Meet...Charlotte Jane

From the joys of watching her grandparents performing across the world to meeting hitmaker Toby Gad, Charlotte Jane is embarking a new era of music.

Photo Credit: Lennon Gregory

Following on from her debut EP 'Nowhere to Hide' that established her as one of UK's most promising new voices; the 22-year-old has kept quiet throughout 2020 but, as it comes to a close, she comes back with her brand new single 'Get It Right'.

As she gets ready for the journey of 2021, Vibez Music caught up with the singer-songwriter about how her career kicked off, her love for Justin Vernon and the hint of collabs coming our way.

Firstly, how are you doing and are you up to anything special, at the moment?

Helloooo! I’m doing great thank you. I am off the scale excited for Christmas. I’m currently planning the music video and all other visuals for my next single which is maybe or maybe not definitely coming out early next year.

Let’s jump into your latest single Get it Right, your first single of 2020, could give us a little bit of background information of how this track came together and did it reach the heights you hoped for?

I wrote the song two years ago in LA with Dayyon Alexander and Jeff Shum. It sat in the notes section of my iPhone for those two years getting played in my car. I wanted to put it on my first EP but, it just didn’t fit. It ended up being a good, centrepiece to build my sound off for the next batch of music I’ll be putting out though.

I’ll be honest my expectations are extremely low for my first couple of releases over the next few months as it really feels like I’m starting again. Having not released a song for over a year, I’m more focused on releasing consistently and building up my audience again than focusing on the first song taking off. Having said that, the reaction in these first two weeks has really blown me away! It’s had about half a million streams across platforms which's really cool.

You decided to pursue music within your mid-teens, what was that one main thing that influenced you to follow your dreams?

I had decided on pursuing music from about five years old haha and, I know that a huge influence was watching my grandparents perform when I was a child. I just thought they were the coolest people on the planet. But I do believe that I would’ve pursued music regardless.

After sets of open-mic nights that led to gigs across North-East, to then taking time out to travel Europe, did you ever find it hard to fit in within the music industry at such a young age?

I found it hard to be confident and have faith in my own ideas. It took me a while to find my voice and not be, so easily influenced in a writing session. I also didn’t have a real community of young people around me for quite a while. I think that was quite alienating at times.

One of the standout moments of your career was meeting Toby Gad that led to a publishing deal. What was that experience like for you as a rising artist and, do you believe that kickstarted off your career?

I mean, walking down the hallway to Toby’s studio and seeing plaques for songs he’s written for Beyoncé, Fergie, John Legend and Alicia Keys was intimidating, to say the least. But, Toby's faith in me was a hugely transformative thing for my self-belief. I will always be grateful for the leg-up he gave me, I learnt so much from writing with him. My publishing deal was also, financially, pretty instrumental in allowing me to start my career as an independent artist.

The first single of your career was 'I Tell Lies' which led to your debut EP Nowhere to Hide. At that time what was that feeling you felt when releasing the EP and, what is the story of the whole project?

That whole experience was a real whirlwind. 'Nervous' has really taken off on its own little journey and meant that a lot of people were waiting for the EP to drop. Which were equal parts exciting and daunting. I remember saying to my managers when I was deciding the tracks for the EP ‘I want to put out the songs that make me feel most vulnerable. The ones that scare me a bit.’ so I guess that’s the story of it. That’s where the title ‘Nowhere To Hide’ came from, it’s about emotionally exposing myself.

You have been recognised by stars across the board, but who would be your dream collaboration and why?

Justin Vernon. Just because of his voice and the way he writes will never cease to make me weep. That may actually prove quite problematic if we were ever to sing together though as it would be more of him singing and me blubbering into a microphone.

Who are your favourite rising artists that you think we should be listening to?

Olivia Dean, Tyrer, Jordan Mackampa.

This year has been a year no one imagined it could be, but what has been that key thing you have learnt over these periods?

Time is our most valuable currency.

Finally, as you embark into 2021, what can fans expect next year and is there any secrets you could let us into?

Lots of music. Hopefully shows. Maybe some collabs.