Up and coming pop star, Johnnie Mikel, just put out his latest single "Friday Night" and if you haven't heard it than you are missing out. I got a chance to sit down with him and talk about his music video for "Friday Night", upcoming touring, his songwriting, and future music endeavors.

Originally from Kentucky, Johnnie has had a passion for music all of his life. Living an hour outside of Nashville, it wasn't hard to gain access to one of the biggest music hubs in the world. However, the music scene in Nashville leans more towards country, which is not the vibe Johnnie is going for, for himself, "Nashville’s definitely very country and I do write country as well. Obviously, I don’t perform it, but I do write in that world a little bit. It’s interesting while I’m there. Sometimes I feel like I don’t exactly fit in. I have blue hair, I’m writing pop songs, and dancing in my music videos. A lot of people don’t really get that, but I think what’s interesting is that I am standing out there. There’s definitely a little pop group that’s kind of growing and definitely taking form there, so that’s cool to see."

Despite being surrounded by primarily country musicians, when he is in Nashville, that has not stopped Johnnie from pursuing a pop career. The world of pop is constantly changing and with that so are the artists that make up the genre. For "Friday Night" Johnnie tried pulling inspiration from R&B artists to incorporate their vibe into his song,"I was actually really inspired by 90s R&B and new jack swing and kind of like that whole revival that’s going on right now with Bruno Mars and Cardi B and all of Bruno Mars’ stuff honestly. So I wanted to kind of bring my music into that world cause I’m more just like straight pop... it was really fun to experiment with those sounds!"

The video for "Friday Night" looked like one big party and according to Johnnie, it was. They shot it at the roller skating rink he used to go to as a kid and he brought his whole family and all his friends to set, "Honestly it’s like the best set I’ve ever been on! It was so much fun cause all my friends and family were there. A lot of the people in the video are actually my friends so it didn’t feel contrived or forced or anything. We were literally hanging out. That’s what made it super fun!"

Johnnie mentioned that his favorite part was completely improvised and that it was a ton of fun, "The scene where we were having the party... We started filming and what happened kind of just happened. I just love how that translates on camera. It was just so real. And that was totally not planned either! They literally started grabbing me and I was like ok sure whatever! But yeah that was so much fun!"

Writing all of his own stuff and doing co-writes with people, Johnnie has had to learn how to open up not only through his music, but with other songwriters,"I had to learn how to be open with other writers. That was one of the biggest obstacles for me." Since songwriting is so important to him this was a necessity, "Being a writer is just how I share what’s going on in my world. I just feel like it comes from a super honest place with me. So writing’s always been important to me."

Johnnie has been building up his catalog and is ready to share it with his fans. While his plans are not concrete, he intends to tour in the near future, "I’m working on some touring options right now, which I’m so excited for! I was on the road a couple years and literally, it’s my favorite part of the whole process. Being on stage, performing with the band, that’s like literally heaven to me. It’s my favorite, so I’m so excited about that! Especially with my new material and that I’ve got a bigger following now I think it’s gonna be so much fun!"

He's really excited to release some of his new material and by the sound of it, we should be hearing it sooner rather than later,"I’m gonna be putting out another single later this summer and then hopefully another EP. I’m still writing a lot right now though, so it’s coming to the point where I have this catalog of like a million songs and I’m like oh gosh what do I want to put out? But it’s always evolving. I’m always writing, always creating. Definitely more to come this year!"

Make sure to keep an eye out for upcoming tour dates and releases!

Until then check out "Friday Night" on all streaming services and request it on your local radio station!