What would Jesse Solomon do? Parlay his reality TV stardom into a full-blown music career, of course.
Solomon, who made his debut on Bravo‘s Summer House last year, has been open about his love for music from his first moment on the show, often showing off his vocal skills on camera. At the end of Season Eight, he even delivered a now-viral hit about his fellow housemates, “What Would Jesse Solomon Do?” But now, Solomon is getting serious about his future in music with the release of a new solo track, “Into Space,” premiering exclusively on Rolling Stone.
“I’ve always had a passion for music,” says Solomon, an Illinois native who studied vocal jazz at the University of Miami. “Now that I have a platform, I want to do something with it. I love making music, and I miss singing every day, and I think I’m good. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t go for it. It’s for fun and it’s a passion and I feel so grateful that I get to do music that way, because not a lot of people do.”
Folding his six-foot-five-inch frame into a booth at the Restoration Hardware Rooftop restaurant in New York City, Solomon says he’s been busy prepping to film the Summer House reunion the next day. He looks visibly relieved to take a break from talking about cast drama to discuss his music instead.
Lyrically, the new track, “Into Space,” produced by Elie Bashkow and Isaac Burns, finds Solomon contemplating how to stay grounded as his star rises. “Flashing lights and shining things might not be here to stay / Nothing’s in my way / Blindfold on a tightrope, I never miss a step / Stars aren’t guaranteed, I’m collecting them like debts,” he sings. “Slow down you might fall / It’s all part of the game / Each step takes me higher, and I’m headed into space.” It’s about “protecting your downside and knowing that this could all disappear tomorrow,” he explains.
Solomon is leaning into his jazz influences and believes younger music fans are ready to come along with him. “I think there’s an opportunity in the market for a younger, next-generation Michael Bublé,” he says. “The inspiration for this song in particular was kind of like, ‘If Frank Sinatra was a millennial, what kind of music would he make?’”
“Into Space” marks the third track Solomon has released, following “Into My Own” and “Back Pocket.” Eventually, he hopes to release an EP and follow that up with a tour. But his ultimate goal, Solomon says, is to connect with fans on a deeper, more personal level than he can on TV.
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“I’m just a fun-loving, goofy guy on Summer House, because it’s a show about partying in the Hamptons,” he says. “I tell people about my life through my music, and it’s not about partying in the Hamptons. I’m multifaceted. It’s another way to express a more serious side of myself, a more vulnerable side than you get from the show.”