We surely live in a society – a society that often makes us feel like it’s a crime to celebrate ourselves. But guess what? Today, Canadian breakout singer/songwriter JESSIA is saying “NOT ON MY WATCH!” by releasing the music video for her viral track “I’m not Pretty.”
(Metaphorically, of course. “I’m not Pretty” is a song about loving your body, and ultimately loving who you are. When you’re jamming out to this song, there’s simply no time to do anything other than hype yourself up!)
As a matter of fact, millions of people around the world have been hyping up “I’m not Pretty” since its release in January. JESSIA introduced the song on Tik Tok by posting a clip of the hook, questioning whether it would resonate with her audience or not. To her surprise, the clip racked up a million views in a day! Since January 1st, the clip has been viewed over 100 million times, and the official version of the song has exceeded 43 million streams on Spotify.
If that’s considered queen behavior, then JESSIA is on the right track. Being the daughter of a music instructor, JESSIA learned how to play the guitar and started writing music as a child. She went off to college to major in vocal performance, and entered the music business by writing and singing for electronic artists. But in 2019, JESSIA felt as though she was loosing touch with her creative side, and took up a job as a travel agent.
On her way home one night, an idea occurred to JESSIA. She stopped at a park to write “Tell Me,” and more inspiration began to flow. JESSIA started to realize just how liberating songwriting can be, and made it a mission to empower others (and herself!) with her lyrics. “I write my songs to get me through the day and it’s like my own personal therapy session,” she shares. “If it helps other people, that is just the cherry on top.“
“I’m not Pretty” marked a huge turning point in JESSIA’s career. The track caught the attention of fellow artists and tastemakers all around the world, including Ryan Tedder! After listening to “I’m not Pretty” for the first time, Ryan reached out to JESSIA to show some love and to collaborate. The two are putting some finishing touches on new tunes, which will be out soon.
But for JESSIA, “I’m not Pretty” is part of a bigger plan. She hopes to shed light on issues affecting Gen Z-ers everywhere, like the way body images are percieved. She explained, “This is about self-love and body acceptance for everyone–all of humanity. I’m singing about eating disorders and personal insecurities. If you’re struggling, definitely ask for help. I want this song to be a tool for people to realize how amazing they are, and how liberating it is to accept yourself.This song is not meant to seek validation from other people’s opinions. It is about your own relationship with yourself and your own body. It’s an important relationship that is not talked about enough. Be proud of who you are and know sometimes it’s a long journey to get there. Smile at yourself in the mirror, jiggle your belly, and be okay with being a human.”
Shooting the music video for “I’m not Pretty” was an absolute joy for JESSIA. She described it as a “surreal experience,” detailed that she “kept looking around set and asking myself, ‘are all of these people here for me and my song? What? Am I really here right now? What a time. It was such a party on set! SUCH A BLAST!”
Go ahead and jump for joy too! Check out the “I’m not Pretty” music video below.