Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica Lynne Witty. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jessica Lynne, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
If I am the only one in the room that looks like me, I have at least done one thing right: you want to be the only one in the room that looks like you! If you look like everyone else in the room, there is a good chance you are not being yourself. Learning to fully embrace who you are, all the aspects that make you uniquely YOU is a lifelong journey.
Standing out by being yourself is, in my opinion, the only way to truly be successful.
But there is another way I experience being “the only one who looks like me”. At times, especially as a country music singer and songwriter, it can feel like you’re the only woman around. Women in the industry receive much harsher criticism than the men, and along with that a lot less airplay. Less than 12% of country music mainstream is sung by women, and half of those are in collaboration with male artists. Most people don’t know how much the odds are still against women in music, and particularly in the male-dominated country music world.
As an independent artist, I have experienced this gap my entire career. The only options are to once again truly be myself, as well as educate the public about this inequality.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Deciding somewhat late in life to become a country artist is not for everyone. I grew up in Denmark and in 2010 I moved to the US to pursue this dream. It was the first time in my life I felt fully dedicated to one thing, one goal. As a child and young adult, I was always moving from one creative outlet to another, but never feeling 100% committed to pursuing any of them as a career choice.
This time it was different. Fully committed, I moved halfway across the world and began step by step to build my music and brand, paying my dues and making all the mistakes that would teach me so much.
Fast forward to today: I have spent the last 15 years fully committed to becoming the most successful country singer and songwriter I could be. It has given me a sense of tremendous joy and fulfilment in my life. I’ve had moments where I needed to re-commit to my journey, like the devastating year of 2020 that had a tremendous impact on most of the so-called “non-essential” industries.
After years of extensive touring, I have shifted my focus slightly away from live performances to focusing more on songwriting and creating recordings. This has been a rewarding shift and has allowed me to spend more time with family and prioritize differently.
I have enjoyed all the aspects of music at different times throughout my career, and this last shift has allowed me to seek creative outlets outside of music as well. At the core, I am a creative soul and the true creation of making something out of nothing has always given me great joy.
Joining in on collaborations that are completely different from my main style of music, which is country, have allowed me to diversify and explore outside my comfort zone.
This next year will allow me to advance further into different genres of music that have always been close to my heart, like bluegrass for instance, unencumbered by the need to fit into any particular mold.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Mindset… self worth… and be an entrepreneur…
One of the reasons I did not get started on my music career until relatively late in life was because of my mindset. Once I learned how the concepts of a “fixed mindset” and a “growth mindset”, which was a great description for one of the biggest things that held me back, my world was blown wide open. I had the fixed mindset of “you either got it or you don’t”, which is very constricting. It kept me in the belief that if I couldn’t already sing like (Adele, Carrie Underwood, Mariah Carey) I was never going to. Nothing is further from the truth. With a growth mindset there is the element of “you can do anything you set your mind to” – a far cry from the “these are your options” mindset I grew up with.
As I expanded on my beliefs about mindset, I came to understand that yes, we are all born with different aptitudes. But those talents are not what make us successful. It can give us a leg up or a head start, but what truly matters is being willing to learn and bend and change and develop ourselves.
It can be very tempting to lean on other people’s feedback for your own self-worth. And when we don’t get the feedback we expect or think we deserve we get despondent. On the flipside of this, also know where you are truly at. The most important thing to remember is that no one is going to care about your music more than you (or as much as you). So, when it comes to working hard, paying for recordings, for travel, entering competitions or being considered for awards – be humble and appreciative, and remember to rejoice in others’ success. And know when you still have a ways to go before you deserve that “artist of the year award” or that great writeup in the rolling stones. Find your worth elsewhere – look to the reward of the art itself, not on what other people think, say or do. It’s none of your business anyways.
Be willing to do anything BUT music (or insert your passion area here). This is a big one. Careers have stagnated because artists don’t understand that they are in effect entrepreneurs. In the beginning you are the CEO, accountant, tour manager, music director, producer, roadie, marketing, PR & social media associate. The smallest part of all this is the actual art. Too many talents wasted on an “I just want to play” attitude without the willingness to become a small business owner in the process.
As for advice… There is no right or wrong way to do this. When people think they have the answers to how to make it in the music industry, before they can even put that plan into action, it changes. So do it YOUR way. Be yourself, make the music/art you love, no matter what is popular or trending. If it’s German polka music or Broadway musical classics, go for it. It’s a waste to try and hit the next social media or YouTube trend, because once you get to it, it’s already been done. Every genre has an audience, you just have to be authentic and make the art that fills your heart with joy.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
So many good questions to choose from… but this one hit me, because in late 2021 I was diagnosed with ADHD. And one of the key symptoms is overwhelm paralysis. I’ve always known I’ve had ADHD (or ADD as they called it when you weren’t hyper) but as a girl in the 80’s and 90’s there was not many who got diagnosed. So for the first 40 years of my life, I have been coping with the use of life hacks and organization skills, overworking and pushing through when executive dysfunction would set in or the inevitable forgetfulness would impact my life/work/relationships.
In 2021, I crashed. In true ADHD-burnout style (which is so much more severe than a “regular” burnout) I went from high-functioning to non-functioning, while attempting to tour, record, travel and continue my very demanding music career.
I don’t believe every person with ADHD needs to be medicated, and sometimes the medication becomes a substitute for learning skills that are beneficial to adulting with ADHD. For me, however, there was no other way – I needed to level out this chemical imbalance in my brain. It can take some time to find the right medication and dosage and after figuring out what works for me, I have found a much more grounded and balanced way of being in the world.
Some say it’s popular to get a neurodivergent diagnosis these days, and some don’t believe that these neurological disorders even exist. From someone on the outside looking in, I can tell you with 100% certainty it does. And I believe so many are getting late life diagnoses because they were overlooked as children and simply overworked themselves to a point of burnout, where a diagnosis and medical care was necessary.
This new outlook has helped me reevaluate what is truly important to me. And I have let certain things go completely that I thought I would be holding on to forever. I have started prioritizing things that have been so low on my list, they barely existed. Most importantly, once I realized I was spending more time on things I didn’t enjoy that things I did, I reorganized my entire life.
Overwhelm paralysis can have many reasons. For me it took a life overhaul to get to the core of it. But I often remember the old saying of “how to eat an elephant? …one little bite at a time”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jessicalynnewitty.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jessicalynnewitty
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/jessicalynnewitty
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jlynnewitty
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/jessicalynnewitty
Image Credits
Barbara Potter Photography
Chelsea Smith from Urban Bay Photography
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