jxdn is continuing to release new music even though he’s currently on the road and will be performing in 36 states across America until mid-April. He’s also working on new music for his sophomore album, and “Friends With Benefits” gives us a taste of what we can expect from jxdn’s new era.
Co-written and co-produced by the Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, the track celebrates “casual sex” and flings – you know, the kind of affairs where no commitment is required. “Lips pressed against mine / Blood red from the wine / Veins full of nicotine / Smoke away the misery,” he sings in the opening verse. “In love for one night / What happened last night? / Wait, what happened last time? / This is the last time.”
The chorus kind of hints that his lover isn’t okay with what he calls “casual sex,” as he sings: “This one-night stand is all I can stand / When you left, I was textin’ your friends / Now you’re upset with my phone in your hand / This casual sex is gonna mess with your head.”
Now popularly known for his rock-influenced songs, he originally started out on TikTok, where he went on to gain millions of followers after joining it in 2019. A year later, jxdn would join the line of TikTok celebrities-turned-musicians by releasing his debut single “Comatose.” The self-released single drew the attention of Travis Barker and he signed jxdn to his label DTA record in a joint deal with Elektra Records.
Since signing a record label deal, jxdn has gone on to release an album, go on a headline tour, open for Machine Gun Kelly on his “Tickets to My Downfall“ tour, and collaborate with artists like Nessa Barrett.
When you listen to jxdn’s music, you see someone who isn’t afraid to let the darkness creep into his songs, and for good reason, because for so many years, he battled with it and it almost overcame him.
In an interview with Steve Baltin for Forbes, he admitted that he once hated people and didn’t have value for human life – a feeling that drove him to attempt suicide twice. Battling with severe depression and making it up with lies, manipulation, and selfishness, jxdn turned to Juice WRLD’s music to help him cope with his depression at the time.
He recalled that one of his most cathartic moments took place at a Juice WRLD concert, hearing the late star perform his song “Empty” and realizing how perfectly the song described what he felt inside. Another thing that sparked his turn to music was the realization that even as he related to the song, millions of others will relate to it, and he wanted to be part of something that made people feel like they were not alone.
