MIRANDA JOAN SHARES A LOVE SONG TO DWAYNE “THE ROCK” JOHNSON IN I LOVE YOU, DWAYNE
LISTEN & WATCH VIDEO FILMED IN BROOKLYN FEATURING 2D DWAYNE
LISTEN & WATCH PREVIOUS SINGLE OVERSTIMULATED
Miranda says of the piece: “This is my love song to Dwayne, but it also is a nod to my childhood. The fact that I knew about Dwayne Johnson at all was largely due to the male influences in my life. I remember sitting through pay-per-view matches when I was young, sandwiched between my brother and his friends, and wanting so badly to hang out with the big kids. During lockdown, I fell down the Dwayne rabbit-hole because of my Dad’s recommendation to watch Hobbs and Shaw. I now know more about Dwayne’s life than I ever would’ve imagined; every line of my song is a reference to his life and career. I may not have started writing I Love You, Dwayne as a super-fan, but I can certainly say I ended up as one. The answer to your next question is yes, I do love Dwayne.” Read the lyrics here.
The song was produced by CARRTOONS and Miranda, alongside featured instrumentalists including Jake Sherman on rhodes-piano, Randy Runyon on guitar and Chris Ott, Jon Lampley and Dan White of The Huntertones on horns.
In the process of working on this song in early pandemic lockdown, while being away from her family, Miranda shares: “It was an opportunity to connect with my loved ones, in particular my brother. We would go back and forth with Dwayne references and, in a time when the separation was weighing heavily on my family, those phone calls with my brother were an opportunity to joke around, suspend our realities and feel something close to normal.”
The single is accompanied by a music video shot on the streets of Brooklyn. It begins with Miranda in a re-creation of Dwayne’s iconic 90s look and continues to evolve. The classic blue jeans turn into knee-high denim boots and the chain comes off to reveal Miranda with “Dwayne” as the pair workout, indulge in a cheat-meal, sip on some Teremana and stare down any and all Jabronis that cross their paths. The video was made entirely by a female cast, and directed, produced and styled by a Canadian crew, who became as invested in the Dwaynedom as Miranda was. Watch I Love You, Dwayne here.
While learning more about Dwayne’s Canadian roots, Miranda discovered that the prolific entertainer had a brief stint in the Canadian Football League prior to becoming a wrestler, and has Canadian citizenship through his Nova Scotian father. Miranda also drew inspiration from Dwayne’s life story and ethos sharing, "Dwayne is about hard work, persistence and love. Family is something he celebrates and it has been a prominent through line in his life. And in this way I do feel kindred with him. His relentless drive was particularly inspiring as I began to work on the music video. It came together during a particularly rough time in my life and there was something both hilarious and empowering about having that cardboard cutout set up in the corner of my room. I’d look over at Dwayne in his power pose, ask him sheepishly what he was looking at, and then return to my work. He is the embodiment of strength in more ways than one and it’s been a fun ride having him in my corner, literally.”
I Love You, Dwayne follows Miranda's sultry, end of summer jam, Overstimulated. It is accompanied by a cinematic visual filmed on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Listen to it on Bandcamp and all platforms here, and read the lyrics here. It is accompanied by a cinematic visual filmed on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by Vida Fodonaand styled by Brazilian fashion brand, Santa Maria. Watch Overstimulated.
The tracks are a sample of Miranda Joan's forthcoming album, set to launch in 2023.
About Miranda Joan:
Miranda Joan is a Canadian soul-pop singer and songwriter born in Montréal and raised in Vancouver. Currently based in Brooklyn, Joan maintains strong roots in Canada. Joan divides her time between countries and it was her university studies in jazz that originally brought her to New York, a city whose grittiness and intensity has influenced her artistry as profoundly as her bi-coastal upbringing. The fluidity that came with growing up along the Pacific ocean in Vancouver and the joy-de-vivre and creativity that Montréal exudes continue to shape Joan's personally, artistically and spiritually. Both her French and English backgrounds have made their way into her writing, which orients itself around story and lyrics and is largely influenced by her reverence for soul and pop music.
Miranda Joan was selected as one of First Up with RBCxMusic Emerging Artists in 2021, shared the virtual stage at CMW and has received radio airplay in Vancouver and Los Angeles. Living in NYC, Joan has performed on national tours and played sold-out shows as well as headlined well-known NYC venues. In 2019 she performed at the Montréal Jazz Festival with the Orchestre National de Jazz de Montréal, led by Sly5thAve in a tribute to Dr. Dre, and she is a co-host and co-founder of Brooklyn’s Femme Jam (NYC’s first all-female led jam session) which is a community initiative to create a womxn-led space with an emphasis on female musicians that fosters inclusively and creates community. Arts mentorship has been an important through-line in Joan’s career and for the past eight years she has been a music mentor with the non-profit SAY: The Stuttering Association for the Young where she works with youth 8-18 who stutter.
Joan has shared the stage singing background for high-profile artists such as Andy Grammar, Brandon Victor Dixon (Hamilton), Christopher Jackson (Hamilton), Surf Mesa, Lorde and Shawn Mendes.
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