RIOVAZ

BY: Heather Koepp

Riovaz is here to ‘Disturb the Norm’

Singer/Songwriter Riovaz might not be the most well-known ‘Tik-Toker’ on the social media platform, but the 18-year-old, New Jersey artist is no stranger to success. With his catchy ‘contemporary rave pop’ sound, the self-proclaimed introvert found himself in the spotlight when his 2020 song, ‘Prom Night’ took off and amassed over a million streams. This caught the attention of Darkroom Records/Geffen Records and the rest fell into place from there. Riovaz is currently celebrating the release of his debut album, ’Disturb the Norm’ that released on February 24th, 2023 in addition to selling out his first ever tour appropriately named the

‘Riorave’.

With the tour launching off in Los Angles, I jumped at the opportunity to attend the sold-out performance to find out firsthand, what the ‘Riorave’ experience was all about. The day of the show had me arriving early for soundcheck where dedicated fans had been camping the block as I walked up to the doors of ‘The Echo’. Stepping out from the blaring sun, I adjusted my eyes to the dark venue and took in my surroundings. I quickly found Riovaz on stage preparing for the night ahead as he transitioned through his setlist with ease. When he concluded his soundcheck, I stepped in to introduce myself and was instantly greeted in return with a huge grin and a hug that felt like a long-lost friend. We quickly fell into step as we snuck out of the venue to capture some last-minute photos of the setting Los Angeles sun however it didn’t take long for us to be recognized and we quickly ducked back into the venue to conclude our shoot and begin our interview.

RIVAL: ‘U Neva’ is finally out to the world! After nearly a year of fans begging to get this track in their playlist what has been the fan response since the song dropped?

RIOVAZ: “It’s been EXPLOSIVE! After a year some fans would lose interest, but no, they stuck by my side. I kept getting comments from people saying, ‘Drop the song, drop the song!’ for over a year and now that its out it already has half a million streams. It’s crazy!

RIVAL: What can fans expect from this EP that may be different from some of your past hits?

RIOVAZ: “‘It’s me coming into my own. Its like an introduction to my fans; some fans don’t really know where to categorize me right now and this EP is like a staple. They’ll really understand when they listen to the album. I want them to hear the album from the beginning to the end with no skips, in order. It’s a whole story.”

RIVAL: Do you have any collaborations in the works or any dream collaborators you want to work on a track within the future?

RIOVAZ: “Oooh ya, I definitely do. Fans are going to be really really happy. They’ve been begging for this one for a while.”

RIVAL: 2023 has announced some amazing festivals this year. If you could see “Riovaz” on any one festival bill this year which one would it be and why?

RIOVAZ: “Definitely this year’s Coachella. The line up is crazy. They have ‘Bjork’, ‘Frank Ocean’, a bunch of artists that I love. Or Lollapalooza, I’d love to do that one day.”

RIVAL: So skipping to the part where you’re selling out performances like tonight in Los Angeles, no big deal right...how surreal is all of this when you stop to think about it?

RIOVAZ: “First LA show! I’ve been wanting to do a show out here for a minute, the love out here is real. It was the first show to sell out actually.”

RIVAL: When will fans get the opportunity to see you perform next? I hear you’re traveling overseas soon?

RIOVAZ: “I’m doing another LA show at a bigger venue, later this year. I wanna do another one in NY as well and yes, I’m going overseas! I’ll be performing in London, Paris, Amsterdam; London has already sold out! It’s all really exciting; I just want to perform and stay performing.”