Any authentic listener of pop-punk music has listened to Machine Gun Kelly’s “my ex’s best friend” or Olivia Rodrigo’s “good 4 u.”
For fans of these songs, try tuning into Jeris Johnson’s “FRIDAY.”
Garnering nearly a million YouTube streams within a month, the 25-year-old rising artist establishes himself as the new generation’s pop-punk rockstar with the Oct. 8 release of his new single “FRIDAY,” featuring rapper Trippie Redd.
The music video for the track begins in an empty garage with Johnson screaming the lines, “Turn it up!” into the microphone. A fast tempo then succeeds the opening with the lyrics: “It was just a Friday, she said she wanted to take it back to my place.”
Both the loud, screeching guitar instrumentation running through the song and the profane visuals of the music video may turn off some audiences unfamiliar with the pop-punk genre; however, listeners more familiar with the aggressive expression and sexual content in music may find these characteristics more appealing.
Several scenes within the music video depict Jeris Johnson surrounded by female models dressed in skimpy, revealing clothing, which steer listeners away from the track’s overarching theme — a reminiscent highschool romance.
The song’s main chorus, however, redirects the attention toward Jeris Johnson’s innocent love with the lines: “Mmm, and I think she like me.” Like many other pop-punk artists, Jeris Johnson effectively uses shouting and vulgar language, which adhere to traditional pop-punk style, throughout the song as a way of expressing his innermost feelings. The young singer may present himself as a rebellious spirit, but his heartfelt lyrics reveal his more insecure side.
Johnson uses the ending credit of his music video to address the song’s potential haters: a disturbed neighbor bangs on Jeris Johnson’s house complaining of how awful the music, yet in the last music video’s last 10 seconds, viewers see the same neighbor hum the lyrics to the main chorus.
The scene provides fans with a glimpse into Johnson’s creativity and shows the track’s ability to gradually pique the interest of initially skeptical listeners.
Elements like these differentiate Jeris Johnson from other upcoming artists. For fans of mainstream pop-punk music like those of Machine Gun Kelly and Olivia Rodrigo, Jeris Johnson’s new single is the perfect track to start their weekend with.
