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Every week in breakthrough we talk to the rising stars exploding right now – whether it’s a huge viral moment, a killer new song or an eye-opening video – these are the rising artists sure to dominate in the near future.
Riovaz has always done the opposite of what people expected. It’s a trait he first became addicted to growing up in New Jersey, surprising himself with the sounds he created in his teenage bedroom, silencing naysayers who thought his musical output was worthless. His moody dance song “Prom Night” became popular in 2020, garnering millions of streams and providing the soundtrack to more than 100,000 TikTok clips. The song’s popularity reluctantly pushed Riovaz into the limelight, something he had avoided since he started making music at the age of 13, to let his music speak for itself.
But “Prom” it was “turning point” for the introverted artist, allowing him to build a deeper connection with songwriting and creativity that helped shape his overall decision to take his music career seriously. Driven by this goal, Riovaz released several genre-defying releases last year, such as the hypnotic “Tell Me All Your Fears” (which highlighted his penchant for house music) and the seething “I Feel Fantastic,” where he politely implores his beloved “Please cry yourself to sleep.”
Now 18 years old, Riovaz is banking on his viral success, delving into experimentation and composing songs with an open heart, while refusing to categorize, compare or have anyone’s opinion of his sound. “People want to be different so much these days just for the attention and the likes,” he tells NME, calling from his home in New Jersey. “Why be an artist at all if you want to be someone else?”
Later this year, he will release a new one EP, which has many arrangements combining elements of house music, piano and drum and bass into his own signature sound. Ultimately, Riovaz aims to “create a movement” on the dance scene, which he says “has been my goal from the beginning.” The fruits of his labor are already evident at his live shows, with new fans singing every line of his songs (a sold-out US tour is also in his diary from 2023). “I just want to create something that will affect people in a certain way,” he says. “It’s just wild to see.”
NME: You started making music when you were just 13 years old. How has your relationship with creativity changed since then?
“When I started, I did it as a hobby. But then when I continued to write songs and saw that they were accepted SoundCloud, I started to take it seriously. My love for him grew and my love for songwriting developed as I got older. That’s why I’m here now: I just fell in love [making music] over time. I took writing seriously during quarantine in 2020 because I was just stuck in my room — I just listened to snippets and started writing. Then I discovered The Smiths and they made me take writing more seriously. I wrote how I felt and just took it from there – the words just flew out of my head. When I listen to the beats, they become building blocks and everything just comes together.”
How was your introduction to The Smiths?
“[I found them on] YouTube. I watched the “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” video and it got me. A video was recommended for a year, then I clicked on it during quarantine and it changed my life.”
Before the release of “Prom” didn’t appear online, but then your viral hit brought everyone’s attention to you. What was this quick fame?
“It was so scary. This happened with the video because “Prom” was already released and things were going well for him. But that was a year before it broke, and the video revealed the faces of everyone, [which] it was so scary. I had never done this before and I was just a 16 year old with glasses and braces. Now I have become more confident in myself. When I released I Feel Fantastic, I felt like I was coming into my own. Even when I first showed my face, I still didn’t feel like Riovaz. [Now] it’s really good.”
You mentioned earlier that you felt you had to stifle your creativity growing up because of the people around you. How did he get out of it?
“When you tell your friends you’re into music, especially when you’re 13 or 14, they don’t take it seriously. Even when I finally got serious about it, they weren’t into the idea and it didn’t motivate me at all. I continued to do so [though] and I am where I am now thanks to all the people I met online. I had a big group of friends in Orlando who were also making the music I was making and that pushed me forward to keep going. They’re just people you meet: people you know in real life don’t realize it until they see something physical.
in “Hysteria” you sing about your desire for authenticity and your issues with comparisons. Is there a specific experience you are talking about in these lyrics?
“I talk a lot about my hatred of things and that’s really what the song is about. There’s a phrase “I’m tired of comparisons / I’m who I want to be” because [although] people and many fans recognized me, [they] you don’t know me at the same time. time. People try to put you in this box and compare you to other artists you date or think they know what sound you have. It just isn’t: they really don’t get it, and that’s what I’m talking about.
Is that why you recently tweeted, “Stop saying I’m doing hyper-pop”?
“Yeah, I don’t understand that. I don’t think I do hyper-pop. I was listening to hyper-pop in 2020 when it was just starting to take off, and I don’t think I do at all. All I did was a foursome dance or drum and bass. I don’t do hyper-pop — I’ll never understand. I think it’s because of the people I hang out with [and collaborate with], like midwxst and aldn that came out of hyper-pop, so I think people are making that comparison. Nothing against [hyper-pop], I was literally a fan of the whole scene. I just want people to understand the world I’m trying to build on the dance floor because that’s what I’m doing right now.”
In the past, you called your sound “RioRave”. How would you define this genre?
“It’s melancholic music, but you can backflips to it. It’s like chaotic beauty; a mixture of joy and sadness. I feel like this place is all over the place, so I wouldn’t say I have a genre: I’m constantly evolving. You could say I have a genre now – I have momentary genres – but they’re constantly changing. When people ask me what genre I’m into, I just say my name because it’s constantly changing and so are my influences. The Beatles, Three Days Grace, Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins were the biggest influences in my life – they were my first entry point into music.”
What drew you to these bands? Was it their sound or their songwriting?
“Their honesty, like The Smiths, is another big influence [on me] because I like their songwriting. It’s so honest and intimate and I love it when my music is connected to my music and my fans feel connected to it.”
How does it feel to share your new EP this year and what can your fans expect from it?
“I feel very good because right now I feel like an acquaintance. [In 2022] I have a lot of new fans and new faces and I really want this EP to be an introduction to my sound and the sound that I will be promoting for the album coming out. I really want them to get the point of this EP.”
Riovaz’s new single “Tantrum (Pace Yourself)” is out.
Every week in breakthrough we talk to the rising stars exploding right now – whether it’s a huge viral moment, a killer new song or an eye-opening video – these are the rising artists sure to dominate in the near future.
Riovaz has always done the opposite of what people expected. It’s a trait he first became addicted to growing up in New Jersey, surprising himself with the sounds he created in his teenage bedroom, silencing naysayers who thought his musical output was worthless. His moody dance song “Prom Night” became popular in 2020, garnering millions of streams and providing the soundtrack to more than 100,000 TikTok clips. The song’s popularity reluctantly pushed Riovaz into the limelight, something he had avoided since he started making music at the age of 13, to let his music speak for itself.
But “Prom” it was “turning point” for the introverted artist, allowing him to build a deeper connection with songwriting and creativity that helped shape his overall decision to take his music career seriously. Driven by this goal, Riovaz released several genre-defying releases last year, such as the hypnotic “Tell Me All Your Fears” (which highlighted his penchant for house music) and the seething “I Feel Fantastic,” where he politely implores his beloved “Please cry yourself to sleep.”
Now 18 years old, Riovaz is banking on his viral success, delving into experimentation and composing songs with an open heart, while refusing to categorize, compare or have anyone’s opinion of his sound. “People want to be different so much these days just for the attention and the likes,” he tells NME, calling from his home in New Jersey. “Why be an artist at all if you want to be someone else?”
Later this year, he will release a new one EP, which has many arrangements combining elements of house music, piano and drum and bass into his own signature sound. Ultimately, Riovaz aims to “create a movement” on the dance scene, which he says “has been my goal from the beginning.” The fruits of his labor are already evident at his live shows, with new fans singing every line of his songs (a sold-out US tour is also in his diary from 2023). “I just want to create something that will affect people in a certain way,” he says. “It’s just wild to see.”
NME: You started making music when you were just 13 years old. How has your relationship with creativity changed since then?
“When I started, I did it as a hobby. But then when I continued to write songs and saw that they were accepted SoundCloud, I started to take it seriously. My love for him grew and my love for songwriting developed as I got older. That’s why I’m here now: I just fell in love [making music] over time. I took writing seriously during quarantine in 2020 because I was just stuck in my room — I just listened to snippets and started writing. Then I discovered The Smiths and they made me take writing more seriously. I wrote how I felt and just took it from there – the words just flew out of my head. When I listen to the beats, they become building blocks and everything just comes together.”
How was your introduction to The Smiths?
“[I found them on] YouTube. I watched the “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” video and it got me. A video was recommended for a year, then I clicked on it during quarantine and it changed my life.”
Before the release of “Prom” didn’t appear online, but then your viral hit brought everyone’s attention to you. What was this quick fame?
“It was so scary. This happened with the video because “Prom” was already released and things were going well for him. But that was a year before it broke, and the video revealed the faces of everyone, [which] it was so scary. I had never done this before and I was just a 16 year old with glasses and braces. Now I have become more confident in myself. When I released I Feel Fantastic, I felt like I was coming into my own. Even when I first showed my face, I still didn’t feel like Riovaz. [Now] it’s really good.”
You mentioned earlier that you felt you had to stifle your creativity growing up because of the people around you. How did he get out of it?
“When you tell your friends you’re into music, especially when you’re 13 or 14, they don’t take it seriously. Even when I finally got serious about it, they weren’t into the idea and it didn’t motivate me at all. I continued to do so [though] and I am where I am now thanks to all the people I met online. I had a big group of friends in Orlando who were also making the music I was making and that pushed me forward to keep going. They’re just people you meet: people you know in real life don’t realize it until they see something physical.
in “Hysteria” you sing about your desire for authenticity and your issues with comparisons. Is there a specific experience you are talking about in these lyrics?
“I talk a lot about my hatred of things and that’s really what the song is about. There’s a phrase “I’m tired of comparisons / I’m who I want to be” because [although] people and many fans recognized me, [they] you don’t know me at the same time. time. People try to put you in this box and compare you to other artists you date or think they know what sound you have. It just isn’t: they really don’t get it, and that’s what I’m talking about.
Is that why you recently tweeted, “Stop saying I’m doing hyper-pop”?
“Yeah, I don’t understand that. I don’t think I do hyper-pop. I was listening to hyper-pop in 2020 when it was just starting to take off, and I don’t think I do at all. All I did was a foursome dance or drum and bass. I don’t do hyper-pop — I’ll never understand. I think it’s because of the people I hang out with [and collaborate with], like midwxst and aldn that came out of hyper-pop, so I think people are making that comparison. Nothing against [hyper-pop], I was literally a fan of the whole scene. I just want people to understand the world I’m trying to build on the dance floor because that’s what I’m doing right now.”
In the past, you called your sound “RioRave”. How would you define this genre?
“It’s melancholic music, but you can backflips to it. It’s like chaotic beauty; a mixture of joy and sadness. I feel like this place is all over the place, so I wouldn’t say I have a genre: I’m constantly evolving. You could say I have a genre now – I have momentary genres – but they’re constantly changing. When people ask me what genre I’m into, I just say my name because it’s constantly changing and so are my influences. The Beatles, Three Days Grace, Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins were the biggest influences in my life – they were my first entry point into music.”
What drew you to these bands? Was it their sound or their songwriting?
“Their honesty, like The Smiths, is another big influence [on me] because I like their songwriting. It’s so honest and intimate and I love it when my music is connected to my music and my fans feel connected to it.”
How does it feel to share your new EP this year and what can your fans expect from it?
“I feel very good because right now I feel like an acquaintance. [In 2022] I have a lot of new fans and new faces and I really want this EP to be an introduction to my sound and the sound that I will be promoting for the album coming out. I really want them to get the point of this EP.”
Riovaz’s new single “Tantrum (Pace Yourself)” is out.
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