POP MUSIC
Houston native Dror has us dying on the dance floor.
Jonathan Dror was following stay-at-home guidelines in Texas when the idea struck him for a song.
He pushed himself and came up with “Die on the Dancefloor,” a dance-pop track that contrasts dark lyrics with a disco-fueled beat. It’s an end-of-the-world anthem in the vein of Kylie Minogue’s “Dancing” and Britney Spears’ “Till the World Ends.” The video premieres exclusively Friday at preview.houstonchronicle.com.
“It really embraces the dualities of life,” says Dror, 25, who goes by only his last name as a performer. “I kinda painted this picture in my head of the world ending, the apocalypse, and you have two choices: You can either sit on the sidelines and watch everything go down; or you can get up, push yourself, get involved and die on the dance floor.”
He’s released a flurry of singles and is inspired by the “soulful, cinematic sounds” of Amy Winehouse and Lana Del Rey. The Houston native moved to Los Angeles less than a year ago to pursue music and escape the humidity. He does, however, miss Mexican food.
“I drive all my friends in LA crazy bragging about the food. I also drive my friends crazy about the diversity. It’s one of my favorite parts of growing up in Houston,” Dror says.
“American Idol” and its stories of undiscovered talent transformed into superstars inspired Dror to pursue music as a kid. He would later audition for “The Voice” in Austin and make it to a fourth callback, another boost to his confidence. He began writing songs in elementary school, attempting to pass them off as pop hits.
“I was 6 or 8, and I would sing an Usher song, then slide in my song. After each song, I’d be like, ‘Who do you think wrote that?’ I think my family was nice and pretended they were both by real singers,” Dror recalls. “It was so bad, but I thought I had them fooled.”
Eventually, his songwriting picked up attention outside the living room. While attending the University of Texas at Austin, Dror was featured on Snapchat’s Campus Stories singing a clip of his original “Put ’Em Up (Texas Anthem).” It racked up thousands of views, earned national attention and inspired him to create a full video.
He graduated in 2018 with a degree in government and hopes of going into politics. But it wasn’t to be.
“Over the last few years, that world seemed less like a place I wanted to spend my life. But I felt like I could maybe find a similar way to make some sort of impact with music,” Dror says. “Use your voice and do something positive. Make people happy. And remember that music can do so much.”
He released his first song, “Tryna Be,” the year he graduated and had strong support from his sister, Chanel Dror, who found some of her own success as a singer a few years earlier. He also puts time and effort into his look and music videos, inspired by everything from Elvis Presley and Rihanna to MTV’s video heyday. Every aspect of Dror’s aesthetic as an artist is gorgeously polished, and it’s largely self-produced.
“The videos look way more expensive than they are, which I’m very proud of. I really do it all on a budget. I direct everything. I do the wardrobe, casting. I have some talented friends that help film it,” he says. “I don’t feel like a song can fully convey who a person is, so the visuals to me are super important.”
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has put a freeze on live shows. But Dror says he’s patient. And he’s using the time to amplify his creativity and, just maybe, save pop music.
“I don’t want to put more darkness and sadness out right now. That wouldn’t feel right,” he says. “‘Die on the Dancefloor,’ for me, really asks, ‘Did you chase what you wanted to do in life? Did you speak up for what you believe in? Did you die giving it your all?’ ”