Landon Barker kicked off his music career two months ago with the release of “Friends With Your Ex.” In the latest episode of Billboard News, Barker details what the song is about, shares insight into its writing process and reveals the advice he got from from his rock star dad, Travis Barker.
The 20-year-old musician says that “Friends With Your Ex” is “about falling in love with somebody you’re not supposed to but still seeing things through and having a good outcome.” While the track certainly had a positive outcome — it racked up over two million streams on Spotify and has made the rounds on TikTok thanks to a Charli D’Amelio cameo in the video — Landon explained that writing the track required a shift in perspective.
“I was in a session [with] somebody I work with often, and he was like ‘Dude, I think you keep on writing songs about the same thing. Why don’t we incorporate something that’s actually happening in your life?’” he recalls. “I guess I would always shoot to a song about heartbreak, or a song about a girl, or a song about being sad, he was like, ‘Let’s dive in and let’s write something about your life right now,’ and that’s kinda how that came about.”
Landon’s dad Travis helped out with the song and is listed as a co-producer for the track. The 20-year-old says that he “definitely shoot[s] for his advice whenever I can get it,” as he doesn’t have to wonder if his dad will minimize his feedback.
“If I was talking to somebody else and they didn’t like the song, they would let me down easy,” he explains. “I feel like he doesn’t let me down easy. It’s good — I so appreciate it because I love authenticity, and I love the transparency, and he’s always transparent and supportive. It works very well.”
As for what’s next for Landon? The singer says there’s plenty more music on the horizon. “Honestly it’s amazing, and especially all the stuff that I have saved up for everybody and the stuff in the vault … I’m glad I got this one out, but I’m excited to share so much.”
Watch Landon’s full Billboard News interview above.