Janelle

Up-and-coming recording artist, Janelle, drives music down a different path as an independent, self-titled, pop artist. While capturing the attention of the east coast since the age of 16 with her bluesy, soulful, acoustic covers of pop and rock hits, Janelle has relentlessly pursued her own personal journey as an music artist – an ambition this 22-year-old singer/songwriter and Baltimore native has always dreamt of achieving.

“I guess it all started with piano lessons when I was three. At first it was a chore – I trained classically, so it was a lot of practice and memorization. But it wasn’t until later after I stopped lessons and learned how to improvise that I realized how much I really loved it. I started listening to Sinatra, Guns ‘N Roses, and Adele. I started hearing notes and chords that weren’t on the pages. I channeled all of my feelings into my own songs. I became my music. The next thing I knew, I was in the studio recording an album, and I guess the rest is history.”​

Janelle is in fact a seasoned songwriter, having started at the age of seven. “I wrote about everything. Not just about stuff that had happened directly to me, but about things I saw in other people. It’s easy for me to be empathetic, and that’s made it easy to write relatable songs. So, even though I’m “pop,” I feel like I transcend genre. I just reach people.”​

And she’s certainly made an impact. Through the release of her first album, Criminal, which she admits is a true “break-up” album that began her journey as a self-aware, evolving singer, Janelle began an intimate and deeply-rooted relationship with her fans both in-person and on social media. “I had never tried harder to connect with people. I made posters, handed out invites, and called every person I knew. And it totally worked. We packed the place and had the best album release party ever. And the best part was that everyone stayed connected afterwards.”

​Six years into her career, Janelle has released her second album, Better Off On My Own - a soulful, energetic, brutally-honest, Lana-Del-Rey-Jessie-J-Winehouse-inspired album, which she says is, “the musical representation of a new chapter in my life. It started off with the pieces of an old relationship, and then I moved on and found someone new. Then I moved out on my own and had to find my own way to survive. It’s almost a break-up album, but a break-up from a person I grew out of to a person that’s more mature and free.”

Janelle continues to write and record in Baltimore and has worked with acclaimed producer Terrence "T-Low"Brown from the multi-platinum R&B group N.E.X.T. In the end, Janelle will always connect by simply being herself. Criminal and Better Off On My Own are proof. 

"All I want is to do what I love," she leaves off. "My dream is that it can help heal the world."