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We had the pleasure of interviewing John Duff over Zoom video!
Singer-Songwriter, Director, & Social Media Influencer John Duff released a new single with the help from his dog (DJ Baby Duff).
DJ Baby Duff is a double-Sagittarius short-haired Brussels Griffon. She weighs six pounds and stands at about four apples tall.
One day, Baby stepped on John’s phone and changed the music – and that’s when John realized: she had a gift and she should become a DJ.”I asked her if she wanted to do a song, and she didn’t say anything so, I decided for her. She mainly likes treats. I’m not even sure she’s enjoying this whole process, but that doesn’t matter! I’m a mom and I’m having a lot of fun. The more fame we get, the more treats she gets,” said Duff.
The song “100% Baby” was written long before Baby made her move to LA. It was originally a mid-tempo bubblegum track, inspired by the word “baby” and it’s over-usage in pop music. When DJ Baby Duff heard the track, she didn’t react at all. She doesn’t enjoy the sound of music, but mama knew what to do – so, John had her inject it with some puppy energy. Very inspired by Duff’s love of Baltimore Club music.
The music video for “100% Baby” was a collaboration with animator Sqott. John started following his Instagram @sqott after they both met very drunk at a saké bar in the East Village years ago. “He creates the wildest animations – all very similar in style to “100% Baby”.
We didn’t want the video to be too sexy, cause she’s so young – and so his colorful larger than life style really felt like a natural fit,” said John.
In terms of making the video – the first step was dieting. Baby was going through a rough patch at the top of quarantine. When she first moved to LA she was three pounds, and within a month she was five pounds. That’s nearly doubling in size, which obviously weighed very heavily on her confidence (pun very much intended). Baby trained with an incredible dog trainer, Kirstin McMillan – as Baby wanted to perform all of her own stunts. We then worked with a photographer, Davide Laffe, to capture her best angles as she dazzled everyone on set with her shear athleticism, beauty, and charisma.The footage was sent to Sqott, and then we really don’t ask what he did – cause somethings are better left unsaid. You can call him though! We have his number!
Spoiler Alert!!! The video ends with DJ Baby Duff being the hero for destroying the wanted Octopus/Monster – but does DJ Baby Duff get the reward that was promised? Well, I guess we will just have to wait and find out if Baby got the reward. Truly, it is all of us are receiving a reward when we make the selfless decision to devote three minutes to Baby’s talent and beauty!
Bio:
John Duff is a singer, songwriter, director, and (by popular demand) social media influencer. Upon receiving a BFA in musical theatre from Syracuse University, he moved to New York City to begin a successful career in theatre acting. Incapable of performing the same show eight times a week – he made the leap to LA to be a star.
His debut single “Girly” and subsequent viral music video (which he conceptualized, styled, and co-directed) were a success. “By independent artist standards, “Girly” is a hit,” Huffpost says. It’s garnered over 800,000 views on Youtube and hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify/Apple music – receiving write ups in various publications around the world (featuring exclusives in OUT magazine, Huffpost, Instinct, and more). John is planning on releasing an EP in 2021 (by that time it will probably be an album because he is incapable of resting).
This is really just the beginning for John, but dreams are already coming true. With over 3.5 million streams, heaps of playlist placements (including R3hab’s Night Playlist), an international Sirius XM radio placement, and headlining gigs at top NYC and LA venues – his path wreaks of optimistic potential.
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