Jon Bellion has been operating at the exact intersection of pop craft and production obsession for long enough that a Pharrell Williams collaboration feels like the natural next step rather than a surprise. Bellion is from Garden City, New York, built his following through Soundcloud in the early 2010s, and has spent the years since developing a production style that is unmistakably his own: maximalist but precise, with an ear for the moment where a beat resolves into something that makes physical sense. Pharrell brings the thing he always brings, which is authority and ease operating at the same frequency. The two of them working on the same track is less a collision of styles than a confirmation that they have always been making music from similar instincts. "HOROSCOPE" is one of the more successful executions of what Bellion does when everything is working: the writing is confident, the production pays off the promises it makes in the intro, and Pharrell's presence elevates without dominating. We have been paying attention to Bellion since the early days. This is him at a high point.
Jon Bellion, Pharrell Williams