Jessica Andrews Biography and Articles
Jessica Bio And Other Articles
As far back as I can remember, the one constant in my life has been music," says Jessica Andrews. "I was raised around it. My mom was in some bands, and her whole family had a talent for singing. We'd all get together and play music -- everyone would sing a cappella. Those sing-alongs were my favorite pastime. To be able to make a record and perform all over the country is just a dream come true!"
With her debut DreamWorks release, Heart Shaped World, Jessica Andrews is seeing the end result of the evolution of a very musical family. "I've been given a chance a lot of my relatives would have liked, but for whatever reason, never had," she remarks. "It's nice that we have this history together because everyone really understands my need to pursue music. They love it as much as I do."
Armed with powerhouse vocals and songs ranging from the poignant "Unbreakable Heart" to the tragic modern love tale "James Dean in Tennessee," Andrews does the family proud, proving their jam sessions were time well spent.
Although she's only fifteen (at that time, now 18), Jessica's voice encompasses the soulful expression of a woman twice her age. The emotion she pours into each and every song is born from experience and pain. What most of her fans do not know is that Andrews was faced with a catastrophic illness at the age of seven.
When she was very young, her parents noticed a patch of skin on her back that appeared to be connected to a bone. Her pediatrician dismissed their concerns, however, advising them to bring her in for a checkup each year to make sure she wasn't developing scoliosis, a severe curvature of the spine. In 1990, Andrews saw another physician who immediately sent her to Memphis' Campbell Clinic for tests, x-rays and eventually an MRI.
"They found that a bone was growing through my spine," Andrews explains. "I was really young and didn't understand what was going on at the time, but I knew it was very serious. I was about to have a growth spurt, and the doctors said that if I didn't have an operation, the bone would grow more quickly than my spinal cord, which would leave me paralyzed."
The surgery was a complete success, and through it all, Andrews found comfort and strength in music. "I love all kinds of music," she asserts. "I listen to everything, and I just can't get enough of it. I like to hear the differences among the styles--country, rock, pop, all of it."
She credits a fourth grade talent show with pointing the way to her current career path: "I was supposed to dance, but my sister told me I should sing. She heard me singing Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' and talked me into doing it. Can you believe, I won? So I started thinking, 'Maybe this is what I should be doing.'"
From then on Andrews sang every chance she could -- at fairs and carnivals around her hometown of Huntingdon, Tennessee, and even the smallest, most casual family gatherings. It wasn't long before word of her precocious talent spread. Soon, friends of producer Byron Gallimore (Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina) insisted he make the two-hour drive from Nashville to Huntingdon to see if Andrews was as accomplished as everyone said. His first impression? "I was overwhelmed by Jessica's vocals -- the tone, the control, the range," he remembers. "I knew I had to be a part of her music."
The two immediately began considering songs and getting acquainted in the studio. Once they had a lead on the kind of material Andrews was looking for, Gallimore invited DreamWorks Records Nashville head James Stroud to a showcase in Paris, Tennessee. Stroud offered Andrews a deal on the spot. Of his instantaneous decision to sign her, he says simply: "I just broke the rules. It was not about contracts -- it was about one truly gifted singer." Responds Andrews: "The confidence Byron and James have shown in me has been incredible. I could never have made this album without it."
Work quickly resumed on what would become Heart Shaped World, with Andrews and Gallimore pouring over the best songs Nashville's top writers had to offer. "When Byron and I started looking for songs for the album, we didn't put any restrictions on what we wanted people to pitch us," Andrews says. "We just wanted great songs, with wonderful melodies and lyrics that were true to life -- things I could believe."
While she was working on Heart Shaped World, Andrews was invited to participate in The Prince of Egypt - Nashville. "When they asked if I wanted to record a song for the album, I was overjoyed," she reports. "The movie is incredible, and to be involved in a project like that before I even had my first album out is a real honor."
Andrews' contribution to The Prince of Egypt - Nashville, "I Will Be There for You," is also the first single from Heart Shaped World. She was the only artist to premiere on Nashville, which found the teenager taking her place alongside the likes of Vince Gill, Reba, Randy Travis and Wynonna. "That is just the most amazing thing," Andrews exclaims. "I would never have believed something like this could happen."
Nor could she have imagined she'd be supporting Faith Hill, another alumnus of The Prince of Egypt - Nashville, on the road. Indeed, after Gallimore played some of Andrews' music for Hill, the established star asked the young singer to open for her on her recent tour. "That was so much fun," Jessica enthuses. "It was awesome -- I loved it. Every night after I finished my show, I would sit and watch Faith. She's just unbelievable." Hill didn't offer a lot of business guidance, but she did give Andrews some advice -- and a wonderful gift. "She gave me a camera and a scrapbook," Andrews recollects, "and she wrote me a note that said, 'Here's a little gift to keep your memories.' She wanted me to record these early days. She said, 'You'll want to remember your first couple of years because everything's new and exciting and it all goes by so fast.'"
Andrews took this wisdom to heart. Home schooling--courtesy of her mother--also helps her maintain perspective on the hectic life she's carving out for herself. But it's a life she wouldn't trade for anything. "This is the happiest time," she says. "I've worked so long on this album and I love the songs so much -- I can't wait for people to hear them. I keep saying all this is a dream come true, and that's exactly what it is. Who knows, maybe I'm still dreaming. If I am -- don't wake me up!"
Jessica Andrews (more recent)
"I've learned so much in the past two years, I'm like a new person," says 17-year-old (now 18)
country singer Jessica Andrews. "And so everything I'm doing now is new -from the types
of songs I'm singing on my new album, to the musicians I use for my show, to the way I
see the world. And this album is a lucid reflection of all that change."
Much of the change Jessica explores on her new album, Who I Am, is an effect of months
on the road with country titans like Tim McGraw, Trisha Yearwood and Faith Hill. Faith
and Trisha, infamous for their impeccable standards, chose Jessica as their opening act,
in secession.
The young singer, who already counted a 2000 ACM award for Top New
Female Vocalist of the Year among her accolades before she hit the
road was smart enough to watch those in front of her on her way up. Jessica
kept a keen eye on her live show, her production and her image.
By the time the tours were wrapping up, she was itching to get back into the
studio. As Jessica is quick to explain, the 12 songs on Who I Am show how far
she's come since she first won that famous talent contest back home in Huntingdon,
Tennessee.
When Jessica entered the sixth grade, producer Byron Gallimore (who was busy
producing Tim McGraw) had heard rumors of this 12-year-old, and called her into
his office in Nashville. "When I walked in there, he said you're 12, no one is
going to take you seriously. But my mother insisted he just let me sing. So I started
snapping my fingers, and I went right into the lower register and sang that Shania song,
'If You're Not in It For Love.' He stopped me right away," she says. "I don't know what
he heard in my voice, but he called everyone into his office and had me start again.
When I finished the song, he asked if it was okay if we put this thing into high gear."
After the grueling process of finding songs, Jessica went into the studio to record her
admittedly innocent debut, Heart-Shaped World. Before she could even get her first
single, "I Will Be There For You," another teen sensation from Nashville was busy
courting radio. "When LeAnn first came out, I was devastated," Jessica says. "No matter
what people say, there's something special about that first one. But Byron insisted
that we get the songs right, and that we didn't rush the record. Sure enough, next comes
number two teenager, Lila McCann."
A bit nervous but still determined, Jessica released Heart-Shaped World and became
Number 3. "It was difficult, because radio was starting to see young singers as
novelties. But I was just as serious about music as any older singer. In fact, I had
made up my mind that if singing didn't work out, I was still going to pursue a career
as a songwriter or a producer. Nothing would keep me away from music."
Country legends and radio promoters, too, were serious about her talent. Jessica
tirelessly promoted her album, scoring a Top 20 hit with her single, "I Will Be
There for You,"
touring with Faith Hill and Trisha Yearwood, and becoming a student of country. She
concentrated on her live performance, never gave up the fight for a great song, and
learned the intricacies of producing, publishing, creating a band, and controlling her
image. She also fell in love for the first time. "Well, maybe it wasn't exactly love,
looking back, but it was definitely something," she blushes. "I think I just needed
someone and he was there for me. And then he was gone. So, as you can imagine, it was
rough for a while."
Rather than sulking, Jessica took her emotions and put them to music. Working with Annie
Roboff ("This Kiss") and Bekka Bramlett, she sat down and figured out what went wrong.
"We just started thinking about what we girls really want from our guys," she explains.
"So we talked about how we expect to be treated, and I realized that before anything
happens, before we can get serious, you're going to have to be someone I can trust,
someone I can open up to." The result was the song, "Good Friend to Me," which Jessica
co-wrote, and which marks the beginning of this talented artist's writing career.
"It's really important for me to write," she says. "Anything I can do to become a
better musician-whether it's playing an instrument, dancing, or writing-is important to me."
Now that she's cut the apron strings and has lived through a little heartache, Jessica
has removed those rose-tinted glasses that colored her first album. Now she's ready to
reintroduce her fully matured self to the world-and to defy all categorization. "I get
compared to a lot of people-from LeAnn Rimes, to Britney Spears, to Faith Hill. But
what's more important to me than how people see me is how they hear me. The music,
the songs on Who I Am, come first and foremost. So I chose songs that are unique
musically, but universal in what they're saying. And then I can only hope that people
view me as my own person, and that they recognize that I've got something to offer that's
different from everybody else."
Jessica Andrews knows who she is. Now it's time for everyone else to know it, too.
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