Jenna Andrews | Tumblin’ Down (New Music Video) – Debut Album Coming Soon

ABOUT JENNA
ANDREWS

On her forthcoming Island Records debut, Canadian born
singer/song writer, Jenna Andrews weaves a deep tapestry of emotion,
personal growth and introspection in her debut album. She imbues
everything from pop to soul with poignant lyrics, suggesting a strength
and wisdom beyond her years.

“I know everybody’s gone
through pain,” Jenna confides. “I talk to the little girl in me or the
little girls that are dealing with similar things to remind them that
you can do big things in your lives if you have hope.”

Relying on that very hope,
Jenna left home after just six months of college, determined to make a
name for herself in Vancouver. The going was rough; some nights she
couldn’t afford to fill her gas tank, preventing her from getting to
work. So she would spend those car-bound nights learning the guitar and
writing songs; how ironic that a car without gas would eventually steer
her to the office of Chairman Antonio ‘L.A.’ Reid, where she’d sign to
Island Def Jam. That said, the more you learn about Jenna Andrews, the
less surprised you become to hear of unwavering determination.

Music, particularly
jazz and R&B, was her mother’s passion. She would take Jenna on
long drives and introduce her to great vocalists like Donnie Hathaway
and legendary singer/ songwriters such as Carly Simon and Carole King.
As a young girl, Jenna connected with the music of her mother’s
generation more than the music of her own peers. “Melody can make you
feel any given emotion—happy, sad, angry,” she explains. “But lyrics are
hugely important because when you attach amazing lyrics to the melody,
it synchs. A great song resonates like nothing else in the world.”

Jenna’s mother
noticed her daughter’s innate talent but didn’t want to push her. Jenna,
however, needed no such prodding. She learned the piano by ear and
started writing songs when she was just 14 years old. She would
eventually travel with a youth performance troupe. By high school, her
performances at downtown Calgary nightclubs fetched as many as 500
patrons per night. So while Jenna was scribbling furiously in her song
book, so too would the proverbial writing appear on the wall.

Jenna decided to
leave college, and her family, and move to Vancouver. She scraped out a
meager existence playing at open mic nights. “I wanted to struggle, and I
wanted to really, really discover myself as a musician and as a
person,” Jenna reveals. “I just wanted to go through the pain because I
felt like it was helping my music.” How prophetic this would prove.

With no money for
Christmas presents that year, Jenna instead composed a song for her
parents entitled “Adore.” “It was never meant to be exploited,” Jenna
explains. “I really wasn’t thinking of it having anything to do with my
career. It was just for my love of the music, and for my parents.” Yet
this personal ditty trigged public groundswell when the studio
owner/producer heard the song and insisted that Jenna make it available
via MySpace. She did, and promptly fielded calls from industry
heavyweights Bryant Reid (brother of L.A. Reid) and Toronto-based Chris
Smith Management, the force behind Nelly Furtado among others.

Jenna signed with
Chris Smith and spent the next year writing and recording with hitmakers
ranging from Babyface to Max Martin (Pink, Carrie Underwood, Britney
Spears, Celine Dion). The result is eclectic—pop to jazz with funk and
soul elements, and even some sultry beats. But more apt than any genre
label is a feel. It’s real. “My album is heartfelt and honest. It came
out very naturally,” Jenna delights. “Every song is really close to my
heart. I want my listeners to feel like I’m right beside them in any
circumstance they face.” And certainly Jenna has navigated some rough
seas, particularly a negative body image that triggered an enduring
eating disorder. But her travails alone won’t define her. “There is a
lot more going on here than just pain,” she insists. “I feel like you
need your first album to show your different colors. I don’t want it to
seem like I’m this dark person all the time.”

ThinkTank