Meet Jessa Sky | Indigenous Pop Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessa Sky and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessa, what inspires you?
What inspires me the most as an artist is not what you would typically expect. It’s not love, joy, or contentment. It is pain. That is a bit of a bold statement so let me elaborate on this. Pain is something unpleasant a human being experiences. It can be breaking a bone, a heartbreak, the loss of a child, addiction, or a void we have in ourselves that we are constantly trying to fill. For me, my past has been anything but “easy”. There were many times I did not think I was going to come out on the other side of the pain I was experiencing. Music has been my escape. The studio is my escape. Realizing that I could go into the studio and lay my heart, tears, hopelessness, and pain into my lyrics and create something beautiful out of it, is what saved my life and continues to save my life. When we go through something traumatic, we feel so alone, lost, broken, and scared. Putting out a song about my pain and being able to express myself so vulnerably is very scary. However, it is also very healing. The music I have released in the past, I have always said if my song can help one person feel not alone, and feel understood, then I have been successful in my career. Through the release of my song “On My Own” i received hundreds of dm’s and comments about how this song has helped so many others. In the process of sharing my pain, I actually in fact helped heal the broken parts of me by healing others. It is so beautiful and keeps me going. Pain inspires me. Why? Because the only way out of it is to go through it. To me, the only way to get through it is to share it through a song in hopes it can help someone else. I know life is beautiful and we have so many things to be grateful for. But as an artist, I am not afraid to show people I am struggling, that I am human, that I am flawed, and that it is okay to not be okay. The music I make and share with others is the deepest parts of me showcased on display because I believe the pain I am experiencing, someone else must be going through it too. This is why I chose to be an artist, because I wanted to connect and help others heal, who may feel alone, like I once did.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
With my music, I only have ever wanted one thing out of it, that is to create, to heal, and to inspire/help others. I think that is what sets me apart from other artists. It has never been about money for me, or how many likes/comments/follows/streams i get. To this day I create and make music because it helps me heal from my pain and keeps me hopeful when life gets hard. It is a bonus if when I release a song, I get a message from a listener who feels inspired or heard when listening to my lyrics. I really only sought after my music as a career almost 2 years ago now. To think how much success I have had in these 2 years with my music is incredible and I never dreamed of my music becoming what it is today and continues to become as I work on new releases. It has not been easy, I have had to overcome a lot of personal trials and tribulations over these past 2 years. In these past two years I have struggled with addiction and the loss of my child. I would be lying if I said I have overcome this and am now perfect. I will never be perfect, but I have learned so many lessons through the pain I experience in my personal life. I like to share hope and healing for others that might be going through the same things as myself. I have learned that emotions are temporary. That pain is temporary. That our mistakes are temporary. I have learned that you can overcome anything, if you choose to live in the present and try to always do the next right thing. To focus only on one day at a time. I have learned that darkness will come.. but it also will go, if you have faith and choose to push forward things do get better. Things do get easier. I have also learned that life was never meant to be easy. Our defects, our pain, our shortcomings are what we must work on and they are what make us unique. No one connects to perfection, but many connect to vulnerability and truth. I want the world to know that my brand and story are real. They are real life things that all of us go through, and that I am not ashamed of my past. It is what is shaping me into the young woman I am today. I am strong, I am resilient, and I am enough. Just like anyone reading this is. That is what I want you to know. You are enough. There is nothing in your past that can define you, or ruin you. Rather, it is what shapes you into the amazing person you are today.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take my best friend to the ocean. I would get us a boat tour that included scuba diving. Specifically, in Hawaii. I think this is one of the most incredible experiences anyone can have. When you descend down to the ocean floor, you get to see a whole new life and whole new creation. It feels as though you are on another planet. I find this to be extremely therapeutic and healing because it helps you change your perspective on life. It did for me anyways. When you are under there you see how small and insignificant you are. In a good way. It helps you see that all your problems and challenges, may not be that impossible to solve after all. Scuba diving helped me see how much life we have to live, and how beautiful life is. If only we could change our perspective on certain areas in our life, we could see that life is truly amazing and it is how we choose to perceive it that matters. I would walk along the beach with my best friend and feel free to share all parts of me. I find nature to be very exciting and fun because our world is a beautiful one, and to connect to it is to feel freedom and true joy.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people that have support me, love and encourage me every single day. To name a few, my partner Greg has been my rock these past couple years. He loves me unconditionally and has always encouraged me to chase after my dreams within my music career. He is so passionate about music and knows when I am creating and performing it is where I feel most authentic. I could not be where I am today without him. My producer, Josh Sahunta has been the hugest professional support in my career to date. He believes in me and is always there if I need a friend to talk to. He is extremely talented and I feel truly grateful and blessed to have him as a producer and co-writer. He is not only insanely gifted but he has such a genuine heart and cares about you as a person first, and to me that is so important to have someone like that in the music industry. We have an amazing work ethic and work chemistry and he really knows how to help me express what I am going through and create that into a beautiful piece of music. My parents have been so supportive and are always asking when they can hear my next song. They love to see me perform live. If it was not for them putting me in voice, guitar, piano, and dance lessons at the age of 5 through to the age of 18 I truly do not know if I would have been able to pursue this as a career. I am so grateful they let me express myself through music at a young age and believed in me. They let me do what I loved to do and I do believe that is paying off for them today.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessaskyy/

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/jessaskyy

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Jessa-Sky-Music-102673158633557/

Image Credits
@sarahthowsenproductions @lifepho7 @kbtiernan @justin_wiesinger @turnip_cares @emilieiggiotti