With her inspiring single B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 Not PrettyB次元官网网址� going viral and catapulting her onto the Rolling Stone Breakthrough 25, West Coast born and raised pop singer-songwriter JESSIA proclaims to be part of a new wave of B次元官网网址渞eal music thatB次元官网网址檚 breaking down boundaries.B次元官网网址�
She remembers penning the lyrics to B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 Not PrettyB次元官网网址� over Christmas 2020 from her childhood bedroom in Ucluelet on Vancouver Island. Verses like B次元官网网址楤ut I canB次元官网网址檛 find a way to lose weight / Without literally starvingB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址楤ut sometimes I hate myself / I get inside my head and I think that I somehow deserve thisB次元官网网址� poured onto the page.
B次元官网网址淚 came to my mom about all these subjects and she told me that this needs to be said. She said to go for it. Her encouragement is definitely the reason why those verses are as ballsy as they are. Big props to my mom,B次元官网网址� said JESSIA, who graduated from Ucluelet Secondary School in 2012 and went on to pursue a music degree at MacEwan University in Edmonton.
with Republic Records shortly after releasing B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 Not PrettyB次元官网网址� as a TikTok video clip in January 2021. Within the last seven months, sheB次元官网网址檚 performed live at Lollapalooza Chicago music festival, shot and released two music videos, collaborated with her songwriter idols Ryan Tedder (lead singer of OneRepublic) and Justin Tranter, and was the top emerging artist on CanadaB次元官网网址檚 billboard charts for more than 10 weeks.
B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 Not PrettyB次元官网网址� has gone platinum. ItB次元官网网址檚 been a wild seven months for sure. ItB次元官网网址檚 just the beginning, get ready guys,B次元官网网址� said the rising Canadian pop star.
One thing JESSIA especially loves about B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 Not PrettyB次元官网网址� is the fact that itB次元官网网址檚 not a gendered song, so the community of listeners that connect to it is broad.
She says teenage boys and postpartum moms send her messages telling her the song made them feel good about their body.
B次元官网网址淚 feel like a lot of women have a lot of songs that hype you up and tell you that your body is great, men donB次元官网网址檛 really have that and I think men experience body dysmorphia and insecurities as much as women do and itB次元官网网址檚 just not talked about as much,B次元官网网址� JESSIA said.
B次元官网网址淭hat song broke all these boundaries of things I could talk about and subjects that would be considered taboo or too far. IB次元官网网址檓 taking that and running with it and opening up all the jars and spilling all of the (stuff) everywhere. Here you go world, deal with it.B次元官网网址�
JESSIA also wrote and recorded her second track B次元官网网址業 Should QuitB次元官网网址� from her childhood bedroom.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really strange thinking about me as little girl dancing in front of the same mirror with my hairbrush and now my dreams are actually coming true. It all happened in Ucluelet,B次元官网网址� said JESSIA.
Mom Beth Harling, a longtime music teacher in the communities of Tofino and Ucluelet, says JESSIAB次元官网网址檚 music is like her diary.
B次元官网网址淪he writes about things her friends are going through and her family is going through. She just wants to make the world a better place and be really honest with her music,B次元官网网址� said Harling.
B次元官网网址淢y music is very conversational,B次元官网网址� JESSIA adds. B次元官网网址淚 just want to talk about things that I would talk about with my best friends over a cup of tea kind of thing.B次元官网网址�
She is acutely aware of the ugly side of the music industry that has been shamed for oversexualising female artists, yet she says everyoneB次元官网网址檚 been kind and supportive.
B次元官网网址淢y team and my management are vouching for the movement that B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 Not PrettyB次元官网网址� has created. We are one big happy family. At the end of the day we all just want to make good music,B次元官网网址� JESSIA said.
The rising pop star offers a tidbit of advice to the youngsters holding hairbrushes and singing their hearts out in their bedrooms:
B次元官网网址淲ork at it. If you are working hard at something, something has to come from it. Work your butt off and be kind.B次元官网网址�
nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca
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