Meaning of “JT” by Jon Bellion

The song “JT” was released by American rapper and singer Jon Bellion on October 26, 2018. Lyrically, “JT” finds Bellion looking back at his long journey to success and stardom. And now that he has achieved his dreams, he has every reason to celebrate.

John Travolta

Bellion uses the name John Travolta multiple times in the lyrics. John Travolta is an American actor famed for starring in such films as Pulp Fiction, Saturday Night Fever, Hairspray and Grease. Bellion makes reference to the latter film with the following lines:

Bellion showcases his lyrical prowess in the lines above (from the song’s chorus). Here, he talks about making enough money from his music to enjoy extravagant vacations in the country of Greece. However, he tells listeners “I don’t mean John Travolta”.

Like was said from above, actor John Travolta starred in the 1978 film Grease. He brilliantly plays on the word “Greece” and brings in Travolta’s name to make the connection and complete the pun in a fantastic way.

From the look of things, the song appears to be paying tribute to Travolta. There is a ton of evidence to support this. They are as follows:

• Bellion mentions the actor’s name multiple times.
• The song’s title is “JT”, which apparently stands for John Travolta or is another pun for the actor’s initials.
• In a clever pun, he makes reference to the late 1970s film Grease in which Travolta starred in.
• He makes mention of the famous 1994 Quentin Tarantino directed crime film Pulp Fiction. Travolta starred in that film.

What does the line “Pinching Pennies like Lane and Hardaway” stand for?

Many suspect the line to be referring to American college basketball coach Penny Hardaway and American filmmaker Penny Lane. Some have also said the phrase “pennies like Lane” is making reference to the 1967 song “Penny Lane” by the Beatles.

Facts about “JT”

• Bellion and three other songwriters wrote “JT”. Who are these songwriters? They are Raul Cubina, Travis Mendes and Mark Williams.
• “JT” was co-produced by Bellion and the electronic music production duo Ojivolta. The duo is made up of Mark Williams and Raul Cubina. Ojivolta and Jon Bellion have worked together multiple times in the past. For example, in 2015, Ojivolta featured Bellion on their track “Game Plan”.
• A couple of days before the song was officially dropped, Bellion shared a snippet of it through Twitter. He took that as an opportunity to announce the song’s official date of release.
• On October 26, 2018, the record labels Visionary Music Group and Capitol Records released this track.

Who sings the background vocals on “JT”?

The song’s backing vocals are handled by Travis Mendes (the song’s co-writer). Travis is an American rapper and singer.

Is this Jon Bellion’s first time of working with Travis Mendes?

No. Both artists have collaborated on multiple tracks in the past. For instance, Mendes was featured on Bellion’s 2016 song “Guillotine”.