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Jessie James Makes Her Mark In The Country/Pop World

Clearly, Jessie James is not your average “new artist.” “I’ve been performing on stage since I was 9 years old,” the singer-songwriter, now 21, tells andPOP. “So it’s definitely something I’m used to. . . . I’ve been doing this forever.”

It’s all coming to a head with the impending release of James’s debut album via Mercury Records/Island Def Jam. Due in stores July 14, the album is a genre-hopping fusion of country, pop, rock and soul, driven by James’ powerhouse vocals. Lead single “Wanted” (co-written by “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi) is already playing on more than 60 stations across the U.S., and its music video was featured by iTunes as a “Video of the Week” last month.

For the performer born Jessica Rose James, the rise to stardom was a slow but steady process that began with a decidely atypical upbringing. A self-described “military brat,” James spent her childhood living in a number of different places in the U.S. and abroad – 14 in all. Looking back, she sees the constant uprooting as having been both a crutch and a blessing for her musical ambitions.

“I would move within six months or a year, so it took a long time to finally stay somewhere long enough so I could really get my music out there,” says James, who performed at events like the Republican Convention and the opening of Sea World as a youngster.

“But it also influenced me so I’m able to adapt in different situations, and I’m great with meeting lots of new people. It’s easy for me to visit different places and be comfortable.”

James finally landed in Georgia, where she lived for seven years. From there, she commuted back and forth to Nashville, working at the age of 15 with a string of top songwriters. The early experience taught James some valuable lessons about songwriting.

“I learned how organic it actually is,” she says. “I’m so glad I started in Nashville, because Nashville is the most traditional way of songwriting. It’s just you and the guitar and writing a song and a melody, and that’s that.”

The back-to-basics approach to writing is something James continues to take with all her songs, from the sassy “My Cowboy” – which received a shout-out from Perez Hilton on his blog last summer – to the no-holds-barred ballad “Guilty.”

“If I’m upset about something or angry, I tend to write it down – it’s my therapy,” she says. “I’ve never written anything that I didn’t mean. Everything that you hear me saying or singing is something that has happened to me and it’s a real situation.

James says inspiration can hit at any time. “My songwriting is very natural and I’m influenced by every day or anything that I’m doing. I could be on a plane and I could be crying about missing my mom or missing family, and I could just write out lyrics immediately. And it comes quick, ’cause I mean it and it’s real.”

Take “Guilty,” for example. The song, which James co-wrote with Josh Kear (a Grammy winner for Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats”) and Mark Irwin (Garth Brooks), details the turbulence of James’ relationship at the time with an unidentified famous rocker.

“He was on tour all the time, and I was in Nashville by myself,” she says. “I was just waiting for him and I pretty much told myself he’s got to be cheating if he’s on tour – ‘I mean, he’s cheating, so –’ and in turn I cheated on him. And so that’s pretty much what the song is about.”

James says “Guilty” is her favourite song to perform. “It was a real story, and I think you can feel it when you hear me singing it and any time I play it.”

Not that James’ entire album is drawn from such an emotionally gut-wrenching place. One track that keeps things light and playful is “Blue Jeans,” a hip-hop-flavoured ode to the clothing staple buoyed by such empowering refrains as: “Don’t matter what ya wearin’ (hey hey)/It’s about the way you wear it (hey hey).”

The tune certainly caught the attention of the producers behind this year’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” The big-screen adaptation of Sophie Kinsella’s bestselling novel featured “Blue Jeans” on its soundtrack, much to James’ delight – and surprise.

“I didn’t even know it was going to be in the movie!” she says. “I’d been told that they had an interest in using the song ’cause it was obviously about shopping, but I didn’t know until I kept getting text messages on Christmas Day from people saying, “Oh my gosh, I heard your song in the movie trailer for ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ when I went to see ‘Marley and Me.’ I couldn’t believe it. . . . It was very exciting.”

Something else James is excited for is the release of her second single, “Bullet,” on which she shares writing credits with current princess of pop Katy Perry. James reveals that the collaboration actually came about two years ago, when a pre-chart-topping Perry got wind of the then-teenager’s work.

“She emailed me – and this was before she even blew up – (and) she was like, ‘I want to work with you, I think you’re great,’” says James. “And so we had our labels set us up together and we had a writing appointment.”

Besides writing together, Perry also played James two songs she had previously penned, “Bullet” and “Girl Next Door.” Both tracks will now appear on James’ album – “Bullet” features background vocals from Perry, while “Girl Next Door” is a poignant reminder about staying “that down-home girl” in the face of burgeoning stardom, says James. “I cried when I first heard it,” she recalls about the latter tune. “It’s so beautiful.”

So what was it like working with Miss Perry? James has nothing but high praise.

“She is just like you see her. She is a real artist; if I can say anything about her – she is real. She’s not phony and superficial or fake like a lot of these celebrity girls you see out there,” says James.

“She loves music and, you know, you hear a lot of the stuff that she sings on the radio and they’re really great radio songs. But deep down she is a deep, deep person and she writes deep music and real lyrics. . . . She’s worked hard her entire life and I really appreciate that from her. She’s never given up, and I think that’s a good lesson out there to a lot of people.”

Katy Perry’s not the only music heavyweight James is hob-knobbing with these days. In the run-up to her album’s release, she’s lined up several high-profile shows where she shares the bill with “American Idol” winner David Cook, including an upcoming June 20 date at the Red White and Boom Festival in Kansas.

It’s just the beginning of what James envisions as being a long, wide-ranging career. “I see myself doing this forever. If you look at Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn . . . they’re doing it still, they’re still making music, and that is what my plan is,” she says.

“And if for some reason I get too old, then I’m going to start producing artists myself. I want to produce artists and I want to have a label and I want to have my own publishing company. I plan to make a business out of my career.”

For the time being, James plans to keep putting out her personalized brand of tell-it-like-it-is music. She draws inspiration from her music idols including Janis Joplin, Bobbie Gentry and Shania Twain, whom she lauds for being “ballsy,” strong women.

"I get so frustrated when I turn on the radio and there’s a girl singing, ‘Please come back to me’ – I mean, you’ve got to be kidding me!” she says with a laugh.

"I think it’s so important to empower women. You can be confident and you can be single, or you need to have your man earn the respect or the guy will walk all over you. You do the walking.”

http://www.andpop.com/2009/06/07/jessie-james-makes-her-mark-in-the-countrypop-world/