INTERVIEW: Who Is Jacob Whitesides? | Everything You Need To Know

In 2012, Jacob Whitesides got his start in music when he made the first cut of "The X Factor." And although, he was eliminated in the following round, he's found success in music by releasing several singles (one of which is a collaboration with Kelly Rowland) and EP records. Jacob is also the CEO of his own label Double U Records, and is preparing to drop his debut studio album this fall. Looks like Jacob has "The X Factor," after all.

We recently caught up with the 18-year-old rising pop star when he stopped by iHeartRadio HQ in New York City for a one-on-one interview, where he talked about growing up in Nashville, his experience on the "The X Factor," who his musical heroes are, winning an iHeartRadio Music Award this year, his single "Lovesick," and more.

Jacob is originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, which is about a three-hour drive to one of the most musical cities in America: Nashville. The city is known for its strong community of singers and songwriters who are constantly creating music, which had quite the impact on Whitesides and his own music. The 6'2" native tells us he loved growing up in Tennessee. "I've always really thoroughly enjoyed the country. I'm not a city guy whatsoever."

On how growing up in Tennessee influenced his music style

"I grew up listening to a lot of singer/songwriter stuff, a little later in my life I started listening to some country music, started appreciating country music, so I feel like it's definitely influenced my song writing a whole lot."

Jacob appeared on "The X Factor" in his early teens. He explains that his experience with the show happened just as he started getting into his music career. He made it to the first round, getting three yes's and one no (from Demi Lovato), but was eliminated in the next round. However, despite his elimination, he made some close friends ... along with his girlfriend Bea Miller. "It was awesome because I met some of my closest friends, and my girlfriend, actually." And in addition to friends and a girlfriend, Jacob also got his first real look into the music industry.

On what it's like being on "The X Factor"

"Honestly, it was really interesting, it was my first glimpse into the music industry, and it gave me a lot of wisdom as a 13-year-old kid that had no idea about music. Befriending some of the kids that went on to go further into the show and sign major deals and stuff, it was a big eye opening [experience] for me at a young age. Kind of knowing the direction I wanted to go in when I did get to that point, but I still had time to think about it because I didn't make it, so I wasn't like so quick. So it definitely helped me kind of create an idea of what I wanted to do, even when I didn't really know yet."

Despite not winning "The X Factor," Jacob was able to find a lot of success. A few years after being cut on the NBC show, he released his debut EP titled 3 AM: The EP. The album featured a number of cover songs from artists like John Legend and Plain White T's. Jacob's music also began to attract a lot of attention on social media, which has scored him over 1.6 million Facebook likes, 2 million Twitter followers, and 1.4 million Instagram followers.

In case you're just getting familiar with Jacob, here's what you need to know about his music. He describes his new songs as "early John Mayer, meets Justin Timberlake, and they have kids. And then I'm the little like John Mayer/Timberlake kid." And speaking of John Mayer, Jacob explains he is one of his biggest musical heroes, and grew up listening to his music, especially Mayer's 2006 Continuum album (his favorite). "That's what I grew up listening to as like a five-year-old. I would always request John Mayer."

On his musical heroes and inspirations

"I grew up listening to so much John Mayer it wasn't even funny. Jack Johnson as well, great singer songwriter. But, Mayer, honestly not even just his music, but as overall as a person, he's just so hilarious, so natural on stage and a really nice guy. I had the honor of meeting him at his Nashville show and it was just really a special moment for me because I was such a massive fan and he treated me just like a normal person. So it was really, really cool." He adds, "I actually didn't grow up listening to a lot old music. A lot of little kids grow up with their parents listening to whatever they listened to when they were kids. My parents were super into Maroon 5, John Mayer. The only old stuff I listened to was James Taylor, which kind of really influenced a lot of my singer/songwriter type stuff today, so I'm thankful that James Taylor was in the speakers."

This year, Jacob won an iHeartRadio Music Award for Best Cover Song for his cover of Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars's chart-topping hit "Uptown Funk," along with Fifth Harmony, Jasmine V, and Mahogany Lox. Jacob actually found he had won the award just as he was about to go out on stage while playing a show in South America. "I was actually about to go on stage when I found out. I was over in South America, I got to go on stage a play a show and I had some extra energy that day."

On winning the iHeartAward for Best Cover Song:

"It was actually so random. I didn't know that we were doing it, and everyone else had already finished all of their parts, and their management called and they're like, 'Hey we need Jacob's part.' And we're like, 'Part for what?' So I was on tour at the time, and I had to jump in the studio the next day and the script was so funny because it was like, sing your name and then do your part. And my last name has ten letters in it, so that ended up being the running joke on that tour. All the Fifth Harmony fans would just walk up to me and be like Jacob Whitesides [singing the last name]. But, it was really fun to record, it definitely got me out of my comfort zone a little bit. I've never really done anything like that before and winning the award was a total shock. I found out late in the process. Fifth Harmony has the most powerful fan base of all time. So I'm really glad I go to be on the song with them, and really thankful for my fans and Fifth Harmony fans and everybody else's fans."

Jacob has a new single out right now called "Lovesick," which he created with his producer in Connecticut following his return from his European tour. He tells us that MAGIC!'s Mark Pellizzer and Alex Tanas had sent him the song, which helped shape the vision for Jacob's album.

On the making of his single "Love Sick"

"I had just gotten back from my European tour. I was like over there for a month and a half, and I was super tired and exhausted, and I flew straight to Connecticut where my manager lives, and flew my producer up. We were kinda just hanging out and talking about the vision for the record, not really doing any recording or writing or anything, but just kinda talking through it. Mark and Alex from the band MAGIC!, super, super nice and very very talented musicians and songwriters, sent the song over, and we were so excited about it. It was one of the first songs we've had on the album which really helps create a vision for the record. So we flew them to Nashville and spent like three days on it. It was just a whole lot of fun."

[Buy "Lovesick" on iTunes]

Fans of Jacob can look forward to A LOT of new music from the singer/songwriter this year. He tells us he recently finished his debut studio album, and that he's aiming to release it later this year in September.

On his 2016 debut studio album:

"I'm actually finished with it. I finished it about a month ago, and that's going to be out in September, I'm really excited for it. It's the most music I've ever released at once. It's my debut. It was fun [to put together]. It was a lot of pressure. I had a really tight deadline, which I was frustrated with at first, but it did really help push me and everyone else on my team to their limits. And it was fun experimenting, kind of like morphing the old sound, the more singer/songwriter stuff with some pop influences. It was fun putting those together. It's hard to write 20 songs and make them all sound cohesive with each other. But luckily I worked with a really awesome producer, who I did every session with, who really helped. He used a lot of the same sounds, and made it all sound nice and conjoined together. It was really a blast and a life-changing thing. Spending that much time opening up, and talking about yourself, and self-reflecting on things you've been through in the past and stuff, it's really good for my emotions."

Jacob is currently on tour and stopping in cities in California, Texas, Tennessee, and Colorado over the next two months. You can view dates and tickets on his official website HERE.

Photos: Rachel Kaplan for iHeartRadio