d4vd at Irving Plaza

The annual GOVBALL AFTER DARK is right around the corner. This year's amazing set of performances will include one of the best rising singer-songwriters, D4VD. The young lad behind viral hits "Romantic Homicide" and "Here with Me" will be performing on June 11th at the Irving Plaza. Age 19, he's proved his astounding talent in writing songs and singing lyrical melodies that strike the heart. Sending oceans of tears around the world, he sure is an artist by heart.

Born David Anthony Burke, he initially started making music for his video game montage videos of Fortnite, avoiding copyright strikes. He then started releasing his music via SoundCloud prior to his viral rise. On July 20, 2022, he released his single "Romantic Homicide" after snippets of the track went viral on TikTok. Following the song's success, he signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records, where he released his next single "Here with Me". The track became a viral hit, driven by its widespread use on Tiktok, sending everyone to tears.

In May 2023, he released his debut EP "Petals to Thorns", serving his new singles "Worthless", "Sleep Well", "Don't Forget About Me", and "The Bridge". His newest hit song "Feel It" is part of the Invincible Season 2 Soundtrack.

As a huge anime fan, D4VD credits the media as one of his biggest influences, describing the "high energy" shonen genre, with Dragon Ball Z, Naruto and My Hero Academia for its "fluid, fast paced movement" with its "poetic" fighting. Inspired by the layers that antagonists is yet to uncover, his music seems to have the same characteristics - layers of emotions that strike the heart in every beat.

"The great thing about how I started writing music is that I would take inspiration from TV/Film early on," he shared with Briana Lawrence of Crunchyroll. "I wrote songs like “Here With Me” after watching the Disney movie UP. So I was able to see the scene of Amber and Mark flying around on their date before the scene was finished. I was so inspired that I made the track the very next day in an hour. I sent it to the music supervisor and it was perfect."

The artists also has anime videos for his songs featuring his animated alter-ego "It4mi". Described as someone who "wears a blindfold for the sole purpose of not being held accountable for the pain he causes," d4vd describes the character as "a visual representation of how I deal with my emotions."

"I’ve switched it from [the idea that] he's attacking my insecurities to he's creating these scenarios in my head about love, and then throughout Petals To Thorns, you'll hear it and you'll see it in the visuals," he told GQ about It4mi.

Now, he's set to headline this year's GOVBALL AFTER DARK. Don't miss out on D4VD at Irving Plaza on June 11 by booking your tickets now!