Jessโs nerves were palpable, as she was ushered down an unknown corridor and up to the stage, where the lights were waiting for her.
โOh. Itโs just like The Voice,โ she thought, dazed, right before she was staring Leo Sayer down over her microphone.
Afterwards, while caught in the backstage huddle over phone screens – trying to hear the livestream with the rest of listeners at home – she almost missed the last contestant leaving the stage, and the words that came after only seconds of deliberation: โAnd the winner is โฆโ
โIt didnโt feel real,โ said Jess. โThey called my name, and I was like โWhat? No. What?โโ
This was a huge and much-needed win.
Growing up, music was an important part of her household. Two musician parents pushed each of their daughters to be trained vocalists and pianists. Jess fell in love at a young age.
โThereโs a tape of me somewhere, I must have been eight or nine, a video message for Marcia Hines,โ her eyes smiled at the memory. โI was like, โI know Iโm not old enough for Australian Idol yet, but if you can just listen to my song and tell me what you think?โ Itโs still in house, somewhere โฆโ
Few would understand how music was a family affair for Jess. In 2007, her entire family would star in a professional production of High School Musical.
โMy mum played Ms Darbus, my dad played Coach Bolton, and I was Kelsey, with my two sisters in the ensemble. All of us together, playing two weeks of shows in a giant circus tent in Woden Park.
โIt was one of the weirdest but also most amazing experiences of my life. Probably the closest thing to a professional production that Iโve been in, and I was 12,โ she laughed.
Jess would go on to obtain her Advanced Diploma in Music Performance from CIT, and her Undergrad in Music from ANU. She was handpicked to compose music for the 2020 Australian of the Year Award ceremony and was able to watch the nominees grace the stage to her music.
Her father couldnโt have been prouder. โMusic was a really big passion of his. I think he was always glad that I decided to go down this path too.โ
Unfortunately, just as Jessโ talent was starting to be recognised, her life was thrown off-key by a devastating decline in her fatherโs health.
โMy dad, heโd been unwell for a long time, but the last eight years were particularly bad.
โItโs been a rough several years. Hard to get my feet grounded for any length of time. Things will kind of start to happen, then my personal life would be derailed, and my music went on the back burner.
โIโm 26 now. It feels like itโs been that way for a long time.โ
She began vocal coaching in 2016, teaching music to children as she searched for her own rhythm.
Her father passed away in March.
โHeโd been so unwell โฆ so we all spent a lot of time at the hospital. The staff there were amazing, really supportive.โ
When she heard about a competition raising money for the Canberra Hospital Foundation, Jess saw an opportunity close to her heart and her familyโs.
She sang a self-composed pop ballad, Holes in the canvas, with lyrics drawn from a poem her partner wrote 10 years ago.
โItโs set in the snow, and this person who has lost someone is trying to find meaning in their own life, trying to just get back to normal. The stages that you go through when youโre grieving,โ she smiled, misty-eyed.
โThe holes in the canvas are them walking in the snow, writing messages and hoping theyโll see them from heaven.โ
The judges were in awe of her powerful voice, and raw emotion.
Her main prize, a spot in 2022โs Canberra Hospital Foundation concert, will be a first for Jess. Despite having sung at cafรฉs, pubs, bars, and even one time at the Governor-Generalโs house, โthis will be my first spot in a line-up that I got on my ownโ.
The $2,000 cash prize will go towards recording her first EP, with a bit saved for fixing up her old keyboard.
Finally, she will be moving forward under Leo Sayerโs mentorship.
She imagines what her dad would think of getting her rhythm back. โIt sucks, so much, that he isnโt here, but I think he would be very proud.
โIโm hopeful that this is a turning stone, for the last however many years.โ
Her message to others on a shared path is to keep going. โIf it makes you happy, keep going. It doesnโt matter if your music isnโt technically perfect, if you feel what youโre performing. Someone wants to listen, someone wants to hear.โ
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