Premiere: Janie May releases new single, ‘Tell Me’
Janie May
Janie May‘s forthcoming debut album, out February 28th, was inspired by The Rules, a controversial book written in the 1990s that urged women to act in an often manipulative and inauthentic way to find and keep love. It left the songwriter thinking about the nature of inauthenticity in modern life, of how often it drives interactions and is often encouraged by social media, and how authenticity has become something quite rare. The idea that individuals, but women in particular, are often taught to follow a very scripted path or predictable trajectory, was one that Janie had been thinking about deeply.
Lead single, ‘Tell Me’, was inspired by Janie’s mother’s cancer diagnosis, illness and treatment and the subsequent difficulty with tolerating uncertainty, grief and ambiguity during that initial period. The artist found it difficult to see someone extremely risk averse who always followed “the rules” get sick with no real explanation. On another level, the track is a meditation on playing it safe and taking a risk, and cautions the listener to not be afraid to take a chance, for you never know what lies ahead.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Janie May is a singer, songwriter, and classically trained dancer of Puerto Rican and Italian-Argentine descent. She writes lyrically driven electronic pop/R&B/soul that seeks to uplift and inspire. Drawing comparisons to artists like the Eurythmics and Lauryn Hill, Janie is the product of New York City’s melting pot of sounds and cultures. She has been writing since childhood and recording for almost 15 years, and has previously been featured in Songwriting Magazine. Inspired by the character Janie Mae Crawford from Zora Neale Hurston’s classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, music is Janie’s way of finding and expressing her voice.