Giovanni Mori | Posted May 8th, 2026
As For The Music Man! rounds up all kinds of new music releases from April, one local release, Pop Baby’s Uncovered EP, sticks out among the rest. After witnessing his performance of the four song EP in full at Local 724 Studio in Beaver Falls, and diving into the songs on streaming platforms, I had the pleasure of having a casual conversation with Pop Baby about the EP, himself as an artist, and how he shares his art with Pittsburgh and the rest of the music world.
“For me, it’s all about the live show and the visuals, and because I come from the theatrical world, I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of combining the storytelling and the theatrics of musical theater with the glamour and the polished larger than life aspect of pop culture and pop music. So that’s why I’m always wearing like, sometimes I’ll wear like really heavy makeup, or I’ll be wearing like costumes because it’s part of the performance aspect, it’s just a part of the job, you know?”
When asked about his biggest influences and inspirations, listing off a few favorite artists and musicals, the pop musician says, “I’m inspired by creative people, I can’t say I’m inspired by one specific group or a specific person, so whenever I see anybody who has like a really big idea or likes to do things outside of the creative box, I’m inspired by that. But if you were to ask me what artists inspire me, definitely people like David Bowie, and Madonna, definitely Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra…Phantom of the Opera is my favorite musical of all time, definitely Wicked as well…there’s just so many to name. Also I like the classics, the golden age of musicals, I love Sound of Music, The Music Man, My Fair Lady, and She Loves Me, all those kind of things.”
As far as his music goes, Pop Baby has been making fun and upbeat pop music for anyone to enjoy and have a good time to. He also makes it clear he’s not just a pop singer, but also a storyteller, especially when it comes to the slightly more personal subject matter explored in the recently released EP. On his songwriting process, “It’s not like doing an assignment where like you sit down and you work on it, sometimes I could come up with those lyrics or hear a melody in my head just driving my car down the street, or I could be in the shower, I could be going on a run, or at the grocery store, and I could be like thinking of something where I’m like ‘That’s it!’ I always have my phone on me and I’ll like hum something in my voice memos so I don’t forget it.
It’s really about being present, it’s not like ‘Oh, I’m going to sit down here and I have to think of something,’ sometimes it’s like that, sometimes it’s not…I’ve been learning to not wait for inspiration to create, because if you’re waiting for inspiration, nothing happens, and sometimes you just have to like, whatever you’re thinking about, just write it down, you can use it later. It doesn’t mean it has to become a finished product today, it could be like six months down the road, write it down and you look back on it and you’re like ‘Oh here we are.’”
track 1: sober
YouTube: Pop Baby – Topic
“Sober” opens up Pop Baby’s more vulnerable side, which is unlike what fans and listeners have been used to hearing from the artist since releasing music as early as 2023. Both at his performance at Local 724 Studio, and when asked about the EP’s first track, he talked about living life to the fullest and away from the need for temporary pleasures.
“When I wrote that, I was actually thinking about quitting drinking altogether, mostly because at the time I was doing it a lot, partying a lot, and I was constantly making myself sick from it, and I wasn’t happy about it. I wasn’t getting the same fulfillment as I was when I was 21-22, because I’m 25 now, and I just think there are people out there who struggle with alcohol very seriously, and sometimes it takes somebody else with a platform to point it out to like inspire them to get rid of that habit. So I wrote that from my personal experiences, like the opening line, ‘Wake up feeling stressed, wishing I was blessed, with a life that’s not a mess.’”
Despite seeing this more personal side of the theatrical pop music singer in track one, Pop Baby knows how to take a serious subject and still turn it into something positive, inspiring, and even kind of fun for listeners. “It’s serious, but yeah, I’m not going to sit at a piano and be like, ‘sad, sad, sad, sad, sad.’ I still try to keep it, you know, inspirational, but like, upbeat so that it doesn’t freak people out.”
track 2: I’ll be yours
YouTube: Pop Baby – Topic
“I’ll Be Yours,” For The Music Man!’s personal favorite tune from the EP, is a catchy love song listeners might mistake for something they might’ve passively heard on pop radio. What shines the most on Uncovered‘s second track is Pop Baby’s very impressive vocal range from low bass notes in the verses to high falsettos in the chorus sections, prompting me to ask about his vocal training as a pop singer with a musical theater background.
“I started vocal training when I was younger. I started out in the choirs, and started taking private lessons, all this in middle school, and I still go to voice lessons all the time. I still am doing my vocal warm ups every single day, I drink a lot of throat coat tea, even in the summer time when it’s hot out…and I try not to go to places where I have to talk very loud. Even when I go to other concerts, yeah, I’ll sing along and everything, I don’t like to yell very loud because I don’t want to strain my voice. And one thing that I try not to do all the time, because my voice teacher will get mad at me, is clearing your throat a lot.”
The song details falling in love with someone you’re not supposed to fall in love, more specifically, your best friend. Even while the music picks up, the lyrics make the song an internal struggle of someone not being able to tell this person how they feel, “This is what I would be telling them if I could, but I know I can’t, because it’s like, if I tell them, it could totally ruin everything because you know how they say, like, ‘don’t date within the friend group.’”
“I’ll Be Yours” is still a fun way to express the inner turmoil of love any listener can relate to, and with lines like “Can’t fight this feeling, know that I mean it,” and later “I’ve got a fantasy made for you and I,” (0:10 – 0:34), it begs the harder questions the song’s narrator asks like “Are you still going to be the same around them? Do you guys go in a separate directions? So it’s really just like, it’s what I’m saying in my head out loud.”
track 3: i Stay tonight
YouTube: Pop Baby – Topic
“I Stay Tonight” is another love song, this time about developing even more attraction for someone and wanting to take it all the way. When it comes to pop music, lyrics and catchy hooks are often what listeners will gravitate towards, and Pop Baby, when asked about how he comes up with catchy lyrics and melody to convey the right message, says:
“A lot of the times, I already know what the song is going to be about. And I just start writing it down and a lot of the times, my lyrics start off very wordy and poetic, and I have to like chop it down to simplify it because in pop music, everything has to be simplified. It’s like process of elimination, it’s like, ‘scratch this out, maybe shorten this, maybe emphasize this word more,’ because you know what? Every word in the song has to have a separate meaning, so you want to put like the big notes on the words that matter the most, and then the quieter ones on, you know, the stuff that’s maybe not as important.”
It gets pretty hot and heavy in the lyrics, resulting in listeners picturing the moment with wording and imagery like “Cologne on his neck, with his hands right on my face” (0:27 – 0:30) and “took his T-shirt off, starts pulling me real close” (1:27 – 1:31). On the song’s meaning, “This was about my first time actually being in my first serious relationship, and me wanting for it to be even more serious, ‘Let’s move this faster, let’s go all the way, no regrets, put a ring on it.’ When you fall in love for the very first time, it feels like it’s going to be forever, and you want it to be, you want the excitement of that feeling, and that’s where that song came from.”
The chorus section is catchy as ever, which is essential for pop music attracting new listeners and fans. You too will soon find yourself, whether you’re in your car or shower, singing or humming the rapid “Kissing in bars, kissing in cars, feel me up all night long” (0:52 – 0:56) as you go about your day.
track 4: boom! clap!
YouTube: Pop Baby – Topic
“Boom! Clap!” is the fourth and final track of Pop Baby’s Uncovered EP. Track four is more on the EDM style of pop music, and the choreography that goes along with it during the song’s live performances make it that much more thrilling, which fans know by now is a common staple among some of Pop Baby’s most well-known tunes like “Jimmy D,” and “Shut Up.”
“I think it just, you know, gives the song a little bit more life, and it’s about being in the moment and making it be more than just instrumentals or more than just lyrics, it actually brings the theatrics to life. And I want it to be a way of expression, because that’s what art is about. It’s about expressing yourself in any way that you can. And I also think it’s just a fun thing to do, because we have a lot of talented pop artists that we hear every day, like on the radio and everything, but this is about making it, like I said, larger than life again, and not it just being ‘Oh, here’s a catchy song’ or like, ‘here’s a song that’s like viral on the internet,’ it makes it bigger than itself.”
This song is a prime example of Pop Baby bringing the more theatrical world into self expression, and covers the best of both worlds musically, and visually in live performances. It’s easily Uncovered‘s danciest and most exciting tune, which according to the singer, was intentional when starting the EP with the more serious “Sober” before working listeners’ stamina levels up higher and higher to “Boom! Clap!” The fourth track has a way of getting every last little spurt of energy you’ve got left out of your system before ending on one final echoey “Boom!,” sealing the deal and bringing Pop Baby’s Uncovered to a close.
As far as future plans go for the theatrical pop singer, Pop Baby has a summer tour planned showcasing his previous releases, “I wanted it to be like a celebration of my first two records, Oppressor and Oppressed, because they’re sister records to each other. We’ll be in Greensburg on the 17th of May, and then we’ll be at a couple of dates in Pittsburgh, we’ll be at the Crafthouse on June 25th, and then June 26th we will be at the Poetry Lounge, and then I’ll be in Washington, D.C., and then I’ll be at 222 Ormsby. There’s other places we’re going, but it’s going to be a blast.”
Visit Pop Baby’s social media, @popbabyofficial, for more updates on shows, and of course, make sure you add his 2026 EP, Uncovered, to your day to day playlist.
Sources and Links
“Boom! Clap!” YouTube, uploaded by Pop Baby – Topic, 16 Apr. 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYkEExeOxn0&list=RDxYkEExeOxn0&start_radio=1
“I’ll Be Yours” YouTube, uploaded by Pop Baby – Topic, 12 Feb. 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZY4q_-hBbY&list=RDrZY4q_-hBbY&start_radio=1
“I Stay Tonight” YouTube, uploaded by Pop Baby – Topic, 12 March 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM4-NQ-C2Eg&list=RDmM4-NQ-C2Eg&start_radio=1
“Sober” YouTube, uploaded by Pop Baby – Topic, 15 Jan. 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KyA_NNpcIs&list=RD1KyA_NNpcIs&start_radio=1
