In comparison to the overwhelming success and hectic schedule of S Club’s glory days, Jo O’Meara has kept a relatively low profile in recent years. But when your voice and classic hits have soundtracked so many important moments in people’s lives, fans aren’t going to forget about you. And that was proven when Jo recently unveiled ‘On The Surface’, the lead single from her new solo album ‘With Love’ that follows next Friday 27th August. The album fired to #1 on iTunes’ pre-order chart, helped by Jo returning to daytime TV as a guest on This Morning.
Today Jo shares the official video for the follow-up single ‘Sweet Surrender’. Directed by Steve Price (Tom Walker, Bastille) and filmed on Saunton Sands Beach in Devon in black and white, ‘Sweet Surrender’ captures a very different side to Jo’sversatile style after the dramatic power ballad ‘On The Surface’. Opening with a sassy, throwback R&B strut, ‘Sweet Surrender’ swells into the kind of larger-than-life pop hook that Jo’s voice is built to deliver. Watch the video BELOW:
Jo explains, “I absolutely loved making this video. Shooting at 5.30 am was so peaceful and the scene is just as it looks … stunning!”
The song’s lyrical theme is one that every generation experiences. It’s not so much a warning against that love interest who sparks a passion that masks a flashing red light, and more a forthright declaration that sometimes an ill-advised gamble that can’t be resisted.
Jo says, “I wrote this song as I know many of us girls have been there: falling for the wrong man, even though our friends tell us that they’re no good! We ignore them and do what we want anyway. Even though deep we know they’re right, there is something about the bad boy that always attracts us and casts that dangerous spell. But it doesn’t always make it right, it often just gives us a false sense of surrender!”
Jo wrote the song with the track’s producer/mixer Kjetil Mørland and Nicky Mac. ‘Sweet Surrender’ and ‘On The Surface’ are indicative of the songwriting skills that she has used on six of the album’s tracks, each of which express a different vibe, energy and experience. She started the project early in 2020 with the Grammy-winning producer Brian Rawling, and the Metrophonic production team provided another key collaborator in the shape of Paul Meehan.
It’s nearly twenty years since Jo left S Club after an intense run of success which delivered four UK #1 smashes, two BRIT Awards and countless packed arena shows. Just as remarkably, it’s also been sixteen years since the release of her debut album ‘Relentless’. But now, to an entire new generation, ‘With Love’ will immediately feel like reconnecting with an old friend.
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