British-born, New York-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer JESSIKA has today released her two-track Christmas release - Christmas Without You - meant to charm audiences during the holiday season. The title-track, which is an original song, explores the theme of being apart from a loved one during the holiday season.

“‘Christmas Without you’ is a special song,” shares JESSIKA. “It’s for anyone who is missing someone at this time of year. It’s a song for the lonely hearts.”

Christmas Without You, which also features her version of the holiday favourite ‘Last Christmas’, follows the release of JESSIKA’s debut album World Ain’t Ready in August via BMG, which has already accumulated over one million streams. Tracks from the album have been added to MTV’s Spankin’ New list, and received airplay and acclaim from Billboard and BBC Radio London, among others. 

On Monday this week (Nov 13), album track ‘Nine Inch Heels’ gained its first play on BBC Radio 2 when JESSIKA joined Scott Mills for his ‘Music Police’ feature, helping a listener, Jo, solve the earworm she had previously called in to the show about. One of JESSIKA’s friends happened to be tuned in to Scott’s show the day Jo sung the song down the line last week, and sent the artist a message to let her know they thought it was her song. When JESSIKA listened back, she realised it was indeed ‘Nine Inch Heels’, and encouraged her fans to contact Scott Mills on social media, and before long, JESSIKA was invited on the show to introduce the track to the national audience.

Adding to a list of increasingly high-profile media appearances, JESSIKA will appear on ITV West Midlands & West Midlands today to discuss her new release. Among other things, she discusses her unique experience covertly inhabiting the BMG Nashville office, after signing a hard-won publishing deal with the company and finding herself in Music City without enough money for a hotel. Entrusted with a key card to write in the studio and realising it granted 24-hour access, she spent the ensuing weeks secretly living in the building and writing what would become the album. After being discovered, she took the bold step of reaching out to Jon Loba, the President of BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville, and requested a meeting, during which - amazed by her dedication and determination - Loba listened to the demos, and signed her on the spot.

World Ain’t Ready, written by JESSIKA and co-produced with Kyle Kelso (Kygo, Aloe Blacc, Galantis), is a testament to the resilience, passion, and extraordinary circumstances that shaped her artistic vision.

Author: Andrew Braithwaite

Andrew is the founder and Managing Director of Music Talkers. He's also a keen music enthusiast and plays the guitar.