Newness! Anthony Russo — who was the opening act on G–Eazy’s The Beautiful & Damned tour and is known for collaborating with the artist on “Rewind” — just released two new hits.
His two-song EP, “It’s A Risk” and “Kings & Queens,” are featured on his EP ahead of his 2019 tour with Chelsea Cutler.
And to prep for his own tour, Russo looked to G-Eazy and his experience of opening up for him. “I do not know what I learned more from: performing myself or watching Gerald perform,” he admitted to Billboard. “G-Eazy is an incredible performer no matter what type of music you are doing. I think learning how to engage that size of an audience [was pivotal].”
“I was coming from playing shows with about 10 to 15 people and it was really a learning experience. Like, you turn 10 people’s attention and it starts to multiply quickly,” he continued. “I learned to get the whole crowd engaged and how to focus on individual people: that was the most significant gift and tool I took away from the tour.”
As for how he took in these valuable lessons? “Watching G-Eazy every night helped me see how he moves the crowd. He makes eye contact with people,” The St. Louis native explained. “Those are things you have to do as someone on stage.”
Now that Russo is breaking out on his own, he considers himself to be a “modern JT,” a.k.a Justin Timberlake. He noted: “I hate to reference this as ‘modern JT’ so I am more alluding to what he would be influenced by if he were surrounded by the things that millennials are surrounded by now and if he were making music at the start of his career [today].
