Grammy-nominated artist Tenroc chatted about his new single “Playlist” and the digital age.
Background on Tenroc
Over the past half-decade, Tenroc has made his mark in the pop world by crafting massive hits with major soul.
Tenroc earned two Grammy nominations for his work on Jon Batiste’s acclaimed 2023 studio album “World Music Radio.”
A lifelong singer who learned to play piano, drums, and guitar by the age of seven, the New York City-bred musician broke into production in his late teens and soon built a powerhouse career that has included cuts with such genre-spanning superstars as Rihanna, Jonas Brothers, and Jon Bellion.
What inspires your music and songwriting?
I’d say God and my wife, Sarah. God is the source of everything I create—my faith, my questions, my healing, my joy. And Sarah inspires me in a very real, everyday way.
Whether it’s our life together, our conversations, or the way she sees the world– she’s constantly shaping how I think and how I write, just by existing.
How did “Playlist” come about?
“Playlist” came from a random night I decided to free-create for an hour.
Sometimes, if I have a specific concept or melody idea, I’ll sit and flesh it out for as long as it takes to get something great, but most times, I have nothing prior to me actually sitting down at my laptop.
The night I made “Playlist” was one of those nights. I just set out to make the catchiest and most feel good song I could, and “Playlist” was born.
How does it feel to be an artist in the digital age? (Now with streaming, technology and social media being so prevalent)
The fact that I have a platform to share my thoughts and ideas at all is a privilege, but it’s wild to think there was a time when music’s success had nothing to do with social media.
I think about Thriller often—that album released with zero online presence, zero feedback from the world beforehand, the music just came into the world fully formed and realized. The impact came after.
I always wonder how different a release during that time must’ve felt, compared to the world of snippets we live in nowadays.
Being an artist now, to me, means still using those tools without letting them define the actual work, and still aiming to make something special.
What do your plans for the future include?
I want to keep growing as an artist and collaborator. Working with other artists is one of the best parts of what I do—helping someone turn a feeling they can’t fully put into words into a song is a real rush for me.
I’m also focused on putting out more of my own music and continuing to figure out who I am as an artist in real time.
I think for the rest of my career, I just want to work on things that I’m excited about and believe in deeply.
Which artists would you like to do a dream collab with someday?
I’d love to write with Chris Martin someday. His writing has shaped my musical DNA heavily, I’d say I reference him in almost everything I work on– it could be a rap song, and I literally will try to think what he’d do on it.
Oftentimes, that leads me to create really interesting stuff. He also helped me overcome my insecurities about my vocal range.
Growing up, I was able to sing super high in my chest voice but when my voice changed, I lost most of those notes.
Listening to his vocals over the years, I realize that aside from falsetto lines, a lot of what he sings is in his lower register, and I still am able to feel the strongest emotions from it.
Who were your biggest musical influences growing up?
Early on, I was super influenced by production more than anything—especially Timbaland and Pharrell. The way their records were so rhythmic and futuristic stuck with me and shaped my musical DNA.
I was also just taking in whatever the big songs were at the time: Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliott, Nelly Furtado, all that era of pop and R&B that felt like magic to my ears.
Contrary to what people might think, I was just as into pop rock and alt stuff—Fall Out Boy, Coldplay, and OneRepublic; those vibes.
I think that combination of polished pop, urban production, and emotional pop-rock is really what shaped my taste and sound.
What does the word success mean to you? (My favorite question)
Success, to me, is alignment and balance. It’s being able to work on the things I feel called to work on, take care of the people I love, and not lose myself and burn out in the process.
Success is having peace, integrity, and longevity, knowing I didn’t compromise my faith, or trade what mattered most just to look like I was winning.
What would you like to say to your fans about “Playlist”? (What’s the one thing you want them to get out of it)
Mostly that the song is about the album. It’s really just the intro to the bigger thing I want to present to everybody.
The project is about healing, joy, and this song, specifically, is about that feeling of realizing something’s been missing in your heart.
“Playlist” is a doorway into the rest of the story and an invitation to lean in and hear what the album is really trying to say.
The “pretty” part of what I’m presenting represents what I did sonically on the record. I purposefully made each song sonically different from what already exists in the space. I’m trying to do something different on purpose.
His music is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about Tenroc, follow him on Instagram.
