard to believe this is the same guy who once ate a cake made with human hair.
Indeed, it’s only during an impromptu cover of Randy Newman’s ‘You’ve Got a Friend In Me’ that the Japanese-American singer gives any indication of his past life as YouTuber Filthy Frank. With his tucked in vest and theatrical microphone gestures, Joji’s onstage persona today is closer to Freddie Mercury.
Joji reminds Reading Festival why he’s one of the fastest rising figures in lo-fi R&B, cramming in as many bangers from 2018s ‘Ballads 1’ as he possibly can. Taking the stage with just a keyboard player and guitarist, Joji’s voice is truly the hero of these minimal trap-infused tracks.
By the end of his set, the tent is practically overflowing with people eager to catch Joji at such an early stage in his career. The audience even drowns out the band during set closer ‘Slow Dancing in the Dark’, as Joji prances around the stage, ecstatic that his humble ballads have reached such a large audience.
