Stanaj Stanaj

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Stanaj can pinpoint the exact moment when he became an artist.

Capping off a whirlwind 2016—which included the release of his debut single “Ain’t Love Strange” and The Preview EP—the Yonkers-born and Los Angeles-based powerhouse vocalist found himself getting ready to make his late night television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon when the evening’s guest Justin Timberlake walked into the room…

“Justin Timberlake, who has been my idol and the reason why I started music, came up to me and said, ‘I’m a huge fan of yours, and I think your voice is absolutely insane’,” he smiles. “I was like, ‘What the fuck?’ That was the point where I realized this is bigger than me singing at open mics and writing songs in my living room. I had become an artist. I’d entered the big leagues.”

Born to Albanian immigrants, Stanaj had been diligently preparing for that moment since his childhood. Spending his formative years penning countless songs and performing in musical theater productions at school, he and his older brother/manager Mark packed up a car with no plan or contacts and drove to Los Angeles in December 2014. Organically trending across social media, the next two years saw Kim Kardashian West, NBA star Brandon Jennings, Russell Simmons, Chris Brown, Drake, and more become believers as he inked a deal with LAVA/Republic. At the heart, Stanaj’s incomparable and immortal voice fuels this momentum. With a divine natural range, he can quiet a room with the powerful delivery of his notes, and bring an entire stadium to its feet with a hook.

With the release of The Preview, which bowed Top 10 on the iTunes Top Pop albums Chart, that voice began earning widespread tastemaker acclaim from Complex, VMan, The Fader, NPR, and VEVO who named him among its dscvr “ONES TO WATCH IN 2017.” That fateful Fallon performance vaulted The Preview into the Top 15 of iTunes Overall Top Albums chart. Meanwhile, his follow-up 2017 EP From a Distance yielded the smash “Romantic – NOTD Remix,” which lit up streaming services and notched 70 million Spotify streams. In 2017, he supported fellow vocal powerhouse JoJo on a sold out national tour.

However, Stanaj ups his game yet again in 2017 with the single “The Way I Love Her.” Co-written with and produced by super producer RedOne [Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga] and Simon Wilcox [Nick Jonas, Demi Lovato], the track swings from an upbeat bounce into a Middle Eastern-tinged bridge before climaxing on an instantly irresistible falsetto refrain, “This is the way I love her. Don’t wanna touch no other. This is the way I love her. Even though it’s killing me.”

“I wanted something summer-y and fun,” he explains. “When you’re driving to the beach or out dancing, it’s a song you can move to, but it still stays true to who I am. Lyrically, it can be interpreted in many different ways. It could be about a person you’re already with or trying to be with.

You’re so deep in love that there’s no going back though. You’re so trapped inside of this that you can’t imagine being with anybody else. At the same time, she might be doing this on purpose. You don’t know the intentions I love that duality.”

It also showcases his ability to deliver a heartbreaking ballad or set the dance floor ablaze similar to one of his biggest inspirations.

“One of my favorite artists ever is Whitney Houston,” he says. “She could destroy a love ballad or a slow song, and then she could make you rock in the club with ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody.’ That’s a hard balance, and it’s where I’m trying to be at.”
No matter what he does, Stanaj will undoubtedly make you feel.

“I love making music, making people smile, and making them feel good,” he leaves off. “That’s all I ever wanted to do.”

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