Jacquie Lee is busting out on her own. And, equipped with powerful vocals and the smarts of an industry vet, she’s finding no problem doing so.
After finishing “The Voice” as a runner-up, the 17-year-old singer signed with Atlantic Records/300 Entertainment, and it wasn’t long before Lee gushed her heart into Broken Ones, her EP that’s streaming right now on MTV before its release on October 21.
“I would describe it as real, raw music,” Jacquie told MTV News when we asked her for the scoop on her EP. “It’s very honest, in my opinion. It’s totally real ‘cause that’s my biggest concern. I wanted people to listen to real music and real lyrics so that they could relate to it. Everything came from the heart.”
Broken Ones begins with the title track, a strong ballad about accepting human flaws. “Tears Fall” follows, and it’s equally as honest, allowing people to know it’s OK to feel pain. After all, that’s how you get through life’s hiccups, like breakups.
“It’s a part of life,” a wizened Jacquie told us matter-of-factly.
There’s a reason for the clarity in her music. After listening to a lot of Adele and Sam Smith (she loves Radiohead too), she realized the music she relates to most is the stuff she can sing along to and actually mean what she says.
“Music has the power to move people and do things, but in order for that to happen, it needs to be honest,” Jacquie said. “Otherwise, you’re going to be fake, and people can detect that.”
The most unexpected part of the EP comes at the end, with her cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.” She’s able to take one of pop’s biggest party songs and turn it into a meaningful ballad.
“Oh my god! Every one of my friends … they all wanted to the know the cover, and I was like, ‘Nope, you’re never gonna guess it,’” she laughed. “Nobody ever guessed, and they looked the songs on my EP and they’re like ‘”Girls Just Wanna Have Fun?” How did you even come up with that?’ They’re like ‘How can you do it any differently than it already is? I don’t understand.’”
Once you hear it, you’ll understand.
“I want my fans to get comfort out of my music ‘cause when I listen to music, it usually speaks for me when I have so much to say, but nothing comes out,” she said. “I want my music to be that for them.”
Jacquie, who already started writing an album for next year, also loves old-school music like Aretha Franklin and the Beatles, so it’s only appropriate that she made a Spotify playlist for us. The first track? The Rolling Stones, of course.
Jacquie will perform on NBC’s “Today” show on October 21 (that’s release day, if you already forgot), and if we’re lucky enough, maybe she’ll stop by MTV’s offices too *wink*.
Broken Ones is available for pre-order now on iTunes and Google Play with two instant free downloads of “Broken Ones” and “Tears Fall.”
Emilee Lindner
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