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Justin Bieber's music director and KCK native, HARV, shares excitement after 'Peaches' song hits No. 1 Billboard spot

HARV
Posted at 6:13 AM, May 05, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-05 12:29:22-04

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Justin Bieber's popular song, "Peaches" recently hit number one on the Billboard Top 100.

41 Action News caught up with his music director and bassist, HARV, who is a native of Kansas City, Kansas.

HARV shared his excitement when he found out the song made the number one spot.

"Honestly I was just overwhelmed with joy," he said. "I knew 'Peaches' was going to be a good song and I knew it was going to be number one, but I didn't think it was going to come out the gate number one, like that fast."

HARV said it felt like an out-of-body experience for him when he found out the news.

"You see all this stuff happening right in front of you and you're just watching it happen," he said. "So I think I'm just now catching up to what's been happening for the last five weeks."

The album, "Justice," was put together in the middle of a pandemic, in a fast-paced industry that really relies on that in-person interaction.

HARV mentioned the pandemic really forced him to slow down and create more connection with Bieber.

"The pandemic really sat everybody down," HARV said. "And during that time, we just had regular human moments, like just hanging out and playing basketball. That moment helped us work on music better. I know it helped me out a lot, just working with Justin and just to get closer and musically where he wanted to go, and how he wanted the album to sound."

HARV recently did an interview with Rolling Stone about the success of the album and connection.

He said if it wasn't for the pandemic, they may have not had that time to really sit down, connect and map the album out like they did.

While the pandemic put a hold on a lot of things, he says it did help him to slow down.

"It definitely changed the way we creators work and shifted things and definitely things from the pandemic that I'm gonna keep moving forward is just to slow down, you know," HARV said. "We live in a fast-paced field and life can sometimes be fast, you know everything in career, life and family and stuff, but the pandemic really made me slow down and I think I'm gonna keep that going."

When asked about his success and how much he's accomplished, he said he's beyond grateful.

"It's just a blessing, honestly," HARV said. "Every day I'm just super grateful that I am able to live this life, and that God blessed me with the talent of music.

With how far he's come, he said he's always believed in himself and where he wanted to go.

"I always believed in hard work and working hard towards something and just super blessed that I was able to see something through and for something to manifest and my dreams," HARV said. "I saw at 14 at J.C. Harmon High School, you know in the marching band, and I knew that I wanted to take my music to the next level. And some of those times when I hear 'Peaches' on the radio, or as a bassist when we're at a concert and there's 300,000 to 400,000 people there to watch us perform, those moments, I, just to take them all in and just to be thankful and grateful for just being able to experience this life."

He also has a message for kids from his hometown: Believe in yourself, and then, believe in yourself some more.

"I'm from the same area so really there's no excuse to say I live in Kansas, it's a small town and I can't get out. No, you can make it out. You know you gotta work hard, believe in yourself and surround yourself with good positive forward-thinking people, and believe in yourself some more," HARV said. "There's times where I had five dollars in my bank account and you know, I could've gave up on my dream. But I kept believing in myself and moving and like I said, as long as you keep positive forward-thinking people in your inner circle, anything is possible."

HARV said you may receive 100 or 1,000 "No's," but all it takes is that one yes that could change your whole life, so keep going.