Jenna Paulette
Interview conducted on July09, 2021
By Dan Locke
Jenna Paulette (credit: Nick Swift)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Texas rancher, songwriter, and songstress Jenna Paulette cast her song bait into the world by sharing now-viral clips of her new single’s chorus, and it caught. With 2.5 million views across TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest ahead of its official release, Paulette’s cowgirl country declaration “Country In The Girl” is available everywhere today via her independent label Grit Brand Entertainment.
What is your upbringing?
I grew up in a family with four kids outside of Dallas, Texas and about an hour and 15 south of our family ranch on the Oklahoma, Texas line. It was the perfect mix of close enough to the city and the down to earth aspect of being exposed to agriculture and the western way of life.
How did you discover music?
My parents ALWAYS had it on in the kitchen while my mom was cooking, in the car, CMT music videos were on Saturday mornings. I was surrounded by it and in the midst of all that I was realizing that it was painting the most beautiful picture of the life, I loved living. When I was about eight I started thinking about country music as a career and got more serious about it as I got older.
How did you start to write songs?
When I was in college, I was like wait, people write songs for a living?! I didn’t even really know it was a thing until I started looking up every song I loved and seeing the writer’s credits. I started studying the writers’ styles that wrote my favorite songs and developed from there. I also had Ashley Gorley as a mentor when I first got to town and that was a huge blessing! He was tough on me, but he’s also the reason why I can write a decent song. So thankful!
You have a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication. Has this helped your career?
Ohhh yes. Hugely, it’s helped me market myself, define my lane, be consistent in my message as an artist, and believe that a genuine voice with a consistently great product is unstoppable. It may take a while to grow it to where I want it, but it’s working!
What was your first performance at like?
My first performance on a cross-country tour was incredible. It was Georgia Theatre in Athens, GA. Honestly, I don’t even know if I did that great vocally that night because I was so excited I couldn’t calm down, but it was incredible. The energy in the room. Getting to meet people. Touching people’s hands walking across the front of the stage. The response from the crowd. I got off stage and was like “THIS is why I started this… it’s all about THEM.” It was so affirmative for me and a defining moment of what “success” looks like for me in this industry. It’s a connection with people.
Tell me about your song “Country in the Girl”?
“Country in the Girl” was something that resonated with me before it was a song. I had the title and brought it into write with my buddies Jeb Gipson and Smith Ahnquist. Smith was like, what if it’s “you can put the girl in the country, but you can’t put the country in the girl?” That was that. The song was done in about an hour and a half. When I got the demo back I hadn’t posted on TikTok in a while so I decided to do one with that song. The response was INSANE. So, we got in the studio soon as we could, and here we are!
Any more new music coming out this year?
Yes, planning on releasing a new one about every 6 weeks! With music videos for each. CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TO HEAR THEM.
Digital vs. vinyl?
I always listen digital, but there is some kinda magic with Vinyl!
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