Joel Corry interview: "Someone came up in a set and asked me to play Beyonce"

Joel Corry - one of the country's most consistent deliverer of bops - is back with a back with a bang. 

What Would You Do? is Joel's first big launch single of the year, seeing him team up once day with dance god David Guetta for an unexpected single featuring US-based rapper and singer Bryson Tiller (who may recognise from DJ Khalid's Wild Thoughts, which also featured Rihanna).

In a throbbing, pulsing dance-cut that finds a pleasing middle ground between the frantic Out Out and the more laid-back Bed, What Would You Do? is not only another coherent serve from Joel, but it's a very welcome switch up from Bryson, sounding silky-smooth on the beat which fits his voice like a glove. 

We jumped on the phone with Joel while he's gigging across Australia (nice for some) to discuss the making of the new single, his hopes for a debut album on the horizon and the unfortunate consequence of not playing any Beyoncé songs in your sets...

MORE: Joel Corry's Official Charts history in full

What Would You Do? is your first big release of the year - what made this song the one you wanted to kickstart the year with?

I've actually been working on it for a while - about a year now. It's finally there now, it's ready. We finally found the perfect person for the vocal, Bryson Tiller. Everything clicked into place then. This feels like a really fresh record to me, we're going in to spring and summer now. I want this to be people's summer jam.

You obviously worked with David Guetta on Bed last year with Raye, that made Top 5 in the UK. Did this come about in the same sessions?

Me and David work really well together. We've struck up a really good friendship. I went for dinner in his house! We really compliment each other, I think. He feels the same way about [the song] as I do, we both love it. Putting all that work into it over the last year has really been worth it. 

A lot of people will know Bryson Tiller from his more hip-hop and R&B stuff. This is a really nice switch-up for him too, he sounds great on it. 

People won't expect it. We jumped on a Zoom - I was in Dubai, Bryson was in LA and David was in London. I was in my hotel room at like, 3am. Bryson said he loved the record and wanted to jump on it - it's a step out of his comfort zone, he said he wanted to do more dance music. He totally nailed it, I think his fans are going to love it. I'm kind of OCD with the records, I'll drive people crazy with the amount of versions I make, but he was an absolute pleasure to work with. I was actually with him last week filming the music video in LA.

Your music videos are all very cohesive, aren't they? Like the Joel Corry Cinematic Universe. 

I've taken a back seat in this one! Bryson's the star of the show in this video. I saw the final cut of it last night, it feels like a level up for me. 

You also dropped three dance tracks last month in go, like Beyoncé...

You say Beyoncé...I was playing my first gig in Australia, I start the first song and this girls come up to me and asked me to play Beyoncé. I did the whole heads up thing "yeah, it's coming up next." I didn't have any Beyoncé on my USB. She didn't move all night, waiting for it. I've downloaded all of Beyoncé's greatest hits, now just to be safe. 

You've not released a longer body of work yet, but you're building up quite the tracklist. You could even have a greatest hits before long. Are there any plans album-wise?

I have signed an album deal with Atlantic! So I'm working towards it. I don't think this year, but I would love it for next year. You know me as well, I want to make sure it's done properly. I'm going to drive everyone I work with insane. 

Joel's new single What Would You Do? is out now.