Watch Never Shout Never's Live at Rolling Stone Set

Christofer Drew, who records under the name Never Shout Never, is this year's breakout emo-pop star: the 19-year-old Missouri native draws scores of shrieking girls to his shows and his debut album, What Is Love?, debuted at Number 24 on the Top 200. But Drew's influences reach far beyond "screamo electronica," as he calls it: he's more likely to throw on some old-school Buddy Holly records than a Fall Out Boy album. "I don't want to be limited to a certain sound," he tells Rolling Stone. "That'll make you a sad person in the long run."

Drew dropped by the RS offices earlier this week to play acoustic versions of two new tracks, "Harmony" and "Coffee and Cigarettes." He'll spend most of the summer on the road with the Warped Tour, and he's already plotting out his follow-up record, which he hopes to put out in August. "It'll be called Harmony," he says. "And it'll be more Woody Guthrie-influenced. This is me just experimenting with a new type of music. I want everything to be a new style."

As for his rabid female fanbase, Drew says he's still getting used to all the attention. "They know the words to the songs," he says. "I don't even have to sing them live. I can step away from the mike and just let them sing 'em. It's really weird. I'm the weirdest, smelliest dude you'll ever meet but for some reason these girls like it."

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Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

More Song Stories entries »

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