Emerging singer and songwriter Johnny Manuel has returned with his second EP, Blue. It’s the follow-up to his 2022 debut EP, Younger Skin.
“With last year’s Younger Skin EP, I was mainly focused on telling my story and introducing my authentic self to the masses, but with Blue my focus was to hone in on the production and solidify a unique sonic direction for myself in the R&B landscape,” says Manuel.
“I am proud of where I am now that I am on the other side of this project. Through the process of creating it, I understand myself more and more and now this is just the beginning of my journey.”
Blue opens with “Call It Off,” which finds Manuel pondering a sinking relationship. Although the signs are ever so clear, part of him doesn’t want to let go.
“A part of me knows I’m better by myself / I wanna run but there’s nobody else who knows me this well / Though it’s like you use it all to break me down and give me hell,” he croons on the Laprete-produced tune.
Songs like “End of the Night” and “Molotov” boast an irresistible groove that is sure to get bodies swaying to the melodic production.
The latter bop is an ode to new beginnings. “High in the fire / Burn till I forget my mistakes,” Manuel sings in an airy falsetto.
The closing track, “What Am I,” is another standout on Blue. On the piano-laden ballad, produced by T. Priestly, Manuel seeks to understand himself in a state of isolation — particularly at the end of a relationship.
“When you were my nights / You taught me how to love my feelings / So scared to love myself,” Manuel sings in the stirring ballad.
Speaking on the song’s inspiration, Manuel shares: “Writing songs and shaping a project is an ever-evolving process for me and for my first solo ballad, I hadn’t yet discovered the exact sound I was looking for until T. Priestly, in all his brilliance, captured it. The production was exactly what I was in search of; haunting piano-led minimalism with an edge that allowed me to sing from a more raw and vulnerable place.”
“What Am I” is accompanied by an official video, which Manuel says “evokes the emotion of the song perfectly.” He adds, “Does not having you here change what I am? With me alone in a space, exploring whether or not I am able to love myself wholly, and completely independent of anyone else.”
As noted above Blue is the follow-up to Manuel’s debut EP, Younger Skin. The project consisted of four tracks, including “Out of Time.”
“I had to confront my archaic past and the hold it still had on me,” Manuel told Rated R&B about the project’s inspiration.
“There was a healing that needed to take place if I wanted to move forward in music, and this EP is that. Delving into my storied history was complicated but it was imperative. It helped me emotionally rectify the disservice that was done to me by people I trusted and looked up to in the industry.”
Manuel was previously known as Lil’ Johnny. He was signed to Warner Bros. Record as a teen. In 2001, he appeared on The Brothers soundtrack “Wheel of Fortune,” produced by Jazz Nixon.
Stream Johnny Manuel’s Blue EP below.
