“I wrote this song at the end of 2018 and still to this day it’s my favorite song that I’ve written,” JC Stewart shares with HollywoodLife, and it’s easy to see why. In “I Need You Hate To Me,” released on May 20, the Northern Irish singer/songwriter pens a playful love/anti-love song. It’s a track that suggests it’s better to be the bane of someone’s existence than to suffer the doldrums of being stuck in a lukewarm romance. The song, an entrancing melody that catches fire in your mind and burns brightly long after the music ends, has James sing against a low-key beat as the tension over this half-hearted relationship builds to a boiling point.
“I’m done with all the silence / Russian roulette romances / one slip, oh I could light it / just tell me this is lifeless.” It’s a message that will resonate with anyone who has found themselves in a relationship that’s going nowhere…and doesn’t look like it’ll change course anytime soon. “It’s about wanting someone to hate you so you can walk away and forget about them rather than trying to hang on to something that isn’t there!” JC tells HollywoodLife. “So excited to have it out in the world finally!”
Considering the success that JC has had recently, it’s hard to imagine anyone hating him. Before “I Need You To Hate Me,” JC released “Lying That You Love Me” on March 16. “Lying” is a more somber ballad, one that has JC working through the anguish of a breakup. However, soon after its release, the pop singer-songwriter found himself going viral with a little help from his “friends.” His quarantine-themed Friends cover blew up, and it was even shared by Rachel Geller herself, Jennifer Aniston. The clip was also featured on Good Morning America, and Nina Dobrev gave it some love, too.
Not too shabby for a man who almost was a grocer. As the “fourth generation of JC Stewarts in the family tree,” the “I Need You To Hate Me” singer was on the path to follow in the family grocery business until he decided that his dreams of becoming a music star were too big to ignore. Later in life, a chance meeting with singer Lewis Capaldi at a party out in Hollywood resulted in an impromptu middle-of-the-night writing session that produced “Hollywood,” a song from Capaldi’s chart-topping debut album. Since then, JC’s star has risen, with songs like “The Wrong Ones,” “Pick Up Your Phone,” “Bones,” and “Have You Had Enough Wine?”
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“I Need You To Hate Me” is out now, and that’s something everyone could love.