Jamie Jones

Breaking big this year onto the scene with “Whatever,” an edgy, explosive track that perfectly captures her highly anticipated moment and the spirit of the times, vocal powerhouse and multi-talented performer Jamie Jones fondly remembers the two words her dad said to her every night before she went to sleep when she was a little girl: “Sweet Dreams.”

Inspired by her favorite artists Mariah, Whitney, Celine and Madonna, Jamie’s ambitious dreams were of singing and performing like her heroes and creating her own special pathway to celebrity. Celebrating the fulfillment of her dream, Jamie’s upcoming debut album Celebrity Music is a blast of progressive urban/pop excitement featuring cuts helmed by mega-producer Swizz Beatz, hip-hop icon Kwame, Larry Gates aka Precision and D.C. based up-and-comers Mo Digga and Jared “Young Boy” Anderson. As she fulfills the lofty promise of its title, Jamie’s giving a big shout out to everyone else who, like her, ever overcame major obstacles along the road.

Back in high school, the 21-year-old multi-racial singer—whose family had relocated from her birthplace, upstate New York, to High Point, North Carolina—was teased about her mysterious ethnic blend and often felt alienated from the crowd. Now that we’re in the age of Obama and quickly moving past the color and culture boundaries that once divided us, Jamie can sing with cool confidence the catchy, insightful lyrics to “Whatever”: “Is she black? Is she white? Whatever! Can she sing? Can she dance? Whatever! Is she this? Is she that? Whatever!”

The song is quickly catching on–she performed it live on BET’s 106 & Park and it’s the foundation of her “I’m a MUTT” movement. She also won Best Female Singer on the network’s 2008 Wild Out Wednesday competition and has received various press online in addition to her August 2008 feature in Black Beat Magazine.

Thanks to some killer hook-ups by Reginald Rainey, the head of her production company and independent label X-Posure Entertainment, Jamie’s also been getting her message out in a high energy way to audiences of all ages across the urban music spectrum as an opening act throughout the East Coast for numerous superstar artists: Juelz Santana, Lloyd, Trey Songz, 112, Slim from 112, Erykah Badu, Michael McDonald, Avant, New Edition and KC & JoJo. She also recently recorded the song “I Am Not Your Angel” with Lil’ Wayne for an upcoming mixtape release.

“Not only do I sing, I also bring a lot of attitude and expression to my performances,” Jamie says. “My emotions draw people in and they really feel what I’m singing about.”

Jamie Jones is proud to share her life experiences in a positive musical light to encourage others, especially young girls who need to realize that being different doesn’t mean they’re not important. “The mutt thing actually started because of my mom,” she says. “She always called herself a mutt. So me being young and hearing her say it, that’s my mom, she’s a mutt and I’m a mutt too! I kind of embraced it; she doesn’t really know her background and I don’t either. I am who I am – I’m Black, I’m white, what if I’m Asian? I used it as a good thing, for anyone else out there that is of mixed race, because it’s okay. Don’t feed into the gossip or the negative energy. Just be you!

“I took that whole ‘is she this or that’ vibe into my music, singing pop, hip-hop and R&B equally well and fusing those styles together to make a sound I call Celebrity Music,” she adds. “Not knowing just what I am is actually an asset now because it keeps people interested, intrigued, always trying to figure me out. It’s like I have this mysterious side that they’ll never quite understand, but it doesn’t matter as long as they’re listening to and enjoying the music.”

While Jamie—who is co-writing and co-producing some of the songs—and her songwriting collaborators and producers are still in the studio working on new material and making the album the best it can be, she estimates that Celebrity Music will have 14-tracks. Among these is the uptempo “Brand New,” her unique twist on The Stylistics’ classic “You Make Me Feel Brand New”; “Can’t Give Up,” which talks about not wanting to give up that special but sometimes challenging relationship; and the Swizz Beatz-produced “Ayo.” The project is being mixed by six time Grammy winner Ken Lewis, whose credits include Kanye West, Usher and Lenny Kravitz.

With a strong passion for music from the time she was a little girl, Jamie remembers putting on lots of make-up and singing into my karaoke machine as if thousands people were listening. One day in high school, when she was practicing by herself in the piano room during lunchtime, a teacher in the next classroom named Eric Rainey overheard her and told her his brother was Reginald Rainey from X-posure, who had worked for years in the events promotion world, promoting and supporting events with superstars like Ashanti, Destiny’s Child, Mandy Moore, Mya, Juelz Santana and others.

Impressed with Jamie’s rough demo, Reginald invited Jamie to work with him up in D.C. and she spent several years commuting there on weekends going through what she calls “boot camp artist development.” Beyond developing her songwriting skills and chops as a singer, Jamie also enrolled in dance classes and started working on her stage presentation.

“I was determined to make my dream a reality,” she says. “I wanted to eat, breathe, and sleep music. I had enough credits to graduate high school early and that’s exactly what I focused on doing. I wanted to get out and focus 100% on music and nothing else. This is my passion and this will be the key to open the door for my family and me. I kept telling myself that my parents didn’t need to struggle for one more day and neither did I. The day after completing the credits needed to graduate I packed my things and moved to D.C. I knew that this was a big commitment and sacrifice but I also knew that this was my dream. I didn’t even go to my senior prom and I had to fly back to NC for graduation but it would all be worth it.”

Although the name of her debut album is Celebrity Music, Jamie makes it clear that she doesn’t want the fame that can be obtained by singing just for the sake of being famous–she also wants to use her career as a vehicle to inspire and encourage others.

“I’m going to bring a different energy, since I’m so inspired by the ‘80s,” she says. “I’m going to try to fuse the ‘80s rock with urban music. I want to become a crossover artist that’s not afraid to take that edge and just try to put it in people’s faces. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I came from learning that I have to work hard in this world, and I’m determined and disciplined. So I just want all of that to come out in my music and I want young girls to relate to me. I’m kind of shy in person, but onstage I feel that rush of adrenaline and connection with the audience and become a confident and passionate performer—who most of all is having fun! I know there are many other Jamie Joneses in the world, but in a few years I want people to hear it and put only one face to that name. I’m really excited about getting my music out there and seeing what happens next!”

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