A soulful pop-driven voice cascades into our ears on Nick Metos's latest hit, "Don't Want It." EDM soundscapes create a groove along with sensation for the listener, interchanging balladry tempos with dance floor paces. This 25-year-old, classically trained vocalist from Salt Lake City, Utah, is a recent transplant to the LA music scene where Nick has comfortably settled into the creative atmosphere LA is famous for.
"Don't Want It" is a confident, stand tall song. We loved Nick’s lyrics and the self-assurance that radiated from them. Verses like: "You don't got that energy that I like," "I just keep on giving, but you're always wanting more," "It's not right for me, so you got to leave," give the listener a 'clap back,' brush your shoulder off persona. Soulful piano ladened moments tap into Nick's emotional messaging, and the upbeat EDM style soundscapes breathe levity and redemption into the track. What we loved the most was the grungy, electric bass guitar that plucked along with the chorus by Nick's producer Sean Cook; it makes the listener want to get up and strut along, (you will experience a popping sensation in your hips) we recommend you embrace it! We absolutely loved Nick Metos's latest hit "Don't Want It," and we KNOW you will too.
Discover "Don't Want It" here.
Hello Nick, and welcome to BuzzMusic. We loved your clap back song "Don't Want It." Can you tell our listeners what the song means to you and what you wanted the fans to experience when they listen? To me, my new song “Don’t Want It” represents how I feel about negative, toxic energy/ people in my life and the fact that I am DONE with all of it! I don’t want it, baby! I want to only surround myself with positivity and so should everyone else! I really think it’s a song that everyone can relate to because I’m pretty sure that all of us have experienced toxic people and situations in our life and we DESERVE better! It can also be related to literally anything that you just don’t want anymore! It can also really be an anthem for what’s going on in the media right now, I don’t want corona, I don’t want racism, hatred, violence, none of it! This song can really be a global anthem for literally ANYONE!
When people listen to my song, I want them to feel excited, uplifted and inspired to truly start living for themselves and no one else! It’s so hard to find people to trust in this crazy world but if we just focus on ourselves and what we want in life, the right people and connections/ relationships will fall into place! I also want you to DANCE your ass off, smile, laugh and just live your life, forget about all the bullshit and negativity when you hear my song! You mentioned you are a classically trained vocalist. Can you tell us a little more about your journey as a musician? Have you always known you wanted to pursue music as a career? My family definitely always knew I was a singer from the beginning, I’ll attach a photo of me with my favorite microphone I was always running around with! I also got the lead of Elvis Presley in my second-grade school program so it’s really been in me from the beginning! I went to a place called “School of Rock Music” for 5 years in SLC, Utah which is where I was born and raised. There, I took both guitar and some singing lessons and we played live concerts every month! (Rolling Stones, ACDC, The Ramones, Police, Pink Floyd, etc.) This definitely had a major impact on my musical journey and got me to become a little more comfortable on stage! (I was definitely still always a pretty shy kid) I mostly just played guitar in the shows but I’ll never forget this one time during our Police concert, one of the singers was unable to make it onto the stage for some reason that I don’t remember and it happened to be a song that I knew really well!
I was so nervous and I don’t remember too many details but what I do remember is this lady that came up to me afterwards and very intensely told me “YOU ARE A STAR AND YOU NEED TO DO THIS! YOU ARE BORN TO DO THIS AND DON’T EVER FORGET THAT”! That definitely has stuck with me forever!
I have taken some other voice lessons here and there at other little places and have had lead roles in musicals and plays throughout my whole life and have always been involved in school choirs, church choir, and I was a vocalist with my jazz band in highs school!
The situations have ranged from every level of insanity and have been filled with high and low moments. I’ll never forget this one moment specifically, when I had been kicked out of one of my spots and I was in my car, filled with all my belongings, and I honestly had no idea where I was going next! I just kept staying positive and praying and here I am today in my own studio apartment in the heart of Hollywood honestly living a dream! Still hustling to keep up with the cost of living of course but I am honestly SO proud of how far I’ve come! How has moving to Los Angeles invigorated your passion for creating music? When it came to the point of choosing which college to go to, I kept hearing about how amazing the music program was over at Westminster College, a private liberal arts college back in SLC, Utah and I heard they were holding vocal scholarship auditions! I ended up doing the audition and before I could even walk off the stage they told me I was accepted!
I have always had a big, loud, resonant voice and have always been very well connected with my diaphragm. I remember in the last few years of my grandfather's life, he was very hard of hearing and always wanted me to be the one talking to him because he couldn’t hear anyone else! I never expected that it would lead to me studying opera in college! I became a music major with an emphasis in vocal performance. I nailed a lead in Don Giovanni, an Italian opera my freshman year with the role of Leporello. I was also in the Westminster Chamber Singers and the G5 which was the male acapella group that branched off of the chamber singers! We toured the U.K. together and had rehearsal every single day after school and then had rehearsals on top of that for our monthly concerts! It was a huge commitment but it was definitely one of the most incredible experiences ever!
I was there for a few years and was involved in the many concerts, the tour, a few operas and went up to music theory and aural skills level 2 out of 4 but then I realized that I knowing this much about music was starting to take my passion away! I really LOVED getting a few years of the classical vocal training and I feel like it really opened up my voice! Learning about the actual anatomy and what was going on inside my body to create my voice made a huge difference in my control and range! I loved the vocal training and all the performing but hated all the other technical classes I had to take like aural skills, music theory, math, etc. (I am definitely still glad I took them tho!) I was also really starting to get into makeup at that time and was getting hired right and left for gigs! My head really wasn’t in school and I had never had just a strong feeling in my life that I had to be somewhere. I had this STRONG feeling I just really had to be in LA!
MY professors and family were actually VERY supportive of this idea which was a bit surprising to me because they are all, of course, very pro college and my family along with many others has a strong opinion about the fact that getting a college degree is just the right thing to do! It definitely helped that they were able to hold my scholarships for 3 years and the drive to LA is only about 8 or 9 hours! What did I have to lose? I’m not going to be young forever but College will always be there for me when I want it! I also just knew in my heart that this was right! Many people talk about moving to LA for so long but one day I just packed up my car and I was like mom, I’m leaving in the morning! I only knew ONE guy out here and that was the first place I drove to! Ended up staying on his couch for only one night until I met one of his friends that had a room available to rent in her house! It will be 4 years in July and I have moved about 13 times within LA!
Right when I got to LA it just felt RIGHT. I felt much more belonging in LA than I ever did in SLC! Not only being surrounded by other talented and creative energy but the acceptance for my sexuality as a gay man felt and feels incredible. Living in LA I have gotten the opportunity to really get myself out there and connect with some incredibly talented individuals including the amazing team I have worked with to begin my music career! Can you tell us a bit about your creative process and where you draw inspiration from when you're working on new pieces?
About my creative process when creating music, I have only made these first two songs of course and it has been with my producer Sean Cook and songwriter Andreas Moss. I know that I can sing, but putting my thoughts and feelings into an actual song is just a skill that I honestly don’t have yet! I am extremely grateful that I have found Andreas because he is exactly what I have been praying for over the last few years! Somebody that believes in me, wants to give me an opportunity to show the world what I can do, and really truly sees me for who I am! He has taken both these songs right out of my heart and I can’t wait to continue creating with him and Sean! He is also who introduced my to the producer Sean who I obviously INCREDIBLE and has also connected me with the mixer, Matt Arcaini as well as the rest of the team to help make these songs and my first music video happen! I feel super grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given and can’t wait to continue creating, uplifting and inspiring beautiful humans all around the world!
Thank you for talking with us Nick. What will you be working on next? We can't wait to hear it!
Thank you for allowing me to use your platform to share my voice and story! My next projects are getting this next music video done and getting the funding to create my first full album so I can eventually go on tour and start meeting my incredible fans all over the world!