Johnny Orlando Dishes on His Contest With SUNNYD and What We Can Expect From His Upcoming Album
If you love Johnny Orlando, you should definitely enter the challenge and contest he's putting on right now with SUNNYD.
One very lucky winner will get to experience an intimate virtual concert from Johnny and invite up to 50 of their friends, and Johnny is super excited to make that happen for them—but June 7, 2021 is the last day to enter! We were also very lucky to be able to catch up with Johnny to find out more about the Sweetest Summer Yet TikTok Hashtag Challenge and Contest, what he's up to this summer and what new music he has in store for all of us.
Curious? Contest details and a link to the official rules list are at the bottom of this article, but first, read why Johnny's so thrilled to team up with SUNNYD in the interview below.
Sweety High: What would you say is sort of the secret to your success in building up such a big and devoted fan base?
Johnny Orlando: There isn't a secret really. I guess it's more of a policy. I think people tend to always look for just one thing that makes you successful, when there are a million little things you can do.
Since my music career started, I've just done absolutely everything I could to get myself where I wanted to be. Every little event, I've focused on just being nice to everybody I met. Also, I try to outwork everybody. Those are the main rules I follow.
If this music thing didn't work out, it would be because of bad luck or happenstance or getting burnt out, and that's fine. But if it didn't work out because I wasn't working hard enough, and somebody was working harder than I was, that would be very upsetting for a long time.
SH: How did the concept for your "I Don't" music video come about?
JO: That was actually the director's idea. He set the treatment up. We were looking for something fun and lighthearted. We needed DVBBS to be in a video, so we worked to incorporate them and still circle back to the topic of the actual song. I just knew instantly that it is going to be a good day of shooting and it was gonna come out amazing. It was the first video I've really filmed during this whole pandemic, so it was a lot of fun.
SH: What's your favorite aspect of the video?
JO: I've never had that many different people in a music video, which was really cool. I've never had so many fellow costars. It was cool just being able to work with the DVBBS boys because they really don't do music videos at all. I was really happy to say that they were down to be in this one. And Ellie [Zeiler], of course, was super awesome as well. Other than that, I really liked driving that old Impala. Definitely a highlight of the day!
SH: To ask you the same question you're asking fans for the SUNNYD campaign, how are you making this your sweetest summer yet?
JO: I'm still in school, so summer hasn't officially started yet, but I'm just trying to have as much fun as possible. I get my schoolwork done and then I'm livin' life. I also bought a car, so I've been whipping around. I'm in L.A. right now and I've been going on many drives, chilling with friends when possible. It's been really cool, but mostly, I just want this summer to make up for the entirety of the last year. The contest says, "2020 a lemon of a year," which I agree. And I just want to have a ton of fun. I think I might rent a cottage with a couple of my friends, but that's a bit down the line if things open up a bit more.
SH: What are the songs on your summer playlist?
JO: I swear, every summer I get back into electronic and EDM music. I haven't really updated my list, so these may be a bit outdated, but "All Night" by The Vamps, "100 Rounds" from Frvrfriday and "Westworld" by Evan Giia. Incredible.
Other than that, to be honest, I've kind of just been listening to my own music because I'm in the middle of making an album. I'm always listening to demos and mixes and stuff. It's been filled with a lot of me. I need to switch it up.
SH: Is there anything you can tease about what you have coming up on the album?
JO: I can say that it's a completely new direction. I think the next single is a bit more in line with the stuff that I've released in the past, but the one after that is completely different. I had an A&R meeting with the label a couple weeks ago, and we set the schedule for the rest of the year. It looks like the album's coming out early next year, just because of timing, but there's definitely more than a couple of singles coming out this fall, so everyone should get ready for that.
SH: How this partnership with SUNNYD came about?
JO: SUNNYD emailed my team and let me know what's up and asked if I would be interested, and, of course, I was. SUNNY really was an integral part of my childhood. When you went to soccer and the cool mom was on snack duty, she would bring SUNNYD, so I was super excited.
And, of course, they launched new flavors as well, which I got to try early, and they're very good. They sent me like 15 bottles, so I still have a couple at home, so whenever I need a little pick-me-up I just down some of the SUNNYD lemonade.
@johnnyorlandowant to win a private virtual concert w/ me + @sunnydofficial ? use ##contest ##SUNNYandSweet. see rules on challenge page. ##ad ##SUNNYandSweet♬ Tasty (Go Bold) – SUNNYD
SH: What can the winner expect from that private virtual concert you're putting on for them?
JO: The plan right now is to do more of an acoustic thing. I want it to be very intimate, since it'll be virtual. I want it to be easy to hear and enjoy. I think it's just gonna be me, my guitarist and maybe a couple of the guys from the band. We have to make a set and get everything ready. This is really going to be my first performance in a long time, so I'm happy that I can do this. And, of course, there's up to 50 other people viewing as well as the winner, so it's gonna be really fun.
The Contest
So, what exactly can you win in the Sweetest Summer Yet TikTok Hashtag Challenge and Contest? One grand prize winner will win an awesome private virtual concert with Johnny and up to 50 of their friends, plus a SUNNYD summer swag pack and a summertime supply of SUNNYD drinks. 10 first-prize winners will also win the swag pack and summer supply of SUNNYD.
You can participate in the SUNNYD Sweetest Summer Yet TikTok Challenge and Contest yourself by following SUNNYD's official TikTok and creating a TikTok video between 15 and 45 seconds, tagging it with the hashtags #SUNNYandSweet and #contest. The video should be about how you're going to make this the sweetest summer ever!
The challenge runs until June 7 at 11.59 p.m. ET, and is open to legal residents of the U.S. between 13 and 22 years old (with parent/legal guardian permission where applicable) as of the date and time of entry. Click HERE for the official rules list.
Love learning all you can about Johnny's music? Click HERE to read our interview with Johnny on his It's Never Really Over EP.