21-year-old artist Jair Faria from Amsterdam is not only a musician captivating listeners from all around the world, he is the embodiment of authenticity. An artist unafraid to express himself and open about his identity — which is not easy in this often-toxic industry — Jair has immersed himself in positivity, creating music that fans can truly resonate with. Jair Faria is the voice the industry needs because when you listen to his music, you genuinely feel like you are experiencing this part of life alongside him. Music has always been a part of Jair’s life, as his father is a famous singer from the Netherlands and his mother also serves as his manager.
It all started with a dream of becoming a performer. One of Jair’s dreams was to become a background dancer for Beyoncé, but at that time, he still didn’t know what type of performer he wanted to be in the industry. What he did know in his heart was that he needed to perform in some way.
“And I always played the piano, and I sang a little, but just for me, not even for my parents. And then in high school, my music teacher told me he was like, ‘Oh, your friends are always singing, and you’re always playing. Let’s switch it up.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to because it’s pretty scary.’ And then I did, and I performed for the class. And one girl started crying, and she came up to me after, and she was like, ‘Oh, your voice really hit something, and it was so beautiful.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I can be a performer in this way, and maybe I shouldn’t be a dancer.’ And I actually quit dancing as well and just focused on music. So that’s kind of where it all started.“
Jair continues, “But ever since I was, I think, 13, I kind of fell in love with American pop culture and also with stuff like YouTubers and social media. And that’s also when I decided I didn’t want to be a Dutch artist, but I wanted to make music in English and have that be kind of my thing. So for them, it’s a new thing as well. My dad has always worked in the Netherlands, and it’s pretty small here, and the scene is pretty small. Everyone knows each other. And same for my mom. She’s just starting to do the international stuff as well. So we’re all just kind of figuring it out.“
Being an aspiring musician may feel exciting, but as a fan, you rarely see what happens behind closed doors because most artists want to promote only the positivity and the good that comes with being a musician. Sadly, few people speak about the difficulties. Challenges will always exist, but consistently following your dreams and staying motivated will allow you to continue the journey toward becoming the person you dreamed of being.
“The hardest part for me has been probably to stay focused and to stay I always say to stay locked in.
Because for me, when I started music, I was still in high school. I was partying a lot, going out with friends. And here, it’s pretty normal to be 15 and just go somewhere and go out and just have fun. And I was doing that a lot and finishing high school. And after high school, I had a gap year. I was in a relationship. I had all these friends. So I wasn’t really focused on my career. And it was in September 2023 when I kind of I was like, ‘I really, really want this, but I’m not doing enough.’ And that’s when I started posting, I think, three times a day on different social media accounts. And I did that for a couple of months. I think from September to January, I posted every day, and it wasn’t working at all.
Jair continues, “And I was doing all these outfit of the days and get ready with me. And I was trying to become an influencer, and it really didn’t work out. And then in January, my mom told me, “If you want to do music, why aren’t you posting your music as much?” So then I started doing covers in January 2024. And that was really sustainable because I loved doing it, and it didn’t feel like a burden. So that’s when I started posting consistently and posting music. And that’s when I, in one year from January till December, I went from 1,500 followers all the way to 190K. And it went really fast. And the year after, I think in 2025, I got up to 300,000 followers. So ever since I started posting my music, it went pretty well. And then I had one of my songs kind of go viral. It’s called ‘Broken Heart.’ And that was in the end of 2024. And that opened a lot of doors. Because of that, I could go to LA several times, and I met all these writers and labels. And that’s when everything started to go more international. And I’m now in the process of moving to the US as well. Got my visa already, so the hardest part is over. And I’m moving next month to LA.”
The artist also explored his vocal talents through two different live shows: “Ranking the Talent” and “Star Search” on Netflix Live. Singing “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon and “Creep” by Radiohead truly showcases the diversity in the artist’s vocal performances across two very different genres, adding his own unique sound to each song.
Interviewer: I noticed you appeared on “Ranking the Talent” and “Star Search.” Can you tell us about the experiences and what led you to choose the two specific songs that you sang?
Jair: “So for Ranking the Talent was a while ago. And honestly, the reason why I was on that was I wanted to have a step up in the industry. And I think I sang ‘Creep,’ by Radiohead. And I chose that song because Radiohead has been my main influence for my music ever since I started making music. Their album, In Rainbows, I even have the song ‘Nude.’ I have the lyrics tattooed right here. The first lyrics, ‘Don’t Get Any Big Ideas.’ All of their music has made my music. It’s my main inspiration. So it just felt right to choose a Radiohead song.”
Jair Faria released his new single, “Cry About It,” which was the first song I heard by him, and it instantly pulled at my heart with its cathartic vocals. As someone who recently experienced a situation similar to the meaning behind the song, I was able to sit down, close my eyes, and embrace every lyric in a deeply personal way. “Cry About It” is reflective and filled with emotional honesty, exploring how sometimes a love may not work out at first, but over time, it can reignite in a healthier way. The song untangles these emotions, allowing the listener not only to release hesitation but also to protect themselves and their old wounds. The single leans into acceptance, especially during the chorus.
Interviewer: So “Cry About It” was the first song of yours that I listened to. Can you give us some insight about the meaning and the process of creating this single?
Jair: “Yes. So ‘Cry About It‘ has a different story from all the other songs because I always make my songs from the beginning to the end. I’m hands-on. I make the lyrics. I write the music. But for ‘Cry About It,’ my producer was working with this girl called Mae Stephens, and they had a song, ‘If We Ever Broke Up,’ that went pretty viral. And my producer shared some of her demos with me, and one was called ‘Cry About It.’ And it was a really different song. It was a poppy, upbeat song. And I heard it, and I was like, ‘If you guys are not using it, please, can I have it and give it a new life?’ And then I rewrote it with some of the people I work with. I rewrote all the verses and some stuff in the choruses. And then I changed it from happy pop music to rock because I feel like that was it just carried the emotion better. And I don’t know. I fell in love with the song. It’s one of my favorite songs ever. I don’t know.”
Jair continues, “It’s just I feel like, for me, rock has been helping me through everything. And it’s been I don’t know. I feel like you can tell a story so much more emotionally through rock, and that really helped me. So I feel like ‘Cry About It‘ is one of my most important songs to me. I really like it.”
Interviewer: So what’s the meaning behind it? I understand it was a demo, and you made it basically your song, but is there an experience behind the song?
Jair: “Yeah. Yeah. So the meaning before I had the song, it was called ‘Mr. Cry About It.’ And I don’t know if this is right, but I think she talks about how she was crying a lot about something, and she was like, ‘Call me Mr. Cry About It,’ because that was her situation. But that didn’t really feel like me. And I just kind of experienced something where you’re not in a relationship anymore. You already broke up, but you are each other’s safety net. So you’re trying to help the other get over their breakup of you, and they’re trying to help you. But in the end, you’re just crying about each other to each other. So that’s kind of where I got the, ‘I cry a lot. You cry a lot. So call me just to cry about it,’ from it just kind of means we were in this not good relationship, and now that we’re finally out of it, you’re still my safety person, and I’m still yours, and we’re trying to get over it together, but that makes you kind of fall in love again. So that’s kind of the meaning behind ‘Cry About It.‘
Not every day is filled with softness and positivity, which can make any task feel impossible if you are struggling with your emotions or feel like you are not doing enough. Jair expressed that consistency is a huge factor in keeping your mind moving forward, because even when certain days feel like there’s a weight on your chest, you can remember the days that were successful and led you to where you are today.
Interviewer: So what keeps you going on days you question everything?
Jair: “Oh. There’s a lot of days that I question everything, and I’m like, ‘You know what am I doing? Am I going the right way? Am I doing this well?’ But what kind of keeps me going is in the past few years, to me, it really showed that consistency is key. If you stay consistent in doing what you love, you’ll get where you have to be, kind of. And it goes with ups and downs, obviously. Everyone has ups and downs. But I keep reminding myself in my downs, I’m like, ‘You know you just came out of this amazing up, and you got there by being consistent.’ And then it keeps showing that if you’re consistent, you’re growing. And maybe it’s not going like this, how you want it to go, but maybe it’s going like this a little bit. I feel like if I look back from now, from the point where I am now to three years ago, I made so many great steps, and mainly by being consistent. So for me, consistency is the most important part.“
Interviewer: I did some research, and I believe I noticed you are part of the LGBTQ community. So with that, how important is it for you to be visible and open in your music?
Jair: “That’s kind of the reason why I make music. I never wrote songs until I was in my first relationship because I didn’t feel the need to share anything, and I didn’t feel the emotional need to express myself. But when I was in my first relationship, it started when I was 14 or 15. It was a gay relationship. And for me, that’s when I started feeling things that I wanted to share with the world. And the music I listened to, they weren’t really singing about what I felt and what I was going through. So that has been my goal ever since I started making music, was making queer relationships more mainstream. And not only the acceptance part because everyone’s always like, ‘If we’re talking about the queer community or about gay men or about anything in that little I’m going to call it a box, everything in that corner, everyone’s always talking about the acceptance and about how they don’t feel accepted or how they had to be accepted.’ And I feel like there’s all of these more little how do you say it? There’s all of these beautiful problems in queer relationships that straight people aren’t experiencing.
And those experiences, I have never heard anyone talk about in music. And that’s really what I want to share, all those more nuanced problems in queer relationships, but also the beautiful things about queer relationships. All of that, I want to share with the world. And that’s kind of what I want my fanbase to know as well because I want them to be able I want a little 14-year-old gay boy to listen to my music and feel understood and feel seen. And that’s what I kind of missed because here in Amsterdam, everything is really everyone’s pretty accepting, and everything is amazing. But then still, the mainstream media is not sharing our stories the way other stories are shared. So that’s kind of what I’m trying to do with my music as well.“
Interviewer: What version of yourself do you hope your future music captures?
Jair: “I’m growing a lot right now, as a person and as an artist, and I just want my music to reflect that journey the highs, the doubts, the confidence, everything that comes with it. At the same time, I want it to feel timeless. Not just something that lives in one moment, but something people can really feel and connect to, wherever they are in their own life.”
Interviewer: If you could strip away being a musician for a second, what are some things you’d like fans to know more about you?
Jair: “Honestly, I think people would just get to know me as a person a bit more. I love what I do, music is a huge part of my life, but there’s also a lot around it that inspires me. I really love traveling, being in new places, experiencing different cultures, just taking everything in. I’d say I have a pretty bubbly personality, I like to laugh and keep things light. I’m also really into fashion, especially more out-of-the-box pieces, I like expressing myself visually as well. And I’m big on road trips and anything with an engine. I recently got my motorcycle license, so I’ve been enjoying that a lot just being on the road, that sense of freedom.”
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