At Vanity Teen, we’re thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with Jacklyn, a rising singer-songwriter from West London who’s making waves in the music scene. A graduate of the renowned BRIT School, where she discovered her creative identity, Jacklyn joins a legacy of alumni like Adele and Amy Winehouse. In this conversation, she opens up about her debut EP, “I’ll Be Fine…”, an intimate project that delves into love in all its forms—heartbreak, self-discovery, and the joy of finding healthy love. With influences ranging from early 2000s pop-punk to alt-pop and R&B, Jacklyn takes us on a sonic journey like no other. She also reflects on opening for artists like Cat Burns and Lola Young and writing for stars such as Jorja Smith. Join us as we explore the story behind her music, her inspirations, and her exciting plans for the future.
Tell us about yourself
My names Jacklyn. I’m a singer-songwriter from West London. Music has always been a huge part of my life, I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember (as cliché as it sounds!). I’ve always loved how it can capture any emotion and make you feel truly understood. I went to the BRIT School, which has an incredible list of alumni like Adele, Amy Winehouse, FKA Twigs, Olivia Dean, and so many more. It was there that I really discovered my creative identity and started to figure out where I wanted my music to take me.
• Your debut EP is about to drop, what has the journey of creating and promoting this project been like, and what do you hope listeners will experience when they hear these new tracks?
‘I’ll Be Fine…’ captures the trials and tribulations I’ve experienced with love in my early adulthood not just my own, but through the experiences of those close to me. It explores love in all its forms. The first half of the EP shows the angsty, raw side of me, wrestling with how I once saw love. By the end, you’ll hear a more mature version of me, where I find happy, healthy love. I hope listeners use this EP as a form of therapy in whatever mood they may be feeling! Whether it’s angst, self realisation and self love, sadness in losing love or happiness in finding love.
• Was there a pivotal moment during the writing process where the theme of ‘I’ll be fine…’ became clear to you? How did that realisation shape the final EP?
Originally the EP had a completely different name and had a few songs in there that didn’t end up making the cut. When I finally got through the tracklist and storyline I knew the name I originally had didn’t feel like it was true to the story I was trying to tell. I sat down with my boyfriend one night and we went through different names we thought could work and listened to all the songs on the EP back to front and wrote out a few lyrics from each song, until we decided the lyrics “I’ll be fine” in ‘Tuff Love’ felt the most uplifting,raw and relatable. It felt like that was what the EP was there for! To remind me that no matter what life’s throws at me “I’ll be fine”.
• The sound of this EP feels like a blend of different genres. What were some of your musical influences when creating it?
I think I went into making this EP with the intention of just writing and singing what felt right and what felt true to me and my emotions on that specific day! There’s definitely a huge influence of early 2000’s punky/pop at the start of the EP with “You’re boring, I’m bored”, with the element of surprise being reggaeton drums. There’s just some really nice fun alt pop, pop and r&b influences in some of the Melodie’s and beats in the EP. I kind of wanted the songs to feel somewhat familiar.
• Was there a particular song on the EP that was especially challenging to write or record?
“Bad dreams” probably was one of the hardest ones for me. This song was probably one out of maybe two songs in the EP that were written out in the rawest forms. Which was when I was really living and breathing those feelings then and there in that moment! It’s about almost losing someone really close to me, which really affected my mental and physical state for a long while actually. So when writing it, I didn’t want the production to be sad and gloomy, because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to finish writing the song! Instead I wanted the lyrics to feel heavy and carry the emotions I was feeling there in the moment. But the beat to sit somewhere lighter where it felt like I could cry and dance to it in my room on full blast anytime I felt low.
• You’ve had the chance to open for artists like Cat Burns and Lola Young. How has this collaboration influenced your music and your growth as an artist?
It was honestly the most amazing experience opening for both Cat and Lola! Both their fan bases are so warm and welcoming. I think being close friends with them both individually is amazing and they both have inspired me to keep going and pushing in my journey.
• Alongside your own work, you’ve written songs for artists like Giggs, Jorja Smith, and Majestic. What differences do you find between writing for other artists and creating your own music, and how has this experience enriched your creative process?
It can sometimes feel a little easier writing for other artists because you don’t emotionally need to attach yourself to the song. Whereas when writing a song for yourself It can sometimes feel harder because if you’re a perfectionist, which I am, it can be really be hard to know when to leave the song alone and let it be! However, I tend to embrace this and primarily write songs for myself now.
• What’s next on the horizon for you? Can we expect more music soon?
There is definitely a lot more music on the horizon! There may be a 2nd EP not far. But for now I’m just excited for “I’ll be fine” to have her moment and the new year will be seeing a lot more of me and new music :)