Jessie Reyez: The Strong Voice We Didn’t Know We Need.

If you are a casual listener to pop radio you have probably heard the song Figures. However, do you know the artist behind the smooth and powerful melody, Jessie Reyez? This brilliant and blazing woman was born and raised in Ontario, Canada, by Columbian parents. Her father taught her how to play guitar at a young age and in high school she started writing songs. When she was seventeen, Jessie endured her first real breakup and poured her emotions into her writing and music. She has written about the pain and hurt she experienced and how she wants to reciprocate it but doesn’t. Although never going through a harsh breakup, listening to these songs makes me feel like I have. The vibe and mood combined with her well written lyrics allows me to connect with her experience and connect it to myself. In addition in some of her songs, one can see her strong personality, and how she is an individual who cuts negativity out of her life and carves her own path.

Reyez has a raspy voice that can change from a low smooth sound to a soulful high pitched ring. Some may find her voice annoying and others will listen and hear an exposed and organic god-like sound. Her songs are poetic and her decisions of where she sings low to high makes each song powerful. In the song Apple Juice, the rhythm she created and the words she sings makes you want to sway and shout out the lyrics. Jessie Reyez’s songs can vibrate through your whole body and her words make you feel understood and connected. Her recent EP release, Being Human In Public, is a raw depiction of her emotions. I 10/10 would recommend listening to it in a car with the windows down and driving over a bridge. Shouting the words is also encouraged.

Jessie Reyez creatively writes her songs while staying true to herself. She adds artistic flare with her unique voice but also by incorporating her true feelings although they might be judged. In addition, on her recent EP album, she has a song Sola, sung and written in Spanish. Although in another language, an individual can easily infer it is Reyez by not only the sound but her style and message. I cannot speak or understand Spanish but Sola is one of my favorite songs by her. Her emotion and melody make me feel pain and love. I like to close my eyes and sway when listening to the soft and bold piece.

Reyez has attracted fans internationally through her feminine bops and powerful responses about life. She has been nominated for many best new artist of the year awards and has won the Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist. Her followers have escalated to one million on instagram in the past year, and she will continue to grow with special character.