jxdn
In 2019, the musician born Jaden Isaiah Hossler first caught millions of people’s attention after sharing engaging content on TikTok. With the recent revival of punk-rock, he became one of the up-and-coming artists bringing the sound once made popular by Blink-182, Green Day, and Sum 41 back to the forefront for today’s Gen-Z audience with his own material. Upon putting out his independently-released debut single, "Comatose,” in early 2020 Travis Barker saw huge potential in the then-teenager from the one song and didn’t think twice about making Jxdn the first artist to be signed to his label, DTA Records.
Listen to JXDN 's new single, "SOBER" out now.
Photography by Anthony Giovanni, Fashion by Edwin J Ortega, Assisted by Elizabeth Van Hek, Grooming: Elie Maalouf,Words: Fabio Magnocavallo
Jaden wears Dolce and Gabbana
Jaden wears Bottega Veneta with a Louis Gabriel Nouchi tank top
Jaden wears Acne Studios
“It’s not about just trying to get hits. It’s about connecting with people’s emotions and seeing how that inspires me,” JXDN tells MOOD over a Zoom call. The 21-year-old from Dallas, Texas, was just days away from unleashing his latest single, “Sober,” which marks the beginning of a new chapter in his career. While his past year has had its ups and downs, it appears JXDN is finding his feet in the most authentic way and cannot wait for what’s to come.
In 2019, the musician, born Jaden Isaiah Hossler, first caught millions of people’s attention after sharing engaging content on TikTok. It was his popularity from the video-sharing platform that ultimately secured him an invite the following year to join a Los Angeles-based collective of creators called the Sway House. Despite choosing to leave that same year, Jaden's account on TikTok would still continue to gain traction and later prove he was someone to look out for. This time, on the music front. With the recent revival of punk-rock, he became one of the up-and-coming artists bringing the sound once made popular by Blink-182, Green Day, and Sum 41 back to the forefront for today’s Gen-Z audience with his own material. Upon putting out his independently-released debut single, "Comatose,” it wasn’t just his growing fan base who was immediately impressed. Travis Barker saw huge potential in the then-teenager from the one song and didn’t think twice about making Hossler the first artist to be signed to his label, DTA Records.
“Whenever I was making music, I genuinely was running off of a dream. I came out because of social media. I had no idea what I was doing and I finally found my purpose at a Juice WRLD concert. To me, at that moment, I was like, no matter what, whatever I have to do to get to where I wanna go, I'll do it,” he shares. “It just so happened that what I had already been doing, which was social media, helped me because Travis's son, Landon, just showed him a TikTok that I had made about my first single. That same day he called my management team. Everything was very connected and it's just such a blessing and an awesome story.”
Unlike most musicians on the rise these days, Jaden dived straight in and skipped the process of releasing a bunch of EPs. After building momentum by putting out a string of singles, his first full-length studio album, Tell Me About Tomorrow, would be out for the world to hear and critique only a year and a half after his very first single release. Luckily for JXDN, the fast turnaround still resulted in a positive outcome. “I just found out recently that overall it got about a billion streams,” he says with excitement. “I couldn't have asked for anything better because I also didn't know what I was doing [laughs]. This was all me having a blissful ignorance of just loving music and loving what I was making and it really worked out well for me. So, I couldn't be more grateful for every single person that listened to it.”
Tell Me About Tomorrow, which Hossler reveals is on its way to being certified gold, is centered around hope, a strong factor as to why he believes listeners gravitated to the record so passionately. “I feel like that's what people need right now,” he adds. Not only that but with Barker, whom he refers to as the “best dude ever,” onboard as a co-writer and producer on every track, JXDN was well aware the album was always in good hands from the very beginning. “He just had all that wisdom and was giving me such good direction,” he says about Barker’s involvement. “There were so many times I wanted to put out the album like four times before we did and Travis was like, no, it's not ready yet. And thank god that I had him because when it did actually come out, it was perfect and I wouldn't change anything about it.”
As the famous saying states, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And for that reason, Jaden has decided to proceed with the same formula by choosing to work closely with Barker once again for his upcoming material. “It's really funny because I was talking to Travis about this the other day in the studio, people always ask me how we create music. And genuinely, every time we go in the studio, it's me, Travis, and Andrew Goldstein, and we just sit there and we're like, ‘Oh, this sounds cool,’ and we just jam,” he explains. “Luckily, I still have some time with him as everyone knows that Blink are going back on tour so homie's about to be even busier than he already is.”
JXDN continues: “I lucked out with the best possible situation I think a person can be in. And when I make it to the top, which is where I'm headed, I can't wait to look back and continue to tell everyone that without Travis, I wouldn't be here.”
2022 took an expected turn for Jaden when news broke in June that his friend Cooper Noriega had passed away. Following his death, Hossler honored Noriega with a two-track EP, “28 (Songs for Cooper),” and released the mini-project on the day of what would have been his 20th birthday. All proceeds were donated to The Coop’s Advice Foundation.
After weeks of teasing a new release, JXDN is back in full swing and is now officially in his sophomore era. He’s chosen “Sober” to kick off a new cycle, a song that is more pop-orientated than what most are used to hearing from him and a track he even admits will likely always set itself apart from his past and future material. “It was a perfect way to show people that no one really has any idea about what I can and will make in the future,” he declares. Even though “Sober” is leading a new campaign, many might be surprised to find out the song came about after a very fortunate accident. “Travis double booked me and Mike Posner in the same studio at the same time. I walked in, and I was like, oh my god. I didn't even necessarily know it was Mike Posner because he looked so clean. I hadn’t ever seen him like that before,” JXDN says.
While Jaden credits Juice WRLD as an important figure in finding himself as an artist, it was Justin Bieber who sparked that initial inspiration of wanting to become a singer. At age nine, he watched the Canadian star’s Never Say Never movie and ran with the idea that one day, he too will perform on big stages. “I bawled my eyes out and felt as inspired as you can be at nine,” he shares. Knowing that Posner was the guy behind writing and producing Bieber’s 2012 hit “Boyfriend,” Hossler realized this was a moment that shouldn’t go to waste. “To have someone like Mike looking at me and be like, ‘Wow, I believe in you. Let's make something amazing,’ I took all my inhibitions and threw 'em out the window. This was an opportunity I hadn’t had up until this point,” he says. “We ended up having a really good time in the studio and it felt like we really connected.”
If there is one thing JXDN hopes to prove with his second album, it’s that his sound has no limitations. Confessing that a lot of artists, including himself, have a habit of boxing themselves into one category, he insists fans can expect a whole range from the singles yet to come. “I'm really trying to express myself,” he says. “Me and Travis had a conversation about it recently that people get so worked up, they get so attached to a sound or whatever it is, and they don't allow themselves just to make good music and make music that makes people feel like an escape from reality.”
Jaden wears Bottega Veneta, with a Louis Gabriel Nouchi tank top, and AMIRI sneakers.
Jaden wears Acne Studios, with a Dion Lee corset tank top.
The past three years have been a crazy ride, that’s for sure. Going from a lost teen who struggled to find his voice during high school to becoming the outsider who was in fact more relatable than he could ever imagine has certainly kept him humble but also in demand. And in a career that expects you to constantly be working on the next thing, it can be hard to relish the present moment. “I'd say that I get in my own way the most and I feel like artists can really understand that time is a big factor that fucks with a lot of people's heads. While doing promotion for this, I'm actually already working on something else, and the audience never really gets to see that. It's important for me to keep my energies centered,” JXDN says. “I've had this song for almost a little less than a year and to have something that long, staying excited about it is super important because that energy translates for the audience.”
And while, yes, social media has played a big part in JXDN's notoriety, the idea of having millions of followers and being considered an “online sensation” was neither the plan nor a dream come true for him once it all happened. “My dream was music and to be an artist, to be a singer and to change the world through music. I just happened to get there through social media,” he says. As Hossler's public interest has increased, his desire of being active on social media has slowly deteriorated over time and somewhat turned him off now that he is acquainted with people looking closer in. “Everything's fake online, but more so than ever. It's so hard to get a grasp of what's really going on. And I always try to tell people, sometimes some of the worst things that happen on social media have happened during the best moments of my life, and I had no idea because I was just out living life,” he explains.
“That's a big realization for me,”JXDN continues. “I try to take more and more time off of my phone because you get so much more done when you're just out doing something you love. There's so much anxiety involved with social media.”
As of this writing, Jaden's TikTok account boasts 9.4 million followers and over 288.5 million likes. What’s not hard to immediately pick up upon while exploring his page is that it’s now pretty empty with just six uploads. That’s because his time of being a regular uploader on the app has come to an end. “I don't get on TikTok whatsoever anymore. That place has become pretty hectic and toxic for everybody. It doesn't seem very beneficial anymore,” he says. “I try my best to stay off, but it's also really good to connect with your fans and I have a really good fan base. I try to continue to at least upload, but I definitely don't spend my time looking at different things online or feeling like I owe anything to social media.”
Keen to worm himself out of his online persona, Jaden has dipped his toes into acting and hopes to delve in even further. In January 2021, he starred in Machine Gun Kelly’s Downfalls High film, portraying a jock who bullies the main character, Fenix. “I get so excited when people start asking me to act. I love acting so much,” Hossler admits. In fact, it’s been a part of his journey long before social media and a music career were ever in the picture. “I did theater in high school and it obviously helped me with my stage presence and singing. I genuinely love being able to portray myself as something different. I think it's challenging, not everyone can do it. Actors are genuinely some of the most brilliant people in the world and it's a really cool release,” he says.
Jaden wears Dion Lee with Dsaqured2 boots.
Since his first-ever role, Hossler hasn’t been short of more acting offers. That said, he chose to turn them down as the timing didn’t align with where he was at. “Whenever I do things, I really like to dive into it completely. I wasn’t necessarily ready before but now is a perfect time. We’re really looking into it,” he shares. Having recently signed with an agency, Jaden expresses his desire to be in a psychological horror film or something that really could challenge him as an artist. “I think it'd be awesome to take a step back and put myself in someone else's shoes for a film,” he continues.
With a schedule that is only going to get busier and coming off a tough couple of months, Jaden's main focus above anything is to better his personal life. “I think everyone gets so caught up in the things that surround them, including work and everything,” he says. “Yes, I'm in the studio as much as possible, but I'm also at home, you know, just trying to spend time with my dogs and really trying to create and maintain wonderful relationships with people.” JXDN also recognizes that life outside of the studio is what fuels the music being written. “If you're not living, there's nothing to talk about. That's what creates timeless records. Finding the balance and trying to enjoy and love life. It's way too short to get caught up in all the reasons to be upset,” he adds.
“With doing that these past months, I've made the best music I've ever made in my life and I've felt the best I've ever felt, and so I really think it's working out for me.”
With “Sober” serving as his first release in five months, JXDN anticipates that it has the potential to be his biggest yet. “I just want people to have fun. I've genuinely had such a difficult year in my personal life and in a bunch of different areas. This song is just perfect to let go to while listening. It’s about someone who never talks to you when they’re sober and I feel like that's something literally everyone can relate to,” he says. As 2022 comes to a close, JXDN has mapped out his next single releases until it's the right time to put out his second album. With a bunch of North American live shows already announced, his first-ever show in the UK is also on the cards for international fans.
Listen to JXDN 's new single, "SOBER" out now.