Bazzi kicked off a new era last week with his single “I Like That.”  And the multi-platinum artist says not only does the track mark a new chapter, it hints at his new new musical direction.

“I think it’s…the bridge into an entirely new innovative sound that I’ve created,” he tells ABC Audio about “I Like That.” “And, y’know, this song was definitely, like, not necessarily about something I’m living, but almost like a manifestation of something I want to live, and an energy I want to feel. Like, an excitement I want to feel and the gratitude I want to feel.”

In the track, Bazzi asks his lover to join him traveling the world and generally throwing caution to the wind. A key line is, “Let’s open our eyes ’cause there’s a lot to see.”

“I’ve always seen [that] when I write stuff in my music, they always find a weird way of kind of coming to life,” Bazzi explains. “So this is kind of like my positive manifestation I put into the song to remind myself, you know, there is a lot to see. There’s a huge world out there that doesn’t exist on our phones, that you can only see in real life.”

Bazzi says he’s manifesting positive things because 2020 was so rough for him, as it was for everybody: He got COVID-19 and struggled with physical and mental health challenges.

“Obviously, the whole year in itself was a lesson and a learning experience,” Bazzi explains. “And I think a lot of the bad of it gave me a different optimism than I’ve had before in my life, a different gratitude and definitely a different drive to get back to a place where I feel comfortable and happy.”

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

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