What style/genre would you put this in?

[rnrmachine]

I would agree you are catagorizing yourself proprerly for the most part. One thing I did notice was, the song "The Wait is Over" the drums sound WAY more Rock or Alternative, not pop. The style and sound imho.

"Behind the Wheel" sounds like a total rip off of Brittney Spears and or Lady Gaga (who sounds like she ripped off Spears just a bit more amateur lol). Sounded like a great job to me if going after a listing wanting those particular artists. "Toxic" or "Poker Face" are the ones I am thinking of. The feeling/vibe you get when you first listen to them. Toxic is WAY better then Poker Face imho.

"Break Out" could have a bit faster tempo on the obvious hook part. Maybe change the cowbell to a more futuristic sound. Cowbell just not really working here imho.

"Hazy" the guitar sample sound is hard to decide on, whether I like it or not. I would (if I was your producer) probably find a different sound. That said, Your vocals ROCK on this song.

"Mess of Love" I am not sure that I like the piano totally here. Being a piano player myself (well I started on piano at 8 then swapped to guitar at 12. I am 41 now) it sounds to me like this awesome female vocalist got stuck with a first/second year piano student. I am truly sorry if that sounds cold (don't meen to sound cold, just blunt and to the point.) Being blunt and to the point, I feel, is the best way to be when dealing with other professionals. You just get a lot more work done when you freely discuss how something hits you etc...

"Lessons Learned" very interesting. I definately like your voice and your talent seems to be there. Short song unless something is messed up with it atm.

"A League of My Own" has a lot of potential imho. 80% of your song here is well done. Some parts come across as a bit sloppy. I think it is the drums at times. The chosen fill don't seem to fit with some of the other instruments. This song seems to need a bit more direction at times. A well defined "sound" is needed I think. The samples are a bit combative in a bad way.

Overall I think you are a wonderful vocalist and you have a good grip of how to add backing tracks etc... Your abilities show up different in each song and definately make me think you would be worth working with if I was a well known producer so keep working at it girl. The most important thing in any song (with vocals) is the vocals. There may be a few exceptions to that rule but they would be RARE and I can't even think of any atm. You show a lot of talent there.

Good Luck in the future.

Rob

Remember this is just one persons opinion and needs to be taken in that context.

Also, I would like a chance to do one song with you, if you would be interested. I have some songs I could send you or link to you if you would be interested in listening for a possible one song collaboration. I think you would be very pleased with the music bed I could give you to sing over.

[jessicajohnson.net]

Rob, thanks for your feedback! I actually laughed out loud when I read your comment about Mess of Love b/c...yeah...you kinda hit the nail on the head. The main reason the piano sounds so bad in that though is I had a hell of a time trying to link my keyboard to to fruity loops and getting rid of the delay. Then, once I finally fixed the delay, the keyboard sounded really crappy. Next time I'll just pay someone to record the piano part for me PROFESSIONALLY. lol No offense taken. I do not take myself that seriously

The Wait is Over and Lessons Learned are little interludes (sorry...dummy me...I should've mentioned that)

Break Out, A League of My Own, and Behind the Wheel were def written to target commercial listings in the pop genre, so your feedback makes me feel like I accomplished that. I didn't have any part in creating the music on those...which is prob a good thing....

And as for Hazy...THANKS. Also, no part in the music on that. Just an online collabo with a royalty free beat. A lot of my collabos are actually online with hip hop producers

As for working together...sure! My email is info@jessicajohnson.net

[simonparker]

Who to compare you to? I can't compare you to anyone. You def have talent and there's good production here, but in terms of market comparisons, I'm not there with your music. I don't think your "Kelly Clarkson" stuff is Kelly Clarkson at all. Sure the production is "current" and sure you've got good vox support (plus you look decent, but then again, everything looks decent compared to having to look myself in the mirror every morning). But no, it's not Clarkson. Why would you think it is? Your songs might be on the edge to her very early stuff such as "A Moment Like This". But if you heard her latest stuff "My Life would stink without you", "Already Gone", or "I Do Not Hook Up", there's a decent guitar riff and screaming/big vocals at the chorus. Both the songs you reference really don't showcase that. Further, with a song like "Hazy" you take till about 1:09 to get to the chorus, which is wayyyyy tooo long for any Clarkson type pitch.

Regarding your Gaga stuff, this too is off the mark. Again, you got the production value in there. And you even took it a step further with the chord progressions in the verses, but you need to realize that Gaga material has a very hook driven chorus (name any of her tunes on radio, and you can instantly sing the chorus within a 1/10th of a second....quick...Poker Face...can't read my...can't read my...etc.). Your chorus for both of the tunes don't stick and seem to be driven by complex chord progressions, rather than trying to create a memorable chorus.....

That's my take on it.

[ciskokidd]

Hey Jessica,

It's pretty obvious to me that your genre is POP. There is really no doubt about that.

My question is what kind of listings are you sending your music to? There will be a big difference depending on whether you are going for Film/TV listings or Record Label listings.

I think for the Film/TV listings your stuff is probably right in the ballpark. I can hear some of the ala's in your stuff when it comes to that type of listing.

If you are submitting to artist listings then it gets a lot more tough. This is the cream of the crop and you have to come with the goods. I listened to all of your tracks and have to say the production is quite good. Where I think you need to work more is on getting your own identity. What I hear are songs that emulate what is on the radio. Gaga, Britney, Kelly. What I don't hear is who is Jessica? If you are an artist, don't emulate. Develop your own voice both in the songwriting and the delivery.

Yes, the listings call for artists like Gaga, Britney, etc. but if you really want to know what they want it is pretty simply HITS. They want something unique. They don't want someone who sounds like Gaga. They want the next Gaga. They want the next Britney and they want the whole deal - songs, looks, persona. That is a pretty tall order.

I can tell you that you have some interesting ideas, but you really need to work on the hook melodies and support for those ideas. Get them to where they are irresistible and you can't get them out of your head. "A League of My Own" is a great statement and yet I felt like the delivery was timid. If you say you are the sh*t then you better damn well bring it. A perfect example is Britney's "Circus". There is no doubt when you hear her sing that song that she is the RINGMASTER!

All of the above is meant to be constructive, so I hope I don't come off like a know it all (I don't). You have talent and you seem to have a really good feel for pop music, so I'm just trying to egg you on to the next level.

Best,

Cisco

[jessicajohnson.net]

Thanks Simon I guess I was thinking in terms in which listings I should submit to. I don't think I sound like anyone (which I think is good thing ) but I have to target the listings somehow. For Hazy, I was def thinking Kelly's older stuff. You're right...it's nothing like her current material. And the other songs...I don't know, Gaga was the closest thing I could think of. Another girl on a different post mentioned Gwen Stefani. idk lol

Thank you for your feedback!

[jessicajohnson.net]

Thanks Cisco

For the most part I do submit to tv/film. Every now and then I might submit to a label listing. I agree with you in terms of what the industry is looking for. They wants HITS, period. I don't consciously try to emulate artists, but as I mentioned to Simon, I need to target the listings somehow I will def continue to develop myself as an artist and work on having bigger and catchier hooks. Music is a craft, and I'm a big proponent of the theory that you can ALWAYS improve in any craft.

Thank you for your feedback!

[rnrmachine]

... Music is a craft, and I'm a big proponent of the theory that you can ALWAYS improve in any craft...

No doubt you have your head on straight here.

Btw, I sent you 2 clips just for audio quality and talent reference. As I state in the email. I forgot to mention that I use Sonar8.5 Producer as my main DAW/sequencer software. I do have some others if need be, such as Cusebase, but I prefer Sonar.

Rob

[jessicajohnson.net]

Thank you everyone! I kinda wish the taxi screeners would tell me which artists I should be targetting when looking for listings rather than just saying "not on target" Doesn't Taxi also have an independent review service? I wonder if that would be worthwhile...

[K O Star aka Kel >> Love Ur style!!]

hey Jessica...

I Love Ur style & Vox...
The second track reminds me of Britney's "If U seek Amy"... I love that btw
Ur productions are strong & I really enjoyed Ur music...
I'm not good at categorizing this genre... but just wanna say... keep doing what U do cos U do it really well!!

Kel

[Rob Larson]

I see a lot of listings for female singer/songwriter. I think you fall into that category. I think you have an original sound but it is defintely in the style of the artists you mentioned. The biggest problem with the music industry these days is that they are not looking for original sounding artists. They want artists that sound exactly like existing artists. They think that since one artist is successful for a certain style then another artist with the exact same style will also be successful. I think they get a little too tunnel visioned and need to open their minds to artists with their own style. I know a lot of music fans (including me) who are tired of the crap being force fed to us by the music industry. As an artist with a rock style such as myself I am not interested in rehashing the same Alt/Grunge/Indie style that has been the industry standard for the past 2 decades, but that's what the music industry wants from me. Keep trying, you just need to have the right person hear the right song.