With all that has gone on in 2020, it’s no wonder so many people have connected with “If the World Was Ending” by JP Saxe ft. Julia Michaels.
“We didn’t anticipate the relevance the song was going to have,” Saxe told iHeartRadio.ca on Monday. “We wrote it before we knew anything about COVID-19. The world changed.”
The 26-year-old Toronto native has spent the lockdown at home in Los Angeles, where he has lived for seven years. (If the world really was ending, Michaels wouldn’t have to come over – they have been living together for two months.)
Saxe has been releasing singles since 2017 but “If the World Was Ending,” written with Michaels last July and produced by Billie Eilish’s brother Finneas, is his first hit.
“Since I was a kid, songs have been the thing that made me feel most connected to myself. They were the first way I found to learn anything about myself in an emotional way,” said Saxe. “So to see a song that is as rooted in my experience as any other song I’ve ever written be the thing that's connecting with other people around the world, and then connect me to those other people around the world, is really special.
“And just, like, a real reminder that it’s in trying to connect with my own humanity that I will find my connection with the humanity of others. It’s been really special to see it happen with this song in particular.”
Saxe and Michaels, backed by the Richmond Delta Youth Choir, will perform “If the World Was Ending” during WE Celebrate: Class of 2020, a star-studded special airing June 6 at 8 pm.
Hosted by Lilly Singh, the show commemorates students and educators who have been making a difference throughout the school year. Also performing are Brett Kissel and Johnny Orlando and there will be appearances by music stars like Shawn Mendes, Selena Gomez, Tyler Shaw, Meghan Trainor and Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine.
For Saxe, being a part of WE Celebrate: Class of 2020 is a full-circle moment.
“I’ve probably been to 20+ WE Days. I used to volunteer at WE Days when I was in high school,” he recalled. "It’s an organization that helped me find my voice in the world so to be, all these years later, involved in a very unique WE Day is a nostalgic and really cool thing for me.”
Reflecting on the end of his own high school experience, Saxe said he was excited about moving on.
“High school can be a variety of experiences for different kids. For me, it wasn’t the favourite part of my life,” he admitted. “I wish I would have realized in high school that a lot of the things that kept me from being myself were more internal than external, but leaving high school made that a lot easier.”
Saxe’s message for the class of 2020? “I hope for all these kids graduating in a very unique time it can be a motivator to build the life that looks as much like the life that will feel personal and meaningful to them as possible.”
WE Celebrate: Class of 2020 airs on CTV on June 6 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and then on CTV2 on June 6 at 9 p.m. ET, on MTV on June 9 at 9 p.m. ET and on MUCH on June 12 at 8 p.m. ET. All networks are part of Bell Media, parent company of this website.