Jacquie Lee arrives in extraordinary fashion with her 300 Entertainment/Atlantic Records debut EP, “BROKEN ONES,” hitting the Top 10 on the iTunes Pop Chart upon release. The inspiring title track has also drawn nearly 7 million streams on Spotify and major airplay from Radio Disney.Hailed by Elle as a preternatural belter who blends powerhouse pop with the bluesy, lovelorn vibe of Janis Joplin,” Jacquie has further garnered critical praise from such national outlets as Glamour, Seventeen, MTV.com, and more. Passionately performed and powerfully personal, Jacquie Lee’s “BROKEN ONES” immediately affirms the 17-year-old New Jersey native as an exceptional singer/songwriter with a singular voice and limitless future.
Lee began singing seriously at 7, inspired by her dad’s beloved collection of classic rock, pop, country, and soul. From the start, vocalizing was somehow not enough and she wrote her first true song soon thereafter (“It’s kind of sad,” she laughs. “I don’t know why it’s so sad!”). Then as now, her journal provided an outlet for feeling, ideas, inspiration, and poetry.
“Writing is what kept me singing,” she says. “That’s how it all became an art for me, not just a hobby.”
Blessed with a distinctively bold voice, Lee starred in a few school productions but decided musical theatre was not to her taste. She found her true passion at Rockit, the New Jersey-based music education program for young rock ‘n’ rollers aged 8 to 18.
“I wanted to figure out my own route,” she says. “Rockit was a lot more free. There are no rules in rock ‘n’ roll so I was able to do my own thing. I was able to see what kind of music I naturally gravitated towards. I learned all about rock and blues and all kinds of music, not because I had to, but because I wanted to.”
Indeed, Lee discovered her own personal canon, a diverse palette of favorites that spans Adele and Aretha, Eminem and Elvis, Radiohead and the Rolling Stones. She participated in the widely praised Rockit program for three years, highlighted by multiple performances on the famed stage of Red Bank, New Jersey’s Count Basie Theater. Her striking vocal ability and undeniable presence made Lee a Rockit favorite, ultimately leading to her being chosen for The Voice in 2013. With multiple GRAMMY® Award-winner Christina Aguilera as her mentor, the 15-year-old Lee found herself pitted against a particularly talented cast studded with seasoned professionals.
“It was like being thrown into a tank with sharks and having to quickly learn to survive,” she says. “It really taught me a lot because I had to figure it out for myself, which is way more vaulable than anyone telling you what to do.”
Lee did more than survive – she triumphed as Season 5’s first runner-up. She quickly signed with 300 Entertainment/Atlantic and started considering her debut single, listening to countless demos in search of the right match. The themes of empowerment and forgiveness in “Broken Ones” struck an instant chord, its stirring message and equally potent piano-powered melody providing an ideal introduction to Lee’s remarkable voice and personal outlook.
From the soulful pop of “Tears Fall” to the heartbreaking ballad, “Right Love,” “BROKEN ONES” shows off Lee’s significant gift for making a song her own, culminating with her truly transgressive take on Cyndi Lauper’s iconic “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Lee somehow finds an undiscovered truth in an incontestable pop standard, its seemingly ebullient lyric given fresh meaning through her smoky interpretation.
“I wanted to change people’s perspectives on something they’re sure about,” she says. “The hardest part was getting into the zone, creating that feel. I had to find an angle that I could approach the lyric from that would make me sad, which was a lot easier than I thought – the lyrics are really kind of depressing.”
Like any true artist, Lee relishes playing with preconceptions, something she intends to push even further when she records her full-length debut, tentatively scheduled for 2015 release. In the meantime, she is gearing up for a full on blitz of activity that has already seen memorableappearances on VH1’s Big Morning Buzz Liveand NBC’s TODAY, not to mention a show-stopping return visit to The Voice. Live dates – including radio shows, benefit events, intimate coffee house performances, and tour dates alongside such likeminded young artists as Meghan Trainor and Shawn Mendes – are also planned, all while Lee continues to write non-stop, mostly on her own but also in league with “BROKEN ONES” EP collaborators Eric Rosse (Maroon 5, Tori Amos) and Benny Cassette (Kanye West, Mary Lambert).
“It’s going to be chaos,” Lee says. “But I love chaos. Once I stop having fun, that’s when I’ll have to reevaluate.”
November 2014