Morgan Jay is giving his audience the musical sex comedy they want (and an auto-tuned microphone)

Before we beryllium down for the interview, Morgan Jay is successful the mediate of a photoshoot — posing against a piano. Once helium doesn’t person to beryllium inactive for photos, helium instantly begins to play an archetypal opus called “Would You Be My Dad?” wherever helium sings astir learning however to necktie a tie.

The impulse to burst into opus is earthy for the philharmonic comedian. Jay roseate to popularity implicit the past fewer years for his usage of an auto-tuned microphone successful his performances and assemblage information segments that went viral connected TikTok. Now his popularity has transcended societal media feeds; he’s successful the mediate of a U.S. and planetary tour, including 2 sold-out shows astatine the Wiltern connected April 11.

“For a batch of these radical I’m their archetypal drama show,” Jay explains, thing that galore of his mostly Gen Z fans archer him aft his performances. “So I springiness the radical what they privation from the internet, and past erstwhile they travel to the amusement I transcend expectations.”

Jay has been performing since hitting unfastened mics successful 2007 portion successful college. He had aboriginal formative experiences wherever helium learned however to enactment with crowds, including arsenic an intern connected The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and arsenic a certified New York City motorcycle circuit guide.

“It teaches you however to beryllium successful beforehand of radical and beryllium comfortable,” Jay adds. “In summation to having to entertain them, I had to marque definite cipher got deed by a car.”

Comedian Morgan Jay learned to beryllium comfy successful beforehand of a assemblage arsenic an intern connected The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and arsenic a certified New York City motorcycle circuit guide.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

At first, Jay’s drama was centered astir his skills arsenic a philharmonic comedian; helium has a inheritance successful acting and choir earlier helium began to prosecute comedy. But it was his instrumentality connected assemblage enactment — wherever stand-up comedians basal their worldly disconnected of improvised interactions with the assemblage — that got people’s attention. What erstwhile began arsenic a mode to prosecute audiences during firm drama bookings implicit Zoom, Jay’s trademark is to spell into the assemblage with an auto-tuned mic and get radical to sing alongside him. The effect of the microphone gives each his assemblage members the aforesaid electro-tinted singing ability. In the aforesaid suave mode helium tin interruption into R&B stylings astatine immoderate fixed moment, Jay has a mode of relaxing his assemblage to marque them consciousness comfy capable to sing along.

But the assemblage enactment is lone 1 conception of Jay’s show. “I would accidental 99% of my assemblage knows maine from the auto-tune, truthful erstwhile I bash my afloat amusement and I sing a mates songs connected guitar and bash stand-up, I deliberation they’re a small spot surprised.”

Jay says his amusement mimics however his assemblage often archetypal encounters him: the chaos of a societal media feed. “It helps the amusement spell from 1 happening to different thing,” helium says. “It speaks to that encephalon rot. One infinitesimal you’re looking astatine this happening and the adjacent you’re looking astatine this thing. You privation it to beryllium dynamic.”

And Jay has surely embraced the encephalon rot-affected viewing habits of his younger audience. He allows assemblage members to movie him passim his performance, a rarity successful drama erstwhile locking your telephone distant successful a pouch has go the norm for high-profile comedians. Jay’s unrecorded shows besides diagnostic a camera antheral that follows him passim the venue, broadcasting the footage connected a ample screen.

Comedian Morgan Jay lets the “brain rot” that comes from scrolling societal media animate his shows.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

“I’ll wage immoderate the outgo is [for the camera setup] due to the fact that it changes the amusement and allows maine to spell anyplace successful the room.” Jay continues, “People emotion staring astatine a surface already. So they’re astatine location now.”

Jay’s high-energy enactment goes beyond the signifier and adjacent the orchestra conception of his venues. He often runs the full magnitude of the aisles and travels up to the past enactment of the balcony, cordless camera and relation successful tow. “Every spot should beryllium a bully seat,” Jay says. “I didn’t wanna suffer that intimacy that these smaller venues had of everybody being capable to spot me.”

While assemblage enactment is inherently intimate, Jay embraces the signifier by centering his worldly connected enactment and relationships. His astir communal question to couples successful the assemblage is if “they’re going to marque emotion tonight?” And helium often says his shows are cleanable for a archetypal day (messages successful his Instagram DMs — which Jay reads — archer him his shows often pb to a second).

When I inquire Jay if helium thinks he’s the go-to enactment comedian close now, helium laughs. “I’ve created this question of the goofy gang,” helium explains. “I deliberation that goes manus successful manus with being sexy due to the fact that you person to beryllium a small spot physically and sexually susceptible to person fun, right?”

But contempt his popularity, Jay doesn’t see himself portion of the accepted drama scene. He ne'er deed the drama vocation marker of performing connected a late-night amusement (although helium says helium would emotion to spell backmost to Fallon) and, contempt surviving successful L.A. for 13 years, doesn’t spot himself arsenic portion of the L.A. drama scene. He says that immoderate L.A. venues person turned him down successful the past. “For them, I’m conscionable this TikTok assemblage enactment guy,” Jay says, earlier quipping, “I’m not bitter, it is what it is.”

Jay skipped being a section gully to becoming an planetary sensation. His circuit includes aggregate stops successful Brazil, which helium claims he’s the archetypal American comedian to do. Jay besides has imitators of his auto-tune assemblage enactment astir the globe, from India to Portugal.

“It’s chill to person invented a benignant of delivery, but it is conscionable answering the request of what an assemblage needs close now.”

Jay inactive embraces immoderate accepted drama vocation moves, including caller appearances successful TV sitcoms similar “St. Denis Medical” and acting successful the movie “Cotton Candy Bubble Gum,” which premiered astatine SXSW successful March. And portion he’s gathering clips to enactment unneurotic into a special, he’s consenting to clasp immoderate mean his assemblage favors.

“I’ve asked fans nether 25, ‘What’s the past peculiar you watched?’ And they’ll beryllium like, ‘I don’t truly ticker specials,’” helium says.

But erstwhile I inquire Jay if helium feels similar helium has his drama figured out, helium paraphrases David Bowie’s punctuation that artists should ever consciousness similar they’re successful the heavy end, hardly capable to interaction the bottom. “I support thinking, however overmuch further tin I instrumentality this?”

Comedian Morgan Jay astatine the Kookaburra Lounge successful Hollywood, wherever helium tested the inclusion of a afloat set successful his show.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Jay’s improvement seems focused connected his unrecorded show, which helium is transforming into adjacent much of a philharmonic acquisition with the inclusion of a afloat set that helium tested astatine the Kookaburra Lounge successful Hollywood. “I retrieve the grin my manager had from receptor to receptor [after the show]. He was like, ‘Okay, you’re going to bash Red Rocks successful a year.’”

Jay intelligibly feels indebted to his viewers. He knows that definite fan-favorite songs and the usage of auto-tune volition ever beryllium a portion of his performances. He puts himself successful the presumption of his assemblage — and not conscionable physically erstwhile helium jumps from the signifier — to trade a amusement for the modern epoch that appeals to everyone, including those who don’t cognize his TikToks.

“I person to beryllium my archetypal fan,” helium says. “You person to beryllium yourself and beryllium like, ‘Is this worthy $70 and summons fees?’ I deliberation it is.” Jay past adds, “Period! That’s however the nonfiction ends.”

In the tone of radical information that’s go the cornerstone of his drama identity, Jay concludes the portion for me. And portion it does not person the physics vibrato of an auto-tuned microphone, it does sing.