We Meet JP Cooper, The 'Annoying Kid' Turned Top 10 Hit Maker

JP Cooper first got his first taste of chart success last year, featuring on Jonas Blue's summer smash and nearly-number one (thanks, Drake) 'Perfect Strangers'. Now he's back in the Top 10 with his similarly feel-good solo single 'September Song'.

As the voting for MTV Brand New For 2017 nears the end, we check in with our final nominee on the road to breakthrough success and taking a leaf out of Albert Einstein's book...

"I’m over the moon to be part of MTV’s Brand New list," he told us. "I didn’t have cable or Sky TV when I was younger but I can remember going to my friend’s house and watching MTV videos and aspiring to be ever involved with MTV, so I’m a very, very happy boy."

On how he got started in music, Cooper revealed: "there wasn’t really a defining moment where I was like ‘this is what I want to do’. I think as soon as I started singing and, you know, formed little bands in school with my friends I was always quite head strong. I was the annoying kid moaning at the drummer for not practising. I think I was always, if we’re doing this, let’s do it."

And he did it. "2016 has...been amazing," he continued, "I didn’t expect to have seen so many of things that I’ve seen this year, from supporting Stevie Wonder at Hyde Park to performing with Jonas Blue at MTV Crashes, you know, crazy crowds and amazing memories and I’m just really looking forward to hitting the ground running in 2017 now."

WATCH OUR EXCLUSIVE SPOTLIGHT WITH JP COOPER HERE:

On his current chart earworm 'September Song', Cooper told us: "it’s basically a kind of nostalgia look back at a simpler time when the biggest problems you had were missing your high school crush over the summer holidays and looking forward to getting back to that. And also, you know, looking back now and wondering what those people are doing now and how it would be if we bumped into them. It’s just quite a sweet, simple, innocent song really."

WATCH JP COOPER'S 'SEPTEMBER SONG' HERE:

When asked about his future ambitions, he added: "the most exciting thing is thinking, 'what will I be doing in twelve months time?' I’m just hopeful and grateful and excited.

"It was Albert Einstein that said ‘play is the greatest form of research’, so I’m kind of living by that."

To vote for JP Cooper to win Brand New For 2017, like/heart the Instagram image here:

https://instagram.com/p/BPdBvYoAKhi/

See JP Cooper Live:

25th May - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London

9 Things You Need To Know About JP Cooper

• John Paul Cooper, better known as JP Cooper, was born in Manchester in 1983.

  1 of 9

• JP Cooper has released five EPs to date. His first, EP1, was self-released in 2012.

  [Getty]

  2 of 9

• Stormzy's a massive fan, going as far to say JP is "one of the greatest musicians to ever come out of this country."

  3 of 9

• JP Cooper featured on Jonas Blue’s ‘Perfect Strangers’, which was a Number 2 hit in the UK Charts.

  [Getty]

  4 of 9

• Later in 2016, JP Cooper released his own track ‘September Song’, which broke into the Top 10 on the UK Charts.

  5 of 9
• Before he signed to Island Records, JP used to work in a bar, making music in his spare time.

  [Getty]

  6 of 9
• The first kind of music JP really fell in love with was Grunge. “I used to love Pearl Jam and Sound Guard,” he said. “A lot of the Seattle scene.”

  [Getty]

  7 of 9
• His dream collaboration would be with Bill Withers, who won three Grammys and sang “Ain’t No Sunshine”, amongst many more. “I’d pick his brains and just listen to what he’s got to say about life,” said JP.

  [Getty]

  8 of 9
• He promises that his debut album will be coming soon!

  [Getty]

  9 of 9

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•