IT all started with a simple dare from her roommate at the University of Ottawa urging her to enter in a contest put on by Marianas Trench.
"I am a Trencher as they say. I've always been following Marianas Trench and I love their music. I love the melodies and I would always sing along to Josh Ramsay and try and improve my singing," Jessica Lee says.
She was only 18 years old at the time and debated about even entering the contest.
"I had an exam the next day and I thought I am too busy I don't think I can do this," Lee says. "But I laid down the vocals in one track and then one thing led to another."
Lee received a phone call from Ramsay informing her that she was selected out of hundreds of hopeful constants to perform alongside the JESSI Josh with h Vancouver-based band at Massey Hall in Toronto.
"I was absolutely shocked," she says. "I guess adrenaline kicked in and from then until the time I performed I didn't have a chance to get nervous."
On May 28, Lee, now 22, will be releasing her first album titled Carried Away. The Ottawa native says listeners can expect to hear her original sound.
"It's light and fun pop. It's music that I hope you can sing in your bedroom with your girlfriends and a hairbrush," Lee says.
Although Lee has no formal musical training, her musical roots go back to childhood. Lee used to sing in front of her father as he played the guitar. She also sang as a Disney princess at birthday parties.
"My dad is a musician, he still actually plays gigs at local bars. He would always come home when I was a little girl and he would bring his guitar out and start playing."
Lee is also a trained dancer of 14 years specializing in tap dance and hip-hop. She incorporates some of the techniques she learned in dance into her on-stage routines.
When it comes to songwriting Lee says that she tries to write relatable songs that people can enjoy.
"I think that is the best way to get inspiration for your songs is to take from things you've actually experienced firsthand," she says. "I would also say it's 50 per cent fact, 50 per cent fiction, just to try and make it more relatable."
She's mainly influenced by singers such as Christina Aguilera, Leona Lewis, Kelly Clarkson and Katy Perry.
"I would pause Christina Aguilera's songs and try to do the same runs as her," Lee says. "That music sounds challenging so I want to be on that level."
She says performing with Ramsay and Marianas Trench is a great experience.
"Performing with him is the best thing for you because he is such a talented vocalist and he pushes you to be better or be on the same level," Lee says. "I had such an amazing time that afterwards I wanted to keep doing it."
Lee's performance at Massey Hall was a life changing moment for her. "After Massey Hall I went back home and wrote an exam. Life went on and I started studying. I entered a bit of a depression because I realized I didn't want to be doing what I was doing anymore.
"Everything just went so much slower. I wasn't into anything I was doing in school anymore. I wanted to be anywhere but there," she says.
Eventually, Ramsay called Lee and asked her to come out and sing the song they performed together at Massey Hall "Good to You" and be part of the music video for it.
"It was an honour. I knew the song existed and had been pre-recorded by someone else.
So for them to say that they wanted to record it with me for radio and do the music video was the highest honour," Lee says. "It was better than any A plus I'd ever been given.
Flying out there and doing the video and being integrated into the music industry so quickly was exhilarating. It was the best feeling."
For the next two years Lee travelled between Ottawa and Vancouver working on music projects while working towards a science degree. She often missed exams and eventually decided to relocate to Vancouver last August.
"It was always stressful because I was living in Ottawa yet I was living out of a suitcase. I never really felt like I had a permanent home," she says. "That's why I made the decision to just move out to Vancouver and finish the album."
Although Lee began her studies at the University of Ottawa she has since switched over to online classes at the University of Athabasca. Lee admits it is difficult balancing a music career with her education.
"Finding time to be a student and a musician is challenging but it can be done. I just want to get it done at this point. I am so close to having the degree I might as well just get it done," she says. "I've always had really good time management and that is what helped me succeed in school in the first place. It's almost a switch you have to turn on."
Not long after filming the music video for "Good to You," Lee was signed to 604 Records.
"It was an incredible feeling. It was one of those things where you can genuinely take a moment to be proud of yourself . . . I've done well in school and sure I am proud when I do well on a test but it got boring and old hat," she says.
"This was something where I went on a limb and tried something different. I am really proud of where I am in my life."
Lee has had plenty of opportunities to work alongside Ramsay since being signed to 604 Records.
"He is awesome. He literally is a musical genius. Everything he does, from when we are working or hanging out is something musical," she says.
"He's very encouraging but also the thing I like most about working with him is he pushes me to be a better singer because he has so much vocal experience," she says.
Lee is managed by Jonathan Simkin's artist management company, SAM. The company also manages artists such as Carly Rae Jepsen, Fighting For Ithaca and Marianas Trench.
She says having Simkin's support and management team help her navigate through the industry has been huge.
"He's awesome. He's always been very supportive right from the get-go. Even before they mentioned having a contract on the table, he's always been super encouraging," Lee says.
"Even now he's got an amazing team of people working for me," she adds.
The former birthday party singer says her favourite Disney movie growing up was The Little Mermaid.
"Arial is my favourite and that was my favourite to dress up as," Lee says. "She had the best songs so that obviously made her the best princess to me."
For more on Jessica Lee and Carried Away go to jessicaleemusic.com/tag/604-records.
Contributing Writer
