Who is Jenna Davis? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music
Who is Jenna Davis? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about her journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…
Quick Facts:
Full Name – Jenna Davis
Birthdate – 5/05/2004
Hometown – Born in Plano, TX // lived in Chaska, MN and moved to LA at 11 years old
Current City – splits time between Nashville (Franklin) and Los Angeles
Musical Influences – LeeAnn Rimes, Miley Cyrus, Dolly Parton and Carrie Underwood
Label – SMACKRecords
Current Single – “DiCaprio”
The Beginning:
Today’s spotlight artist has been in the limelight for most of her life. While you may know her from her impressive social media presence, Jenna Davis has been a lover of music and an entertainer her whole life. As a newly signed recording artist, she is reemerging as one of country music’s brightest new stars.
“I was born in Plano, Texas. My mom was a piano and voice teacher, so my entire life I’ve been surrounded by music. I think her and I have shared that bond my entire life. I’ve been pretty much singing since I could speak,” began Davis.
Ever since she was young, the singer-songwriter recalls listening to country music and falling in love with the genre. “My biggest influences are probably Miley Cyrus, Carrie Underwood, and LeAnn Rimes,” she shared. Adding later, “My mom also introduced me to Dolly Parton and LeAnn Rimes at a really young age, so country music has been in my life because of her. She introduced me to these icons and legends when I was really, really young.”
At just four years old, Davis and her family moved to Minnesota, where she discovered musical theater. “I started doing musical theatre when I lived there. I did community theater and then I did professional theater. That was I guess what gave my love of acting, music, and performing, and that’s when I realized that’s what I wanted to do with my life.”
Because her star power was so evident, Davis began making trips out to LA with her mom to pursue her multi-faceted dreams. “We started branching out into acting a bit more, so when I was eleven years we started coming out to LA a lot more. I present myself as a three-legged stool, where I have an acting, music, and social media leg, and whatever I’m not working on, I’m working on the other.”
The Turning Point:
At around eleven years old, Davis made the move to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams. With the help of her mom, the singer started to record and post covers of her singing on her Instagram. “We started doing parking garage covers in my apartment building. […] We would sing three or four covers a week, and that’s how we grew my instagram following.”
In order to feel a closer connection to her growing fanbase, Davis decided to showcase more of her life on social media, aside from her singing aspirations and talents. “As that grew, I decided not only to show my singing side, but also who Jenna is as a person, because I think if you are relatable with your audience and your audience can understand not only you as an artist but you as a person, it just gives them a sense of that you are actually a person and a personal connection.”
However, at just fifteen years old, Davis started to write her own songs. “I started songwriting when I was fifteen after my first love and my first heartbreak,” she shared. “It became kind of my outlet, and I started releasing music, and getting into the country space. I’ve been going out to Nashville for about, running on three years now.”
While visiting Nashville, Davis cultivated connections with industry people and fellow songwriters, including SMACK. Despite the fact that they were interested in her at seventeen years old, she did not become SMACKRecords flagship artist until two years later, when she officially signed her record deal.
“I remember the day that the article came out, I was crying happy tears. […] I knew they were the right team for me since I was seventeen years old, but I didn’t think I was ready then yet. […] I just feel very blessed because it feels like the exact right place that I need to me.”
Today:
Now as a nineteen year old, Davis is a budding new artist. “I’m leaning into country as much as I can because it’s where I want to be and where I see myself,” she shared. Upon signing her record deal with SMACK, the singer released her debut single, “DiCaprio.”
For Davis, it was important to choose a song for her debut that spoke to her as a person and as an artist. After, going through many songs with her team, she knew “DiCaprio” was the winner.“My team and I were just listening to a few songs,” she began. “When I got back to my apartment my manager texted me and said “I forgot to send you this one,” and it was “DiCaprio” and she told me it was written by Walker Hayes, Kelsea Ballerini, and Ross Copperman, and when I heard those three names, I turned to my mom and I was like I think I’m going to love this one already.”
After the first listen, it was clear to Davis that “DiCaprio” would be her first single under SMACKRecords. “It’s so lyrically clever and it has such a fun beat,” shared the songstress. “Ironically, it mentions about LA, and me being out in LA for sometime, it felt right. I loved the sass to it, and the ability to move around. I imagine singing it live with perhaps dancers, and playing it live.” “DiCaprio” is one of those songs that is catchy and upbeat, yet has a message to it, which is sometimes hard to find. This is something that Davis knew off the bat, adding to her decision to release the track first.
Looking ahead, Davis is working on readying her debut EP. “I’m very excited to dive into a forthcoming EP, and putting that together, and getting more and more into the country space.” More music is certainly underway, stay tuned!
Connect:
Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news and announcements about future Jenna Davis releases.
To keep up with Jenna Davis, follow her on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook.
Jenna Davis’ music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.
