artist:  Virginia to Vegas

songwriters:  Derek John Baker; Mike Wise; Michael Brandolino; David Charles Fischer; Pierre-Luc Rioux

date released:  March 2024 by Virginia to Vegas

Derik John Baker, known as Virginia To Vegas, was born on January 31, 1990, in the state of Virginia, United States, but he is now a dual citizen residing in Toronto, Canada. He is a  musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his gold and platinum-certified singles, "We Are Stars", "Lights Out", "Selfish", "Just Friends" and "Betterman", which were released through Wax Records and Ultra Records.  The name of the band, "Virginia to Vegas," came from his partner who was born in Las Vegas, US, and thus was formed a hybrid of both birthplaces.  

Baker was raised in Guelph and Toronto, Ontario, where he attended high school at Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute and Bishop Macdonell Catholic High School . After high school, Derik attended Sheridan College for studies in Travel and Tourism.  

V-to-V was signed to an independent Canadian music company, Wax Records, in July 2013, after label executive, Jamie Appleby, discovered him on YouTube. The first single "We Are Stars" was released on January 7, 2014.  He is best known for his indie-pop choruses and sticky electronic melodies, which have awarded him critical acclaim and several platinum certifications. In 2018, he expanded his reach internationally, co-writing the single “IDWK” with Blackbear and DVBBS. Baker’s most recent release, “Time,” saw Virginia to Vegas reach new heights, garnering a top 5 chart position at Canadian radio. 

V-to-V tries to write stories with elements of personal experience in them nearing the autobiographical.  In his newest single, "Time", Baker is thinking about the passage of time as ephemeral and fleeting.  He ponders the inevitable finitude of existence, and how he’s transformed in the last 10 years from Derek Baker to V-to-V with a new romantic lens through which he sees the world. Baker agrees that his song is existential; time is mysterious because of its transient nature. 

 The moment is here and gone.  In the song, he concedes the importance for him to find comfort in and appreciation of the here and now, of the present time. 

"Oh, the harder you try

You just can't slow it [Time] down

'Cause the days turn to nights

Now the year goes around

And you laugh and you cry

People change and they die

And it all leads to now

Funny when you think about—

CHORUS:  Time, keeps rollin', rollin', I

Keep hopin', hopin', I

Got a ways to go

The only thing we can't control is—

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