New York City has helped launch everyone from Blondie to the Scissor Sisters into the music stratosphere, with these artists going on to global superstardom. Emmy Award nominated actor and comedian John Roberts though, already was a name known to millions of loyal fans. Be it his viral videos of beyond relatable portrayals in The Christmas Tree or My Son Is Gay (garnering tens of millions of views) or his portrayal of the beloved and blaring Linda Belcher on the massively popular animated series Bob’s Burgers, many fans might have been surprised when Roberts shifted to music. What many fans quickly are realizing though is that Roberts’ love for music is arguably as much of a passion as his acting is for this multilayered performer.
As the lead singer for Opti-Grab (who released one album and toured with Blondie), Roberts found himself influenced by the rave scene and found himself influenced by artists like Moby. Blondie also had Roberts offer up some lyrical work on their single ‘Love Letter’ from their wildly popular 2017 album Pollinator. After dropping both the single ‘Looking’ & his self-titled EP, working with producer and nightlife legend Junior Sanchez on his new single ‘Freaks” was simply a natural fit (Sanchez had also remixed ‘Looking’ in 2019)
With a pulsing baseline and 80’s inspired fashion, the visuals in the video production for ‘Freaks’ are definite nod to the rave scene and indie electric sound that Roberts marks as heavy influences. Roberts himself says to Ponyboy “I want to get hearts racing, energy flowing, and make people feel good!”. Roberts goes on to say about the intent of single “It’s a song about letting your freak flag fly–an empowerment song for freaks and those who have been cast aside. Vote for your freakness!”
‘Freaks’ is available for stream/download here
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