JUSTUS BENNETTS KNOWS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO FEEL ALONE. DRAWING ON THE UNCERTAINTY AND INSECURITY OF ADOLESCENCE, HE CRAFTS GENRE-BLURRING POP SONGS MIXED WITH HIP-HOP AND ROCK THAT ARE MEANT TO COMFORT ANYONE WHO’S EVER FELT OUT OF PLACE OR ISOLATED. ACROSS HIS 2021 SINGLES—SEE APRIL’S SLOW-BURNING “NIGHTSTAND,” THE BRASH, R&B-INFLUENCED “BAD DAY,” AND NOVEMBER’S NOSTALGIC ALT-POP CUT “COOL KIDS”—JUSTUS HAS DEMONSTRATED A UNIQUE KNACK FOR REACHING PEOPLE WHERE THEY'RE AT. THAT’S BEEN HIS GOAL SINCE HE WAS A “CONFUSED KID TRYING TO FIND MY WAY” IN FUQUAY-VARINA, NC. THROWN INTO A HIGH SCHOOL WHERE HE DIDN’T KNOW ANOTHER SOUL AFTER A MOVE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, HE GRAVITATED TOWARD MUSIC TO PROCESS HIS NEW SURROUNDINGS. AFTER WORKING AS A CAR SALESMAN, HE DECIDED TO TAKE HIS SONGS SERIOUSLY, CONVERTING HIS LAUNDRY ROOM INTO A STUDIO. IN THAT SPACE, HIS BELIEF THAT MUSIC COULD BE HIS FUTURE WAS BORN. JUSTUS HAS SINCE FOCUSED ON WRITING THE MOST MAGNETIC OPENING LINES POSSIBLE, CATCHING EARS RIGHT AWAY WITH LYRICS THAT CUT DEEP. HE CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF HIS MANAGER WITH THE PUNKY REVENGE ANTHEM “REPLACE YOU,” AND SINCE THEN JUSTUS RACKED UP OVER 80 MILLION GLOBAL STREAMS IN JUST EIGHT MONTHS. BUT JUSTUS ISN’T INTERESTED IN FLEETING SUCCESS—HE WANTS HIS SONGS TO RESONATE. “I JUST HOPE PEOPLE 10 YEARS DOWN THE LINE CAN STILL THINK, ‘JUSTUS MAKES THE MOST RELATABLE SONGS,’” HE SAYS. “I WANT TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE, AND I WANT PEOPLE TO CONNECT WITH MY MUSIC.”