Jade Ewen away..

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Born and brought up in Plaistow, East London to a Jamaican mother and British/ Sicilian father, Jade’s upbringing has been, unusual, to say the least. Her dad is blind and her mum is partially blind and deaf. Being a carer to her parents and two younger siblings has given Jade a pragmatic outlook on life. Since a three year-old singing in her grandma’s garden, she’s set her sights on making music, and pursued her dreams relentlessly. “My parent’s disabilities have given me a lot of drive, because my mum always said she didn’t want to see us struggling like her,” says Jade. “Since I was young, I knew what I wanted to do, and their support and advice has given me the ambition to go out and get what I want.”With both parents unable to work and existing on disability benefits, money was far from flowing in the Ewen household. Approached by a drama school, but unable to pay the astronomical fees, Jade set her mind to winning one of the precious few scholarships on offer. She was successful, and as a teenage attendee of the school Jade appeared on The Bill, Casualty and Mr Harvey Lights A Candle, before cutting her vocal skills performing onstage in The Lion King. After leaving school, Jade set out with steely determination to get signed.Grabbing her dad, his guide dog and her demo, the three travelled west by tube to SonyBMG, where she impressed Hugh Goldsmith. Within weeks, the renowned A&R (Blue, Natalie Imbruglia, Newton Faulkner) gave her a deal on his RCA distributed Brightside label and set her to work. Citing Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield and Ashford & Simpson as inspiration, Jade and producer Martin Terefe (KT Tunstall, James Morrison) have been busy crafting tracks that explore life, love and growing up. Due for release this autumn, the songs were recorded live with a full band; they’re truly a breath of fresh air in this age of digital mimicry.Tracks like the aforementioned Wait and the anthemic potential second single, Let Me Be Me stand out in today’s mass-produced, over-saturated music market. The crisp riffs of Once In A While are the brilliant backdrop to Jade’s dramatic look at love’s ups and downs. Featuring a choir and Jade’s soaring soprano, she questions the insistent attraction of a no-good lover. “Why is it the more you piss me off, the harder it is to leave you?” Putting a spin on the standard slowie, the stirring Everything, recorded in 6/8 tempo is a timeless track, reminiscent of early Aretha or vintage Whitney. “By the end I’m really singing my heart out,” she laughs of the lovestruck lament. “I find when I really feel a song, it comes out. And I really, really felt what I was singing in that song.” Like an ice-cold Coke on a hungover head, Ewen’s music is refreshing, revitalizing and will reenergise even the most jaded of music journalists (probably).“I think the energy is really there,” she explains of the nine tracks so far mixed and mastered. “I’m young, I don’t want to sound depressing and boring. But I think some of the second half of the album will look at my relationship with my family. I want to allow this record to be intimate and personal at times.”So stop. Take another look at Jade Ewen. What you see isn’t all you get. Instead, recognise Jade Ewen for what she truly is; one of a kind. “I don’t want to be like everyone else, and I’m not like anyone else either,” concludes Jade simply. “I’m trying to have integrity and be honest in what I do, as that’s what I respect and admire in the artists that I love.”