Just Jaded — Jaded Productions

February Podcast Recap

By Jessie Strickland

In this month’s episode of “A Little Jaded”, Jade and Joanna sit down with Kristina London, a 26 year old music industry professional from Washington D.C., and founder of Amplify her Voice, to discuss matters regarding the industry, breaking into said industry, mental health, and much more. As they dive into discussing what it means to be working in the music industry in the current age of social media and the scale of the workforce as a whole, Kristina grants a multitude of anecdotes and bits of advice for those seeking to venture into this industry.

Inspiration and Drive

Kristina got her start in the industry while in college, doing music internships and working various part time jobs to get herself out there and gain experience. However, as she was living in the D.C. area at the time, opportunities in the music industry were limited, and she grew more frustrated after looking at demographic data and learning how large the gender disparity is in the industry. This then prompted her to start her own organization, Amplify her Voice, which encourages young women to have a voice and larger presence in the music industry through education and various opportunities.

The gender inequality and misogyny found in the music industry is what inspires Kristina to do what she does, but despite that inspiration and passion, burnout turns out to be inevitable. Kristina describes even feeling burnout from attending shows and concerts, something typically a source of relief and fun. Her passion for the industry and the craft, as she describes, also causes her to become too involved with her line of work, prompting her to often have late- nights overextending herself and struggling to create a proper work-life balance. Despite this, she states, “I just need to make sure I’m taking care of myself,” which is a note everyone can take away and benefit from. When feeling “a little jaded”, she gives the advice to take note of your values and what brings you joy, write them down, even, and focus on something you can actively work on incorporating into your life more. This serves as a form of grounding, which Kristina refers to often as “touching grass”, both literally and figuratively, in the sense that it’s important to take a step out of the digital world of social media and live life unplugged, even just for a small moment.

Career and Life Advice

Kristina, aside from running Amplify her Voice, also works as a social media manager at Goldenvoice, the promoter company best known for being the brawn behind the Coachella music festival. A typical day (not that there really is one) within her position, she says, contains plenty of organizing and utilizing databases, but besides the technical details, she describes having to remain very flexible. Announcements and publishings are often pushed and moved, so it requires a lot of time on “standby” and flexibility, as well as a large sense of knowledge in regards to what is keeping audiences engaged.

Kristina’s job at Goldenvoice required her to relocate to Los Angeles, which served as a plentiful opportunity for her as she had been “dying to move to LA” prior. While she describes the work culture to be laidback, mainly requiring remote activity, she expresses some difficulties with the transition to the LA lifestyle and entertainment workforce. In one aspect, she describes her experiences of loneliness in the city, retelling her feelings of often being overwhelmed and overstimulated with how much was going on in Los Angeles and the chaos of it all. Jade then brings up the question, “In such a big city, how were you able to make those personal connections?” Kristina recalls making her friends through work, which was a bit shocking to her as she had maintained a personal standard in the past to not mix work with personal life and relationships. It was helpful for Kristina to have that source of connections, but she also points out how important it is to have friends from other circles and to not create an identity solely based on work and the industry you belong to.

Kristina has an abundance of other life experiences and advice she shares in this episode of “A Little Jaded”, so make sure to catch it wherever you stream your podcasts.

2023 GRAMMY AWARDS: Highlighting The Biggest Moments!

By Vivienne Huynh

As the 65th Grammy season comes to an end, let’s recap some of the best moments. Usually all eyes are on the four biggest awards an artist can win, those being: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist, so let’s start with those!

It’s about damn time Lizzo got the recognition she deserves, and she did! Lizzo won the biggest award of the night Record of the Year for her song “About Damn Time.” This upbeat, soulful, groovy song won over the ears of the recording academy, and the public. In her acceptance speech she said “When we lost Prince, I decided to dedicate my life to making positive music,”... “And I was like ‘I don't care if my positivity bother you, what's wrong with you?’” Seeing Lizzo win this award felt like a ray of light, through her music she spreads nothing but positivity and self love, and through this award it felt as if her message was being heard.

One big surprise of the night was the winner for Song of the Year. The iconic Bonnie Rait took home this award for the song “Just Like That.” The song is a story about a woman visited by a man who’s only alive because of the heart he received, a heart that had belonged to the woman's son. Her music is full of emotions, storytelling, and adds life to the blues/rock genre. She’s been in the industry for quite a while and when accepting the award she said "I don't write a lot of songs, but I'm so proud that you appreciate this one and what this means for me and for the rest of the songwriters who I would not be up here tonight if it wasn't for the art of the great soul-digging, hard-working people that put these songs and ideas to music."

In an era full of upbeat pop and electronic dance music, the winner of Best New Artist is both a breath of fresh air and a blast from the past. Samara Joy took home the award for the Best New Artist. It’s hard to believe she is only 23, known as the Gen Z Jazz singing star, her voice is absolutely stunning; rich, velvety yet refined. Though she is still relatively new to jazz and only has 2 albums out, self titled “Samara Joy”, and “Linger Awhile,” her music brings a sense of comfort and soothes the soul. We cannot wait to see what the future has in store for her.

The doors to Harry’s House have been opened with the fourth big award of the night. Harry Styles won the Grammy for Album of the Year. The album Harry’s House truly does feel like home. Spanning from upbeat pop and funk to folk and slow rock, his songs and lyricism bring a sense of freedom. The comforting feeling of being at home and dancing in the kitchen where no one is watching. This year has been record

breaking for Harry, being on tour for 22 months, along with two 15 day residencies at The Kia Forum in LA and Madison Square Garden in New York and now winning one of the biggest Grammy Awards. During his acceptance speech he said that “I’ve been so inspired by every artist in this category with me. At a lot of different times in my life, I listened to everyone in this category when I’m alone, and I think on nights like tonight, it’s obviously so important for us to remember that there is no such thing as ‘best’ in music.”

Following the theme of having a record breaking year, Beyonce broke the record for having the most Grammy wins in history! That night she took home 4 wins, for best dance/electronic album for "Renaissance," best R&B song for her hit song, "Cuff It," best dance-electronic music recording for "Break My Soul" and best traditional R&B performance for "Plastic off the Sofa. Her award for best dance/electronic album was the win that got her to make history, now with 32 Grammy awards, she holds the crown for the most grammy wins. All hail Queen Bey!

Another milestone of the night, were the winners of the award Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Sam Smith and Kim Petras took home that award for the song “Unholy”, being the first openly non-binary, and trans artists to win grammys in that category. Unholy is a song that is simply everywhere, dominating the charts and social media. Its seductive pop sound paired with Sam’s angelic vocals and Kim’s soulful rasp makes this song unforgettable. This win was a big step forward for the Grammy Awards, and a well deserved win for both Sam Smith and Kim Petras, as both are truly talented artists.

Lastly out of all the performances from the night, the most memorable was the 50th anniversary of hip hop tribute. August 2023 will mark the 50 years since DJ Kool Herc threw the party that created the foundations for hip hop today. The segment featured dozens of household artists, including LL Cool J, Missy Elliott, Big Boi, Run-D.M.C., Queen Latifah, Method Man, Public Enemy, Busta Rhymes, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and the Grandmasters Flash and Melle Mel. With the numerous acts on the same stage, the way the performance was executed was phenomenal. Watching all the artists flow, and bounce off each other's presence was surreal and exhilarating to watch.

That’s a wrap for the Grammy 2023 recap! It was definitely another unforgettable night in music filled with wonderful performances, and record breaking wins. Let us know what you thought about the 65th Grammy Awards.