Interviews

Published on September 13th, 2018 | by Darren Paltrowitz

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Jonathan Antoine On Being The #1 Worldwide Best-Selling Tenor, Listening To Heavy Metal & More

A classically-trained English tenor, Jonathan Antoine first rose to fame after appearing on the 6th season of Britain’s Got Talent. Initially performing as part of the classical duo Jonathan and Charlotte, Antoine ultimately went solo after releasing the gold-selling 2012 album Together. 2014’s Tenore and 2016’s Believe — both released by Sony Classical — also charted high internationally, the latter reaching the #1 spot on the U.K. Classical chart and #10 on the U.S. Classical chart.

Jonathan Antoine will be holding his first ever ticketed performance in the U.S. on Saturday, September 15th at the Fred Kavli Theater in Thousand Oaks, California. Antonine spoke about this upcoming event within our Q&A. Tickets and show info related to the September 15th gig and more on all things Jonathan Antoine can be found online at www.jonathanantoinemusic.com.

When did you first get into opera? Was there a particular artist that inspired you?

Jonathan Antoine: Honestly even now I wouldn’t explicitly call myself “into” opera, I don’t go out of my way to seek classical music in particular, and honestly never had a true breakthrough moment in terms of my listening experience. To me, classical music is something I enjoy taking part in, and all throughout my life has been an opportunity for pure expression.

When did that interest in opera happen in comparison to your interest in metal?

Jonathan Antoine: Around the same time I’d say, I was in high school and just beginning singing lessons, and all of my friends were 2 years above me. They were big into metal and steadily introduced me to it, so the two aspects grew side by side.

Who are some of your favorites within the metal world?

Jonathan Antoine: Where do I even start?! I’m currently pretty into a band called Mountaineer from California, they’re kinda proggy, but very sludgy and shoegazey at the same time. As for the old standards I go for stuff like Meshuggah, Tesseract, Monuments, very prog, very high-energy stuff.

Have you encountered other metal fans within the opera world?

Jonathan Antoine: Not in the opera world as such, but a lot of people working in audio at venues are very much into metal. Primarily the traditional stuff though, Slayer, Metallica, that kind of stuff.

I’ve read that you also play guitar and bass. Will we be hearing you play on an album in the future?

Jonathan Antoine: I’d love to play a little solo on something someday, but I’m certainly not as confident in my stringed instrument playing as I am in my singing!

What do the next few months look like for you career-wise?

Jonathan Antoine: Absolutely wild. I’m on my way to Los Angeles currently, preparing for a concert in Thousand Oaks at the Fred Kavli Theatre, from there I’m booked for a few private ventures, and closer to the end of the year perhaps an all new album for everybody to look forward to.

When not busy with your career, how do you like to spend your free time?

Jonathan Antoine: This may come as a surprise to some, but I watch a lot of Twitch streams, either people playing video games or just living their lives. The other day I watched a man eat 6 burgers in one sitting alongside 15,000 other people. Weird.

What was the last concert you attended for fun?

Jonathan Antoine: I actually just recently went to my first opera, and had an absolute blast! My friend Joanna was performing and knocked it out of the park — what a great first experience!

Finally, Jonathan, any last words for the kids?

Jonathan Antoine: Be safe out there, it’s a big old world.


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About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."


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