Jillian Rossi
Jillian Rossi is on her way to becoming the next great hitmaker. After just two Spotify singles, the artist has earned herself a significant following and over 300k streams. The Long Island native began her music career by, out of all things, making parodies of popular songs! This means of inspiration was just a stepping stone in launching what has become a full-fledged music career. Jillian’s sound is reminiscent of the golden age of songwriting; catchy hooks and melodies paired with meaningful lyrics. This was apparent in her latest release, “So What”, which was inspired by a mutual friend’s struggle with mental health and body positivity. “I knew we had to make a song that could help people struggling with anything along those lines being that I've definitely been there too,” she said. The release has gotten critical acclaim in recent weeks; “So What” was recently featured in Rolling Stone Magazine! We recently spoke with Jillian about her songwriting philosophies, Long Island staples, and more!
Hey Jillian! Let’s start off by talking about you got started making music.
Hey! So great to meet you, I hope you’re doing well too. The way I started making music is actually pretty funny. I started writing parodies about food and putting them on youtube. Unfortunately they’re no longer on the internet but it’s how I began writing songs. Instead of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” I wrote a parody called “Pizzeria” and many more like that lol. I laugh about it but it really was what made me interested in songwriting and making music of my own!
Your Spotify bio says that you emphasize bringing vocal emphasis back into pop music. And after listening to your music, it’s clear that you’re doing a great job. Has this always been your outlook on pop music?
Thank you! I really appreciate that. I definitely want to bring back strong vocals in pop music. I think it’s really important to make sure artists can pull their weight and sound just as good live as on recordings. It feels like today anyone with a big following on social media first gets a record deal and I want to break that chain and be someone who became successful based on my ability to sing and write.
Describe your music style in just three words.
Bold, honest, & Energetic
If you could choose one 2000s artist to collaborate with, who would it be and why?
If I had to choose an early 2000’s artist to collaborate with it would interestingly enough be Hot Chelle Rae lol. I low-key love super fun pop/rock music with wild lyrics. I’m still a fan of them and love their stuff. I’m not sure what our song would sound like but it would definitely be a fun time. Another person I'd love to work with is Adele. She’s so bad-ass and I think together we could make the coolest modern power ballad ever.
“So What” really brings back a refreshing side of songwriting that seems to be lacking in 2020, congratulations to you! What was the inspiration for the track?
Thank you so much! The inspiration behind the track honestly came from having an assignment where we had to choose a title from a list of older songs at first. We chose “So What” which was on the list as “So What” by P!NK. We started to really dig deep about how we can write a song completely different than P!NK’s and Tony, one of my co-writers/producers talked about his friends' struggle with mental health in the session. I knew we had to make a song that could help people struggling with anything along those lines being that I've definitely been there too. I joke that the first line was super Italian of me “I told you to shut your damn mouth!” lol but it ended up working and becoming a beautiful inspiring song.
This is only your second Spotify release. Do you ever find yourself nervous to put out music?
Yes 100%. I feel like ever since going to Berklee and being around so many competitive people I struggle more with putting out stuff that I like. I think when you’re told “no” so many times you get nervous about putting out music but that’s just the way of the industry. One person can love your music and another could hate it so I now just put out what I want and hope people like it too!
Do you ever encounter writer’s block? If so, how do you overcome it?
All the time honestly. I think the best way to go about writer's block is to write down random titles and try to make a song out of one. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be the best song ever you still wrote that day and that’s great! I try to write something everyday whether it’s a melody, a chorus, or even some chords on the piano or guitar.
If you could tell something to your younger self, what would it be?
Don’t stress too much, have more fun!
If someone is visiting Long Island for just a day, what would you say is/are a must-stop location/locations?
Ralph’s Ices, Long Beach boardwalk, & bagels. All of the bagels.
What can we catch you doing on your day off?
Watching Euphoria, YouTube podcasts & eating Trader Joe’s Dried Mangoes.
Lastly, what’s next for Jillian Rossi?
I’m so excited to release new music! I have a new song coming out in January and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it! It’s another modern ballad but this one is about missing a toxic relationship. I also have been writing for other artists who have music coming out in 2021. I’ll share those on my instagram story very soon!
