Natalie Jean is a multi-award-winning singer/songwriter. She has received over 100 nominations for her songs and has won various prizes. In the 2021 Indie Music Channel Awards, she won Americana Artist of the Year and Americana Song for "I Am." She also won Outstanding Achievement in Songwriting in the Adult Contemporary category for her song "I Told You No" in the Great American Song Contest. She also placed second in the Rap category in the 2021 Spring edition of the Indie International Song Contest with her song "Ready or Not."
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hello Natalie Jean, it's a pleasure to speak with you. What have you been up to in this great enormous mess during the last year?
Well, I’ve been trying not go crazy during the pandemic. Also, I released 9 singles in 2021. Two of them were released earlier in the year and the others were all released back-to-back in October. I’ve also been working with my BFF, Nicki Kris on an organization we created called Sisters in Music. It is an organization aimed at empowering women in music, entertainment, and performing arts. It also supports the men and brothers that support women,
I'm curious about how you got started in music, and if you knew from the start that this is what you'd be doing for the rest of your life?
Several members of my family are in the music business. My father, Guy R. Jean, is a famous Haitian singer. When I was a younger, I wanted to be a dance. I always loved music, but I never thought in a million years that I would be writing and performing my own music. I was extremely shy. I didn’t even know that I could sing. But later in life, I started to write spiritual poetry. My parents suggested that I turn them into songs, and that is how my career in music born,.
'I'm Done' is your most recent single. Can you tell us about its history and whether anything remarkable happened during its creation?
My friend, Billboard charting Kitt Wakeley contacted me several years about working on a collaboration. I figured that the pandemic was the perfect time to work on the song. The track was composed by Kitt and I wrote the lyrics. We are also co-producers as well. I love writing social impact message songs. I decided to write the song about a friendship of mine that came to an end. During the past couple of years, I know a lot of people that needed to break off friendships, relationships, leave their jobs, etc…. I thought that a lot of people could relate to this song.
Tell me about the biggest difficulty you've ever gotten yourself into.
The biggest problem in the music industry is knowing who to trust. You come across so many people that claim to be your friends or want to support you, and in the end, all they do is use you. Sometimes I want to stop helping people, but I don’t want to change because of a few bad apples.
You live in United States, Kensington. What do you enjoy best about this location?
I love that is very quiet. Nothing much happens around here. Well, nothing did until the pandemic.
Does your family share your interest in music? What are their thoughts on your work?
My father and several members of my family are artists, producers, composers, songwriters, etc.. They are very supportive and are happy that I have found something that fulfills me. They too are shocked that I got involved in the music industry.
Can you describe your finest performance in your career? How do you recall it?
Performing at the Nashville Symphony Schemerhorn Symphony Center at the 2016 Josie Music Awards was fantastic. It’s a beautiful venue. That year, I won World Artist of The Year and Best Collaboration with my friend Trevor Sewell. I got to perform my French song “Mon Ange”. It was the finest performance, because I got to sing a foreign language song in front of an audience of mostly Country artists. It was a testimony to the fact that music is beautiful in any language and that everyone was accepting and loving.
Do you have any interests outside from music? If so, could you please introduce us to them?
I love writing poetry, traveling, reading, working out, and dancing.
Who is your dream musician with whom to work, and why?
My dream musician would have been Nina Simone. She commanded the stage and wasn’t to write and sing about the issues of the world. But since she is no longer with us, it would have to be Celine Dion. I love the way she evokes every emotion when she sings. She is the reason I created by French album, “Lecons D’Amour.
What are your plans for the coming year? Do you have any projects ready to go?
I plan on releasing a new song by the end of January. I am also working on several collaborations.