Man On The Rise: Jordan Fisher

Clear and obvious talent can’t be ignored – it’s plain and simple. Such is the case with 22-year-old singer, songwriter, actor and dancer Jordan Fisher who is quickly becoming one of the industry’s newest quadruple threats. The Birmingham, Alabama native has been steadily working for years now, starting at the Red Mountain Theatre Company in Birmingham before moving to Los Angeles and taking on roles in shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Teen Wolf and Disney’s Teen Beach movies; but got his big break this past January during his turn as Doody in FOX’s smash hit Grease: Live! His rendition of “Those Magic Changes” alongside Aaron Tveit was a fan favorite skyrocketing his popularity within a matter of hours. “You can’t ever fully be prepared for it,” Fisher said of the newfound fame and attention when we spoke recently. “I’ve been in L.A. for a long time now, pursuing this for a long time, and I’ve been very fortunate where TV and film are concerned in terms of being able to build a career and resume, but it takes that one project that kind of takes you from popular in some ways to mainstream and multimedia, and Grease just happened to be that one. And I’m super grateful that it took the amount of time that it did because I feel way more prepared and equipped now as opposed to two years ago. It feels like the right time.”

Following the success of Grease, Fisher released his official debut single, the R&B infused “All About Us” in April, and is currently working on an accompanying EP, set for an August release, and album likely to drop early next year. “It’s an interesting thing putting out the very first single from the very first album,” he says. “The question that goes around is how are you going to make your mark? How are you going to start this journey? You hope and pray that this song is the right song to start off with. At that point you have to just put it out and hope that people like it. I’m grateful that the reaction has been good and the response has been far more than what I could have dreamt of.”

The process of crafting his debut album and EP has definitely been an eye opening experience for him as it will of course be the work that sets up his career going forward. “It’s a super intimate kinda thing putting together an album, creating the content, writing the songs. It’s not Jordan Fisher playing the character of an artist putting out music – it’s Jordan Fisher putting out music that is directly from his heart and spirit. That’s something that definitely takes some time, delving into that and digging into me and who I am and the message that I want to put out there. And cultivating that sonic foundation that people are going to hear, hopefully, years and years to come.”

For some, a thriving music career and newfound fame can distract them from what they set out to achieve in the first place, but one thing I noticed more than anything during our conversation was just how centered and focused Fisher is. He’s the kind of guy who’s always going to be trying to hit that next level and reach that next peak; but he does it in such a way that is so down to earth and honest. He’s a modest man with high aspirations, and that’s what will take him far.

“All About Us” is available on iTunes now.