Meet the next Taylor Swift, Jacqueline Devine
My friends are always like, ‘Oh my God, you’re like a Taylor Swift’ and I’m like… ‘Thank you, I think.’
20-year-old Jacqueline Devine has released a new album, “Leap,” for you to listen to while studying, getting over that Tinder guy who didn’t text you back or just understanding how a girl feels sometimes. She’s a UConn Husky and finishing up her junior year as a Journalism and Political Science double major along with her own recording area in her living space.
She sat down with The Tab UConn to talk about her latest album, “Leap,” and how she manages the life of a musician and a full-time student.
How did you start your music career?
I started playing piano in the third grade. I was classically trained for a while and then I realized that wasn’t something I wanted to continue. I started learning by listening to songs, pop songs that I was interested in, and I was taught how to listen to music and play it back. So that sort of inspired my song writing because I was able to listen to these contemporary pop songs, pick up on common progression and decide, you know, what kind of progressions I liked, what sound I liked, what style I liked, the beats I was interested in… I dabbled [in writing lyrics] in middle school, but I wasn’t serious about it until I was a freshman in high school. That’s when I really started to write all the time. It became my hobby, my thing, and I was like the singer girl. Everybody knew me, but I was happy to do it. When you’re happy doing something, you’re happy when other people recognize it.
What has inspired your lyrics in the past, future and now?
Songwriting for me has always been sort of a coping mechanism. You know, something bad happens, instead of sitting around [being] sad about it, I write a song about it. It gets it off of your chest, you get to put it on paper, you get to sing about it and then you get to sort of reflect on the entire experience through the song and hopefully someone can listen to that song and say, ‘Okay, I’ve had this happen to me too.’ It’s a cool connectivity [between] music and other people.
I mean, listen, I’m a college girl writing about breakups and love songs and you know, my friends are always like, ‘Oh my God, you’re like a Taylor Swift,’ and I’m like, ‘No…I mean…I guess…Thank you, I think.’
Do you have any crazy stories about your time songwriting?
I’ve written songs in short, short periods of time. ‘Miss Round Two,’ which is one of the songs off my album, I wrote in one sitting. In ten minutes. I was mad.
And it’s some of my friends’ favorite song [because] it’s so raw. I just let it flow and it came out. It’s really authentic and I think you hear it in the lyrics.
How does music fit into your schedule as a UConn Husky?
It’s definitely lessened over the years as classes start to get more intense, my time in the music building starts to equally diminish. I live [on that side of campus] now, and I find myself over there a lot more than I used to since I live right there. The access to the practice rooms is a lot easier. I have all of my recording equipment – I write, record, produce, arrange all of the songs off of my album. I do it all my self.
I use Garage Band to mix all of my songs. I have [my equipment] here so I’m able to work on [my music] in my apartment which has been great. It’s quiet! It’s been a nice step for my music career.
Do you plan on making more music in the future?
ABSOLUTELY – I love it! I took this weird four-year hiatus in my music. “Leap” was a compilation of songs that I’ve written over the past five years. Between high school break-ups and college it’s been a conglomeration of songs. In a way, the songs that I wrote from high school, I still identify with now, which has been really great, but now that I’ve sort of thrown myself back into my music I forgot and remember how much I love it and how much I want to continue to do it.
It’s like I’m full again and why would I ever stop doing something that makes me feel so fulfilled.
Are people treating you any differently because you make music?
They call me ‘The Singer Girl,’ some of them. I’ve been noticing when I go out, the people I’ve met at UConn obviously have seen the link to my album, some of them have listened to it, and they say, ‘Oh my God, I listened to your album. It’s so great. I didn’t even know you were a singer.’
I never make it a big deal. You only really know I’m a singer unless you’re friends with me and I talk about it. Everybody’s been great, nobody’s been mean to me, nobody is disrespectful in any way and it’s kind of cool. Even in my hometown, whenever I see someone they always ask, ‘Are you still writing? Are you still doing music?’ And I finally get to say, ‘Yeah! I just released an album! I’m doing it again!’
Is there a place you dream of performing or travel to with your music?
I would just like to perform, period! I used to perform at a lot of local events when I was active in my music in high school. I performed at talent shows, I did some volunteer singing at shows for organizations in high school. They traveled around and sang in elderly homes and nursing homes and we just sang for these people and it made them so happy.
But I mean, come on, I’d love to sing at Madison Square Garden. That would be so cool! I’d like to sing for ten people, perform, period.
Who would you say is your inspiration in music or life?
Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic. He is a genius and I think that’s an understatement. He has completely nailed it when it comes to the music industry. His own music, what he does for OneRepublic, is amazing. How the band has evolved is amazing. They haven’t really fallen into any sort of pop trap. They haven’t sold themselves out, but at the same time, he’s featured on a lot of cool songs. He collaborated with Zedd, he did a cool song with [him]. And then he collaborates with Sara Bareilles, Gavin Degraw, Adelle – he’s done some of her work. You can tell with a song because its got this cool vibe . Then you look and Ryan Tedder helped make it. Of course he did, he’s a musical genius.
To access Jacqueline Devine’s latest album, “Leap,” you can visit: https://soundcloud.com/jacquelinepdevine