Jace M and Joey Diamond redo *NSYNC hit for the gay dance floor
Pop singer Joey Diamond and producer Jace M are bringing back pre-millennial beats to dance floors on this Fall with their re-imagining of *NSYNC favorite “Tearin’ Up My Heart.”
Joey, who admits he’s had his heart torn, and has torn a few of his own in his day, remembers listening to the original as a kid. “I’d be riding in the car with my mom with the song on repeat, playing it over and over again,” he laughs. “My mom would be yelling at me to change that song, but I wouldn’t. Looking back makes me smile.”
While Joey and Jace’s version pays homage to the original, it takes “Tearin’ Up My Heart” in a new direction, incorporating house and disco elements for an uplifting club sound. Along with the radio edit, Jace M has called upon some of the biggest remixers and producers in the club industry to release their own versions of their track.
The remix package includes eleven mixes of varying sounds from techno to hard tribal, making the track suitable for every dance floor. There is even an acoustic mix with a huge orchestral movement!
“Joey and I met through friends in Miami,” explains Jace M on the origin of their collaboration. “He came to me with an original record he had already recorded called ‘Everyday’ and asked me to remix it. I was immediately impressed by his amazing voice and I knew right away I would want to find a project to collaborate on. One day, I was with DJ GSP (head of Queen House Music) and *NSYNC’s ‘Tearin’ Up My Heart’ came on the radio and my brain was like this is the perfect song for Joey!”
“When Jace presented the idea to me, I didn’t hesitate at the opportunity,” recalls Joey. “I’m a 90s kid. I grew up on Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and *NSYNC. This song, in particular, I have an incredible love for. I am so grateful to Queen House Music for allowing Jace and me this chance to redo “Tearin’ Up My Heart” in our way.”
Jace M is a Miami-based DJ and producer specializing in happy, uplifting, circuit music with vocals. “I like songs people can sing along to on the dance floor. Songs that make people want to hug their dancing partner,” he explains. He grew in Washington DC and Detroit and, as a child, his parents forced him to play piano, violin, and trumpet. “I hated all of them, but am forever grateful for what I learned about music and music theory. I use it every day of my life.”
Today, Jace draws inspiration from many of the leading DJs from the early 2000s: luminaries like Abel, Ralphie Rosario, Tony Moran, Manny Lehman, Joe Gauthreaux, Toy Armada, and DJ GRIND. As they did, Jace produces his own dancefloor music. He has released a slew of remixes, both by himself, and with collaborators including Joe Gauthreaux, Toy Armada and Mauro Mozart. Jace M has also released an original track, “We Won’t Go” with Joe Gauthreaux.
He works full-time as a computer engineer. In the evenings, Jace is with his husband and producing new music and on weekends, he is traveling the world DJing.
Joey Diamond ⎯ whose name is legit; Diamond is not a stage name, it’s his mother’s maiden name ⎯ is a social media influencer who first rose to fame on YouTube in 2009. “I made a video coming out as gay and at that time it was really scary. I was afraid that it would forever end my chances in pop and R&B.”
Of Filipino descent, Joey grew up in Hayward, California, outside of San Francisco. His mother and father were very young when they had him and did not raise him together, but they were strong individuals who managed to provide for their son the best way they could. It wasn’t easy but their struggle instilled in young Joey a will to survive and thrive. In his toughest times, he found singing and music to be his savior.
Joey released his first single, “Simple Things,” in 2014. Shortly after, he dropped an album and embarked on his first music tour, releasing additional singles along the way. With the success of the tour and his growing YouTube fanbase, he was invited to join a boy band, but it would be a short-lived project. Within a year, the members decided to go in different directions and Joey took time to re-evaluate what was important to him.
He now lives in Miami where he enjoys the marvelous sun and going to the gym. He’s also a foodie and loves cooking at home.
He’s excited to be back in the game as a solo artist, working with creatives like Jace M on innovative new sounds. They both agree that “Tearin’ Up My Heart” is only the beginning of their collaboration. “We are definitely working together again!” Jace M confirms. “With the help of our label, we’re deciding on if we should do another remake or an original song we write. We both have half-finished songs sitting around… and what better opportunity to finish them up?”
Joey Diamond is happily engaged and no longer afraid of getting his heart torn. “We all experience heartbreak. They’re stepping stones in learning what we can handle. What matters is that you pick yourself up and give tomorrow a chance to make things better.”
Joey Diamond and Jace M’s “Tearin’ Up My Heart is being distributed by Queen House Music and will be available now on Apple Music, Spotify, and all digital platforms.
