Premiere: Jonathan Tilkin begs you to just ‘Say Yes’

The heart wants what it wants is a maxim for a breathless, shirt-torn rendezvous. Informing much of our perception of romance in popular culture, from originator Emily Dickinson (who once expressed a dalliance for such silly notions) to Selena Gomez, the gravity of two orbits forever entangling has an appeal that’s altogether bedeviling. Our cheeks feel the rush, deceiving us with a rose-tinged smattering of sheer ecstasy, and if we learn to accept it, we’re better for it in the long run.

Within the trembling pop-rock layers of newcomer Jonathan Tilkin‘s new single “Say Yes,” premiering today, the Boca Raton-native makes his lustful intentions unapologetically known with each lick of his lyrics. “Put your hands on me, honey / Move your hips with my body / Feel that heat that’s between us,” he sings, a smirk curling his lips and the twinkle of his eyes dancing in the light. “Who knows where it’ll lead us / Put your kiss on my lips now.”

Bouncing along the lines of classic mid-00s pop (think Jonas Brothers or early Jesse McCartney) and drawing upon the sweltering charm of Shawn Mendes, Tilkin stretches the sexual energy until it snaps. Even when the clouds of production fall away, and he’s left with only the gently strumming of acoustic guitar, there is a highly-flammable magnetism dangling in the atmosphere. You’re tugged into a lush wash of sound, and there’s no stopping it. There’s a reason Tilkin’s cultivated an impressive following on Instagram (his tally stands at over 119,000 loyal fans); he masterfully plays on the cover generation, snapped with various camera angles, pulling such varied influences into his own concoction. And his model sensibilities certainly don’t hurt.

“Say Yes” (officially out tomorrow) comes on the heels of a sequence of streaming hits, including “Something to Hold On To” and his debut entry, “Daydreamin’.”

Listen below:

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