JP Saxe is a singer-songwriter from Toronto. This apocalyptic love song is from Hold It Together, his debut EP after signing with Arista.
The song is a duet with Julia Michaels. Both singers reminisce over a past relationship, wondering if they would back into their lives in the event of an apocalyptic event.
But if the world was ending, you'd come over, right?
You'd come over and you'd stay the night
Would you love me for the hell of it?
All our fears would be irrelevantSaxe explained to
Genius the song came out of him and Michaels fantasizing about a particular situation. The two wondered whether two parties in a breakup would reconcile if the reasons for their split didn't matter anymore as the world was ending.
Saxe and Michaels penned the song about fortnight after the Ridgecrest earthquakes hit Southern California on July 4 and 5, 2019. "When we got in the studio together, we started talking about it," Saxe said. "I think in Los Angeles, everyone spends a lot of time thinking about both the apocalypse and their exes."
Michaels first discovered JP Saxe's music in mid-2019 and enthusiastically posted his material on social media. At the same, Saxe was listening to Michaels'
Inner Monologue EPs. "Since we were fans of each other's music, we got together for a writing session," she explained to
Billboard.
They penned both this song and Michaels' single "If You Need Me" during that session.
JP Saxe and Julia Michaels first performed the song live together on November 16, 2019 at the Vancouver show of Michaels' Inner Monologue Tour.
Production is courtesy of Billie Eilish's main collaborator and brother, Finneas.
This features on the soundtrack of the 2020 American romantic comedy television film The Thing About Harry.
After filming a standard video and a Spanglish one, JP Saxe and Julia Michaels recruited an all-star musical cast for yet another visual. They created this third music clip to draw attention to and benefit Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). The clip features Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Jordan Davis, Sam Smith, Niall Horan, Jason DeRulo, Florida Georgia Line, Kesha, Noah Cyrus and many others.
Released on April 30, 2020 amid the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saxe and Michaels said they wanted to help the organization at a time when its work had never been more needed. "We asked some of our friends to sing this song with us to help benefit an organization very close to our hearts, Doctors Without Borders, where all proceeds received by Sony Music and the artists from the video will be donated. At a time when it can sometimes feel like 'the world is ending,' we thank all of the healthcare workers, first responders, and essential workers who are helping so many people in need."
Médecins Sans Frontières is an international humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin that helps protect the health and wellness of people worldwide.
The song fit the mood during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many found themselves separated from or locked down with their loved ones. Ironically, Saxe and Julia Michaels started a relationship themselves shortly after finishing "If The World Was Ending," and they quarantined together in Los Angeles.
The song's genesis dates back to 2018, when Saxe penned a tune with similar words. That one didn't work out, but he stored the lyrics in his journal and after the Ridgecrest earthquakes hit Southern California, Saxe retrieved his song idea.
Around the same time, he received an Instagram message from Julia Michaels saying she wanted to connect. He knew instantly this was the song they should work on.
By the time they hit the studio, Saxe was in an emotional state, having days earlier been told his mom had terminal cancer. "There's a kind of reverence that comes with that sort of life-altering news," he told the
BBC. "Without that, I don't know how that song would have turned out."
The original plan was for Michaels to help Saxe pen a solo song, but it turned into a duet after the Toronto artist couldn't get his timing right on the second verse. "Julia got all frustrated, and came into the [vocal] booth and said, 'Let me show you how to sing it and then you can copy my phrasing,'" he remembered to the BBC. "And I was like, 'I'm not coming back, you're singing the whole song'. And, like a rock star, she sang it two times and left."
Saxe learned a lesson in universality when the song about his personal experience connected with millions of listeners who related with his emotions.
"I learned that your most private, most personal emotional experience can often be your most universal in ways you would never possibly expect," Saxe
told Songfacts in a 2023 interview.
"Any attempt to be universal in my heart is probably completely obsolete, and all I have to do is talk about what it means to be myself, and recognize that I am just a basic bitch, having a basic bitch experience. All kinds of other people are very likely gonna relate to it as long as it feels real to me."
