When Johnny Broadway Fell for “Kevin”
Taking genuine advantage of Pride Month, Ontario-Native and multi-hyphenate artist Johnny Broadway has released his cathartic Queer-punk anthem "Kevin". A cry of love out of the friend zone and into the playlists of every hopeless rainbow romantic who longs still for that friend who never was or never will be more than that.
The first few seconds of "Kevin" are a reassuring and impressive collage of sounds and aesthetic sensibilities, and in the best possible sense of the word, it's abundantly clear that Johnny Broadway is a "weirdo". He looks at things in a very peculiar light, and the result of what he projects into his music is wildly creative and thoroughly unique, to the point where it's impossible to be left feeling indifferent. At first, the song starts out in a synth dreamscape before throwing a punk-infused curveball.
"We
Confide every secret, why not this?
Would it be wrong if we just kiss?
Gotta aim high even if we miss"
As the story goes, Johnny pines for his best friend -the titular Kevin- in a classic fallen-for-my-best-friend story with a proper queer twist. Ultimately, of course, the situation is largely unresolved and the pain of unrequited affection and denials is all Johnny is left with, even more classic, though of course redimensioned now to better fit with June.
Of the song, Johnny B. Confides "I wanted to write a song that captured that all-too-familiar story of falling in love with your best friend, but from a queer perspective. It’s such a common experience, but we rarely see it through a queer lens which has all kinds of added pressure and risks for young people around coming out or being exposed." And he also adds: "The single is dedicated to hip hop artist Kevin Abstract. There’s definitely a nod to “American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story” in this song. That album was really moving for me."
The music video for the song is as casual as they come, recorded in vertical video format to fit a nice organic DIY feel bolstered of course by the footage itself, which is based on the #KissingMyBestFriend TikTok trend, so you might be familiar with it.
This release represents a return for Johnny Broadway from the time he spent working on animated shows in virtual reality and his synth-pop side project, 'Aband*nthecar'.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Samuel Aponte is Venezuelan-born raised and based.
I joined Rival Magazine after a few years of doing PR work for independent musicians of all stripes; understanding their struggles to be heard in a sea of constant ADHD noise and paywalled access to platforms, I now bring a willingness to always appreciate and encourage the effort and creativity that artists put into their work . Can also find some of my writings on LADYGUNN and We Found New Music.