After The Voice UK allowed groups to compete in 2019, the Manchester based trio entered the competition and impressed both coaches and the audience with their vocal abilities and impressive, slick harmonies. We caught up with them for a quick chat.
1. Thanks for your time. For those of our readers who aren’t familiar with NXTGEN, could you tell us a little bit about the group?
We are 3 mates based in Manchester, UK who all have a huge passion for music. We all grew up of dreaming of one day becoming successful recording artists. After a jamming session singing our favourite songs in Joel’s bedroom, we decided to start a band.
2. You’ve just put out your new single Rewind, which has a video shot on Venice Beach. What was that experience like?
Being on Venice Beach was amazing. We all come from single parent working class families so we never thought we’d be able to afford to travel to the US… never mind LOS Angeles! It was like being in a Movie. We loved every second and miss it everyday. We can’t wait to go back.
3. You’ve also been working quite closely with Will.I.Am, how did that come about and what have you learned from working with him?
We met will on the Voice UK. We chose to be on his team and made it to the Semi Finals. We all decided that we wanted to perform an original song in the semis so Will invited us to Metropolis Studio in London. We showed him a demo of a song we had called “Embrace” and he loved the vibe. We spent 2 days working on the song and will even asked if he could feature on it himself! We couldn’t believe it as he is such an inspiration to us so we felt honoured that he wanted to be a part of our music. He is always giving us great advice and is still heavily involved in the development of our career. We feel incredibly lucky to have him on our side as it’s super tough to make it in the industry. But with his help and guidance we believe that we can get there.
4. When the group got together what were your goals and ambitions? Now you’re working with the likes of Will.I.Am and recording videos in America, are you going to have to shift those ambitions?
Our ambition is to be as successful as possible and give our mums a better life. They have been our biggest fans since day one and have always been really supportive over the years. We’d also love to break America and live out in LA! We’ve fallen in love with the place and miss all of Will’s team so we want to go back as soon as we can!
5. Now the new single is out, what about plans for an album?
We are going to release singles for the time being and go from there. We are hoping to release a song and video around once a month and build our following.
6. Going back you took part in The Voice UK, what was that like and what did you learn from that experience?
The voice is a great opportunity to showcase your talent to the nation. You learn a lot during the process and is a great boost for socials. But we want to move away from that now and focus on our careers going forward as NXTGEN.
7. Rewind is described as modern contemporary pop, what do you think of the pop scene in the UK currently? Any favour
The UK pop scene is good. Grime is big at the moment so we are big fans of that at the moment. We particularly like an upcoming artist from Manchester called “Aitch”.
8. Curveball question now: You’re a new addition to the crayon box, what colour would you be and why?
Probably a mixture of blue and red as Cian and Joel support Manchester United and Sonny supports Manchester City.
9.Tell us an embarrassing fact about each of the group…
Sonny started off singing karaoke in bars
No one pronounce Cian’s name and instead call him things like Sin – Will.i.am calls him Malcom
Joel chats up girls in clubs by singing down their ear
10. Finally, thanks for your time. Just to finish, what are your plans for the next 18 months. What can we expect from NXTGEN?
Thank you for having us! Expect lots of new music over the coming months as well as a tour early in the new year!
