Nicholas Joubert Striving For Excellence: Interview  

Impulse Africa Magazine Team recently caught up Nicholas Joubert South Africa’s rising pop music artist  following the release of his debut single Someone New.

Aged 25, Nicholas Joubert’s career in music entertainment is just kick-starting, but this isn’t his first rodeo.

Growing up with an immense passion for music, Nicholas used to sing himself to sleep as a kid.

His parents enjoyed music and it was blaring in the house, but neither had much musical abilities and therefore didn’t understand the youngster’s fervour for the art and his dream to become an entertainer.

1.  Briefly tell us about your journey as a musician so far?

Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve always had a keen interest in music and singing. I used to sing myself to sleep as a toddler. In primary school our choir teacher asked to me audition for our school choir.

By the time I reached high school, I started considering pursuing a career in music as a singer. I’ve always dreamt about being on a big stage doing massive shows from a young age.

In high school I took vocal lessons and developed my voice in addition to singing in the school choir.

After school I stopped singing for a while. I enrolled to university and founded a small business. I was in my final year of my undergraduate degree that I was presented with an excellent opportunity to pursue a career in music, and I took it.

The organization helped me develop my skill and introduced me to all the right people who assisted me to make my dream a reality.

The journey has been interesting, and I never thought it would follow the path that it did – but I am grateful it happened this way.

I have more appreciation for where I am now through all the hard lessons I had to learn.

2. How would you describe your sound?

My debut single, Someone New, is dance pop. My goal is for people to enjoy and have fun when listening to my music. I want them to turn up the music and sing their hearts out or start dancing. I must give credit to the artists who inspired the sound of “Someone New”.

HRVY, Shawn Mendes and Taylor Swift – I look up to them and have a lot of respect for them as an artist. When I listen to their songs, it makes me feel good and people in general enjoy the music they release.

3. Any reason for choosing pop music over the other genres?  

I love making pop music. It’s a genre I love and listen to it most of the time, however I wouldn’t mind exploring other genres. I enjoy a good rock track and ballads as well.

4.    Where do you draw your inspiration from as a musician?

I write from personal experiences, whether it be an event that happened to me, or something I am thinking about. I feel that I need to deliver a product that is true to me and what I am going through.

If it is fake, then people won’t be able to connect with my music – and that defies the purpose of music. I think music needs to speak to you.  

5.  How would you describe the experience of making your latest single Someone New?

The whole process was intense since it was my debut release but I had so much fun. I learned a lot about myself and how the music industry works with the development and release of Someone New.

My producer, Gino Lee from River Road Records, pushed my vocal performance. He had a good idea of what he wanted from me, and I am really grateful that he pushed me this hard.

The music video was also an experience I will not forget. I struggled a lot with the choreography, since I’ve got two left feet. The choreographers really tried their best to make me look good.

We also had to navigate through load shedding. Halfway through our shoot the power went out, so we had to go back a few days later to finish shooting.

Rici Martins from Sevven and his team were also excellent with developing and shooting the music video.  All in all, I am blessed with such a great team who has a great passion for the music industry.

6.  What does success look like for you at the moment?

Someone New performed really well on South African radio and was play listed by various big radio stations. The song charted on East Coast Radio’s Top 40 and reached number 5 op Five Fm’s Pop Chart.

The song was also featured internationally on radio stations based in the UK and in Australia, and we received some international media coverage as well.

For a debut release I could not be more satisfied with the success of the single. As I am preparing for the next song’s release, success to me would look like building on what we have achieved with Someone New and taking the next single to greater heights.

As the world reopens after the pandemic, I hope to get on stage, interact with people and have a lot of fun.

7.    As an upcoming artist what would you say is the most important lesson you have learnt so far?

Always strive for excellence and release quality work into the market, but most importantly, have fun during the process.

8. Three things people do not know about Nicholas

1.I have a passion for the environment and the conservation thereof.

2. I am a qualified scuba diver. I love diving and one of my biggest goals is to dive at all the top diving spots over the globe.

3. I am a hobbyist beekeeper. I am geared up and have two beehives in my garden. I am hoping to harvest some honey next season (I only started with the hobby in 2021). I have always had a keen interest in beekeeping and bees as so important for our survival. It is my effort to “save the planet”, LOL.

9. What can your fans expect from you in 2022?

I am releasing more music this year. The next single is finished, and I am busy planning the release.

We’re also busy with the website design and my fans will be able to stay updated on the website.

I am also getting more active on TikTok – I realized that I need to engage more with my fans on social media and TikTok is such a fun platform.

 I’ll also be doing more covers of artists/song that I like, so my fans are welcome to follow my account and engage with me (@nicholasjoubertofficial).

10. What are you most grateful for right now?    

I am grateful for everyone who have supported me throughout the journey of releasing my music, from my fans, the press & media, radio stations, my team, my friends, and my family.

Every time my song plays on the radio, I get sent these video clips of them singing to the song or dancing to it – it makes my day. I love seeing people having fun with my music.