“I think that music and the ability to write it, is truly something that is a gift from God. I say that in an extremely humble way. He has certain people that he gives songs to and some of those songs get heard and some are just for the writer.”

For our Swag Spotlight feature this week, we got to interview a talented singer-songwriter, who has been in the business since high school. Paulina Jayne is an incredible country music artist, who has a way with words, beautiful vocals, and the wit, drive, and passion that is necessary to make it in the music world.

Born in Michigan, Jayne fell in love with music and songwriting before she even recognized what she was doing. After her mother made her take piano lessons, she began writing songs on the piano rather than playing the notes created by different composers. It wasn’t until a sixth-grade talent show that the songstress realized she was given a gift, “I realized after I played that I really loved doing that.”

Her love for music only grew when she played a show at a dive in Detroit. “One of my family members actually brought a few people from the music industry in Detroit to my show,” she told us, only to add, “The next thing I know, six months later, I wind up signing with my first management [company] the day before going into high school. That was the true beginning of [music] turning into an actual career for me.”

Although she grew up on more Motown inspired artists, such as Bob Seger and Stevie Wonder, Jayne also loved artists like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Shania Twain, but it was not until her management company told her, that she realized what she was doing. “I started to write these lyrics that were stories in a song and so I think what my management company saw was that I was writing country music before I had even realized it.” Even crazier, Jayne didn’t even consider herself to be a country fan until she fell in love with Kenny Chesney’s hit single “Beer in Mexico.”

This catapulted Jayne to the big stages, opening for artists like Sam Hunt and Sheryl Crow at the beginning of her career. She even got to write with some elite songwriters such as J.T. Harding and Shane McAnally. Eventually, after high school, she realized that she wanted to live in Nashville full-time, choosing to advance her career and knowledge of the industry by enrolling at Belmont University.

She spent her time at Belmont cultivating connections, playing shows, but more importantly, just being a passionate, college student. As a student, Jayne decided to rely on her peers and the student body to create what she originally wanted to be, a student run record label, using herself as the flagship artist. The business helped her song “Love’s Gonna Always Win” get not only national but international attention and caught the ear of major labels like Warner Music Nashville. Eventually, Jayne realized that what her and her peers had created was an artist management company. That company is still thriving today.

“It’s so special to know that a bunch of kids that were 18, 19, 20- that were willing to come together and do this crazy idea with me and believe in it. And then believe in me,” adding, “Like I said, there are just some things that I have experienced that are so hard to come by and I try to be worthy of them”.

Flash forward to today, Jayne has garnered a loyal following of fans, as well as, a unique perspective and experience about how the music industry works. She continues to garner partnerships, including partnering with Ford Motor Companies and continues to play shows across the country. In April, the rising artist will released one of her most meaningful songs to date entitled “Everybody’s Somebody.” The song was inspired by her late grandmother, who had late stages of dementia, which she revealed through a touching story that she shared with us, during our interview.

“My grandma was in the last few days of her life,” she tells us, “I played the melody for her […] and I’ll never forget how moved she was.” She knew right then and there that this song had to be lyrically about her relationship with her grandmother. “I want to write a song for people who maybe didn’t feel known in their time on earth, but definitely should have been. Because everybody has a story and some of them get heard, and some of them don’t get heard.” She later, eloquently added “I wrote this song for her and for the little girls in their bedrooms who are sitting there wondering if anyone ever remembers them. And for myself to.”

We are excited to see how fans react to Jayne’s soon to be released tune, and we know that she will continue to turn more and more country fans on to her music and her charm.

To keep up with Paulina Jayne follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

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