We recently connected with Jennifer Hart and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, thanks for joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Happy is an interesting word to use here. In my opinion, happiness is based on performance, so more times than not I am not “happy” as an artist because I definitely fail more times than I succeed. That’s just how it goes in this career path. With that being said, “joy” to me is a very different thing. Joy is beyond happiness and can be experienced even in the hard and bad times. I admit that I don’t feel joy all the time. I get down on myself, in life, and in my career, but I do love what I do. That’s why I do it. The joy of music and what it brings to myself and others has thus far been worth all the failures and lows. Music and songwriting can even help me out of those slumps or give me a temporary and healthy escape. I find a lot of joy in music, artistry, and creativity.

I do wonder pretty often what it would be like to have a regular 9 to 5 job. I loved math in school, so if it weren’t for music I wanted to be an engineer or an architect. I could’ve had a set schedule, a steady income, a little more sanity. Haha! But, I also think about how different my life would be. I wouldn’t have met my husband, I wouldn’t have written hundreds of personal songs, I wouldn’t have the friends group and community I now have, and I would have always wondered what my life could’ve been like if I just tried to pursue my dreams. It’s not always ideal, but I love that every day is different. I love knowing that I am chasing my dreams and giving it my all.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been singing my whole life, basically since around three years old when my mom enrolled my sister and me in a singing and dancing group in my home state of Arizona. I loved performing and singing, and I still remember all the lyrics to my first solo. Haha! Becoming a country singer was always a dream of mine that I never grew out of, and when I was 17 I knew I was going to move to Nashville, Tennessee at some point. I finished college in Arizona and finally made the move right after my 24th birthday in 2016. I jumped in blindly, knowing nothing about Nashville or the music industry, and I just figured it out (and I am still trying to figure it all out!) I started out by going to shows to meet friends and other artists/writers chasing the same dream, and then I started co-writing with these new friends I made and played out my original songs at writers rounds.

I grew up listening to 90s country music legends like Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Sara Evans, just to name a few. I love early 2000s and modern day pop and country pop, as well, so I try to blend a mix of it all when creating my own music. I like to incorporate elements of 90s country, whether that comes across through instrumentals, vocals, or lyrics. I also love to write and sing about deep and real topics that listeners can relate to. I write about my family, friends, relationships, love, hurt, all of it. I’m a big fan of being honest and vulnerable. With that being said, I have some original music out that I am very proud of on all major streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Music, etc.). I released my debut EP “1992” in the fall of 2022 and I plan to release more music in the near future. You can follow me on Instagram and TikTok for all updates and to hear some clips of unreleased music!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I was ten years old I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (TS), OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Social Anxiety. This crushed my dreams of becoming a country singer because I didn’t know how I could ever do it when I had so many “problems” and fears. At that young of an age and during that time when there was little to no information available about TS and OCD, I was so embarrassed and felt like such an outsider. I had anxiety attack after anxiety attack, ran out of the room at recitals, and wouldn’t even come out of my own bedroom at times hiding my face into a pillow. It took a lot of years, tears, doctor appointments, and prayers to overcome some of these challenges, but I remember my mom telling me “one day you will inspire people with what you’re going through”. I didn’t care or believe her at the time, but she was right.

I wanted to be a normal kid so badly, and in the back of my mind I still wanted to be a singer, so I decided to take small (and I mean small) steps here and there that would help me overcome my anxiety. I realized that the only way I’d overcome it is to do the things that terrified me, like singing in front of others, speaking in public, making new friends, talking to people. It was hard to force myself to do, but each time I did it, it got a little easier.

One specific example is when I was a junior in high school. I wanted to be in student council my senior year because a lot of my friends were involved, but in order to be elected into a position in student council, I had to give a speech in front of my entire graduating class, which was about 800 people. I couldn’t even give a speech in front of my individual classes of 30-40 of my peers, so how could I do that in front of 800? I could’ve just done the easy thing, said never mind, and went on with my junior and senior year without being in student council, but that wasn’t sitting right with me. I knew I needed to at least try or I would regret it. So, I tried to be as creative as possible. Speaking was still too scary for me and I wasn’t quite ready for that, but singing was a little easier, so I decided to sing instead of speak. I changed the lyrics to a popular song at the time and sang to my class why they should elect me as “spirit commissioner”. It was so nervous, but I did it, and it was a huge turning point for me. That’s when all my friends and peers found out I can sing, and that gave me the confidence to do more and more. I then sang a song at cheer camp a few months later, sang the National Anthem at a spring training baseball game for the first time, and my experience and confidence kept growing from there.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

There are so many different ways people can support artists, but I think the best way is to simply be a fan. Stream their music, follow them on social media, purchase their merchandise, promote them and share their music with your friends and everyone you know!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jenniferhartmusic.com
• Instagram: @jenniferhart
• Facebook: @JenniferHartOfficial
• Youtube: @JenniferHartOfficial
• Other: TikTok: @jenniferhart

Image Credits
Kayla Swayze Robby Stevens Justin Mayotte (Squeeks on Tour) Jonathan Ruff (Tokenbrit Photography)