In the midst of his first-ever headlining tour, Stephen Sanchez is already looking to the future. "This first tour is a slow build into the next tour," he teases to GRAMMY.com, alluding to his recently announced October-December stretch. "The fall is going to change everything — it's going to feel like you've stepped into the '50s and '60s."
For Sanchez, embodying an old-school vibe has both defined his career and propelled his success. Case in point: his breakout single "Until I Found You," which became a radio staple last year and has since garnered more than more than 1.7 billion global streams. The lovestruck ballad boasts his crooning voice and a classic chord progression with an echoing electric guitar, creating a sound that conjures up a past generation.
Although he's just 20 years old, Sanchez's love for artists like Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole stems from his childhood. He's filtering those retro influences through a distinctly modern lens — and a sensitive one at that.
"[Those artists] gave me a sense of direction as to how to fall in love with somebody and give my love to somebody," Sanchez says. "Love's this passionate fight, but it's also a surrender. Without that music, I wouldn't know that."
Now, armed with a co-sign from Elton John — more on that later — Sanchez is riding high with a new single, the similarly retro "Evangeline." Just before launching his tour, Sanchez spoke to GRAMMY.com about his influences, success and the real-life story behind "Until I Found You."
"Until I Found You" is a song that's bursting with passion while coupled with a distinctly retro sensibility. How did it all come to life?
It all started after making a bad financial decision. I bought a black Rickenbacker guitar and an amp, and both of them cost me well over a couple thousand dollars. So I got home after buying the guitar, sat in my room and wrote "Until I Found You" that day in 15 minutes.
The lyrics are about a girl I was dating at the time, actually named Georgia [who is mentioned in the song]. I sent a demo to my label and my girlfriend, and that was it. Nobody really gave much attention to it, but then I posted it online and everybody paid attention to it. It took off and now it's almost a double platinum song, which is unreal.
Classic question for your classic song — what comes first for you, music or lyrics?
It's always lyrics. Nothing usually starts out as a song, but as a poem. I'm always trying to write the most beautiful parts of someone from my perspective.
Everyone must sing along to the song when you perform it live. Can you describe what it was like the first time that happened?
I burst into tears, honestly. I wrote all of these songs in my bedroom, I didn't think anyone would ever sing them back to me because they were only meant to mean something to one person. It's a wild feeling.
I feel like I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't ask if you and Georgia were still dating…
We are not still dating. It's been exciting for the both of us to get to see the success of the song. She actually is on the recording of it — she sang the background vocals. But I do love that other people have attached their love to it because it's very much an immortalized time of our love.
It's hard to make a song that sounds classic, but also resonates with today's audiences. It seems like you found something new while also honoring the past. What are your takeaways from its surprise success?
Everyone's individual truths become universal, you know? I think when people get the chance to hear someone's love for another person, like my love for Georgia in the song, it resonates.
I didn't think "Until I Found You" was going to be anything more than what it was. I wrote it about her because I loved her, and the fact that people have taken it upon themselves to apply it to their own love stories is beyond me. So it's really special and we need more than that. We need more truth in music!
The song has such a classic feel, it made me wonder who your favorite artists were growing up?
The Platters, the Ink Spots, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole all inspired me growing up. The love that they used to sing about is just amazing.
How did you initially get into that generation of artists? Did you have a relative who introduced you to them?
Yeah, my grandparents! They had a lot of land in San Jose, California that sat in between these two barns. Inside both of those barns are vinyl boxes everywhere. In the mornings, my grandma would make me breakfast and send me to those barns to pick through vinyls. It was an amazing thing.
What was it like as a kid listening to those artists while all of your peers — in school and the industry — probably have never been introduced to them?
God, it changed everything. I feel like I'm a big romantic and I give credit to that music as to why that is. It gave me a sense of direction as to how to fall in love with somebody and give my love to somebody. Love's this passionate fight, but it's also a surrender. Without that music, I wouldn't know that.
Your newest song, "Evangeline," is another passionate love ballad that transports listeners back into a bygone era. In addition, you have your debut album in the works. What can you reveal about either?
I had just got back from touring Europe when I went into the studio with Nick Lobel and Trent Dabbs who are both amazing songwriters and engineers. We wrote the song in 15 minutes using a sample of Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey," taking the first 10 seconds of that song, building the track and writing the song that day.
As for my debut album, it's 12 songs and set between the years 1958 and 1964. That's all I can really say about it!
The week after "Evangeline" came out, you attended your first GRAMMY weekend. What was that like?
It was really unreal. I didn't feel like I was there actually, I felt like I was somewhere else; like I was floating away.
I know you also rubbed elbows with Elton John and wound up getting to know him?
Yes! He's so supportive and I'm grateful to call him a friend. We sat next to each other at the MusiCares [Persons Of The Year event] and sang "My Girl" to each other while The Temptations played on stage in front of us. He also teased me when I freaked out about Brandi Carlile. He does this thing where he gives my face a little smack when I see him. It's an honor to know him.
You just embarked on your first nationwide tour of the US. What has that experience been like for you?
This first tour is a slow build into the next tour. We're playing all the music that is out right now and keeping things in the singer/songwriter vein with these live shows for the time being.
The next tour we're planning [in the fall] is going to change everything. It's going to feel like you've stepped into the '50s and '60s. But touring is really fun — and I'm very tired.
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