Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images“If the World Was Ending” by JP Saxe and Julia Michaels is one of the most memorable hits to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though it was written long before the coronavirus pandemic, people embraced it as a fitting reflection of our current moment. JP says the song has led to some very special moments for him, personally.

“There’s two things that come to mind…one, the video we did for Doctors Without Borders with all of our friends,” he tells ABC Audio. 

That all-star video for the song, with proceeds going to the charity, featured guest appearances by Keith Urban, Sam Smith, Lindsey Stirling, Florida Georgia Line, Alessia Cara and many more. But JP says it was story his friend at the organization told him that really affected him.

“[She told me] about a group of doctors getting into a country that they hadn’t been able to get into in quarantine, and [they were] playing ‘If The World Was Ending’ as they landed — because they felt they were the people who would come over if the world was ending,” JP says.

“That was like a connection to the song that that I never could have anticipated, and that still gives me chills to think about.”

The second moment, he says, was when he and his girlfriend Julia sang the tune on Fallon back in November.

[That was] the last time my mom ever saw me perform,” says JP. “And that’s something I will always cherish because… it’s a song that means so much to me. I got to sing it with someone I love.”

“And when we talk about metrics of success, the areas in which they matter, making my mom feel like I was gonna be OK in my music career is a meaningful one.”

By Andrea Dresdale
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