A slim figure walks up to grab the microphone at the front of the stage, his long hair lit up by the fiery glow of the pulsing stage lights. He draws a breath, and as the lights come up, his smile is illuminated. LA-based singer and songwriter Garrett Borns, better known by his stage name BØRNS, takes the mic from the stand and raises his arm to dip down in a low bow to the audience. His pianist lets the melody of their hit song “Electric Love” echo throughout Oakland’s Fox Theater.
“Hey, do you guys like my new jacket?" he asks the crowd.
Through the laughter, he murmurs to himself as he tugs at the sleeves. "I mean the sleeves are a little short, but that's the look nowadays right?"
As the drumbeat kicks in and the smooth roll of his voice fills in the gaps, a surge of energy hits the crowd and everybody sings together under the glow of the stage lights.
BØRNS has come into the spotlight recently, with Taylor Swift even giving him a shout-out earlier this year in January on Twitter. And while T-Swift herself proclaims that “Electric Love” sounds like “an instant classic,” the rest of BØRNS’ "Candy" EP is all that and so much more. The songs on "Candy" are sprinkled with dreamy electro-pop sounds, and the lyrics are just impossible to resist singing along to. With just four songs on the EP, fans like me have been anxiously waiting for more. Luckily for us, BØRNS announced on Twitter that they’re putting the finishing touches on their debut album.
BØRNS has been off to a great start since the release of his single, “10,000 Emerald Pools” in November of 2014. He toured on the MisterWives’ The Scrap Book Tour and has performed on "Conan" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers." Just recently, he has performed alongside Charli XCX and Bleachers on their Charli and Jack Do America tour, which kicked off in San Diego, California and just recently touched down in Oakland, California on July 23. BØRNS also just played a gig at Lollapalooza on July 31.
The charismatic 23-year-old doesn’t seem to be letting himself get too caught up in the glitz and glamour of the LA scene, as in an interview he had with Teen Vogue, he reveals how he wrote his entire EP from a secluded tree house that he rented through Airbnb. BØRNS also admitted in an interview with Radio.com that: “Trying to stay up on what’s cool is hard, it may be cool one day and not the next…Not that being cool is important.”
Have a good listen to the "Candy" EP, and I'm sure that you'll agree with Borns that "you can feel the sunshine" in the songs. Honestly, it's only a matter of time before you fall in love with his angelic voice and the irresistible melodies.
Check out their incredible live performance of "Electric Love" here.
