With a sound rooted in classic rock and storytelling that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable, Leonie Jakobi is making waves with their new single, “I Deserve to Shine.” A high-energy, old-school rock ‘n’ roll anthem, the track is an empowering declaration of self-worth and resilience. But this is just the beginning—there’s much more to come, including a debut album later this year that promises to bring the spirit of Springsteen-esque live energy to listeners everywhere.

In this interview, Leonie Jakobi opens up about the inspiration behind “I Deserve to Shine,” collaborating with Sir Paul McCartney, and how cities like Liverpool and Nashville have shaped their music. Plus, they share what’s next, from festival performances to the highly anticipated album release.

Congratulations on your new single ‘I Deserve To Shine’ - it’s a high energy old school rock n roll song - tell us about the inspiration behind it?

Thank you so much! The song is a big sigh of relief after finally allowing yourself to be happy. While I believe that community is a big part of a happy life, too often we let other people dictate our mood and we end up making ourselves smaller. There are people out there who are so drawn to sunny personalities but once they get too close, they want to dim your light. I Deserve to Shine basically gives you words of affirmation to keep your own light shining.

You’ve written with Sir Paul McCartney - how did that come about and what was he like? 

I moved to Liverpool in 2018 to study songwriting at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts that he founded and where he’s still partly involved. Every year, they pick a few final year students who get a 1:1 writing session with him, and I was very lucky to get that chance in my last year of uni. He was as kind, funny and interested as everyone has always said that he is. I got to play a few of my songs for him and we worked on them together while chatting about whether it’s important to be stylistically consistent as an artist or if you can allow yourself to explore more genres on one album.

What can you tell us about your new album coming later this year? What are the themes and what was it like writing it? 

I’m beyond excited to finally release my debut album! When I was looking for inspiration and references, I kept coming back to videos of Springsteen’s live shows. If you look at those thousands of faces, every single person is smiling and singing along. It’s pure happiness. That’s what I want people to feel like when they listen to the songs.

The lyrics are all about things I’ve learned in my 20s - how you can’t please everyone, how you’re responsible for your own happiness, how it’s possible to survive heartbreak and loss, and how your life might look different than the one your parents had.

How has Nashville inspired your music and the new album?

I visited Nashville a few times and what I love the most about it is that people there just get things done. You make plans and then you make them happen. That’s what happened with my friend Arielle, who produced the album. She’s a badass singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist and has inspired me immensely with her music and her friendship. My music is very much influenced by Americana storytelling and heartland rock and that’s what I believe comes across on the album – a timeless sound and stories that every generation has experienced.

You were born in Frankfurt but lived in Liverpool - how have these two cities impacted the music you write and which artists inspire you the most? 

What inspired me the most about growing up in Frankfurt was watching my dad play in his local cover band. Bands like Springsteen, Bon Jovi, The Eagles and Status Quo is what I heard them play all the time. Unfortunately, there wasn’t really a local scene in that genre if you wanted to write your own stuff. You had to pick between metal, pop punk or electronic music, so I never felt like I belonged. Coming to Liverpool has changed my life in the way that everyone there plays guitar, loves Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles, and making and watching music is the most normal part of life. It was the first time I felt like I deserve to be a part of this and that my music should be out there.

What’s the biggest struggle you’ve faced as an artist and what’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?

The most important thing I’ve learned is that you’re not making music for other musicians. It can be really intimidating when you’re starting out because you feel like all the “real” musicians are watching you, judging you or they’re simply better and more successful than you. I do believe it is important to make friends with other artists and make things happen together, but don’t put your music out there to impress the world of music. Make music for the people. They don’t need to analyse what you’re playing, they just want to enjoy themselves and feel something.

If you could collaborate with any artist who would it be and why? 

Springsteen! He’ll always be my biggest inspiration, and I think that it could be super interesting to combine both of our perspectives in a song. And if I may add – I believe our voices wouldn’t sound too bad together either!

What’s next for you? Have you got any gigs coming up? 

I’ll be playing Coast Fest in June and Wokingham Festival in August. Apart from that, I’m currently booking some shows to play the album live in Germany and the UK. Until the album is out, I’ll be releasing quite a few more singles, so that’s going to be fun to share!

Author: Andrew Braithwaite

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