Elliot James Reay: The voice behind viral song ‘I Think They Call This Love’

IMAGINE it is a Sunday morning in the Philippines and you hear a slow, soothing love song that goes: 

“All I dream of is your eyes / All I long for is your touch / And darling, something tells me that’s enough…” 

You think it is one of the classic ’50s songs, sung by a music icon like “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” Elvis Presley (for those really young, look it up or ask GrandPa or GrandMa), which your parents or grandparents play on the radio as they sip their morning coffee. 

That’s what some Gen Zs thought, too, when they first heard it from TikTok as background music for romantic clips. 

Believe it or not, neither Elvis nor Roy Orbison sang the nostalgic love song, but a rising Gen Z star who is bringing back vintage-sounding vocals to the present day. 

He is Elliot James Reay, a 22-year-old British singer behind the viral song, “I Think They Call This Love.” 

Developing interest in rock ‘n’ roll

Elliot is in the country to conclude his “I Think They Call This Love” Southeast Asia Tour on Saturday, February 1, at Ayala Malls Market! Market! in Taguig City. 

But the Gen Z artist arrived in the Philippines early to meet several members of the media, including the republicasia team, during a press conference on Wednesday, January 29, in Mandaluyong City. 

This gave the team the opportunity to pop the question: what inspired him to bring back the nostalgic rock and roll tone to the modern age as a Gen Z artist?

Elliot shared that he has been exposed to this popular music genre since he was a kid—thanks to his parents who introduced him to the discography of Elvis and other music legends in the ‘50s.

But it was not until he was a teenager that he developed an interest and eventually fell in love with rock and roll. 

“I think that mostly happened when my voice changed, I got a bit older, and I started singing these songs in the streets of my hometown, which is what I used to do, and people loved it,” said Elliot.

“People really enjoyed it. They were fully into it, they were telling me all their stories about how when they were kids, they went to see Elvis or they went to see Buddy Holly,” he continued.

Becoming viral on TikTok

From the streets of his hometown of Bury, Great Manchester in England, Elliot brought his music to TikTok and caught the attention of netizens with his song covers.

Elliot has now amassed over 3.7 million followers on TikTok, which allowed him to reach more audiences and transport them back in the day with his debut single, “I Think They Call This Love.”

This all started when he uploaded covers of pop songs on the social media platform in 2019. Among his first TikTok clips were his renditions of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” and Ali Gatie’s “It’s You,” which now has 1.4 million plays. 

Elliot shared that it was actually his girlfriend who encouraged him to put out himself and his music on the internet.

“In the evening, I would get dressed up and be me and go and play a show or something like that as myself,” he said.

From simple song covers, Elliot interacted more with his audience by performing duets with them on TikTok. Eventually, his music style changed as he developed a deeper singing voice that made him sound like a ‘50s singer.

“It all just kind of came naturally. There was nothing that was forced,” stressed Elliot.

He brought out his inner Elvis in one of his TikTok videos in 2023, where he sang the music icon’s “You’re the Devil in Disguise” while he fixed his hair in Elvis’s signature pompadour hairstyle.

He continued to cover classic love songs—until he finally dropped his first-ever single “I Think They Call This Love” in July 2024. 

It did not take long for the song to rise to fame, garnering over 10 million plays in its first month on streaming services. It also entered Spotify’s Viral charts in over 27 countries and landed 14th on its “Global Viral 50” list.

And now, many netizens have been sharing their versions of “I Think They Call This Love” on TikTok.

According to Elliot, his debut single’s popularity impacted his life positively. 

“It changed my whole thing, my whole career—you know, doing something I enjoy—and I’m happy doing it and that’s what matters,” Elliot expressed.

New music

In 2024, Elliot released his sophomore single, “Boy in Love,” with a more upbeat and rock and roll tone.

Written by Elliot and Annielle Lisiuk, “Boy in Love” gives off feelings of euphoria when a person thinks about how their significant other brought warmth and butterflies into their lives.

A verse of the song goes: “My heart’s been bruised like a peach, my soul’s been set like a stone / But, now, when Sam Cooke sings, she got me whistling along / I didn’t think I could care, but now I wait by the phone / She got me good, I feel like a boy in love.”

“Boy in Love” was released to the public along with an official music video that was filmed on the streets of Elliot’s hometown. Directed by James Slater, the music video has amassed over 1.5 million views on YouTube.

But Elliot seems to have more in store for his fans as he teased about releasing an album.

“The ultimate end goal is the album. We want to have that ready by October,” he shared.

“I’m just trying to test some of the bits of work here to see if you guys love it and, so far, every other market has loved it, so I’m hoping that you guys like it too,” he added.

While his fans await his new music, some of them will have the chance to enjoy a meet-and-greet experience with Elliot at his free event on Saturday. 

So, don’t be late as the show will start at 5 p.m. See you there!