Having attained so much success at an early age, what words of wisdom would you share with other aspiring artists?
For starters, I think an artist should just stay focused and not turn into a diva. I think that's the main thing. You got to look at the big picture, I think. Sometimes girls and guys out there that are singers and artists, some of their demands are just crazy – about what color of couch they want in the dressing room. I just want hot tea and potato chips. You just can't be too demanding. I think you got to stay grounded and look at the actual goal instead of all the other stuff. It just doesn't make sense to me.
Generally, when an artists starts out so young, they tend to lose their focus. Is there someone you consider to be your mentor in the business?
There is an artist named John Rich who I really, really appreciate. He produced my song "My Cowboy". That's the song that got me my record deal. He's a big Nashville guy and he's said a lot of things that maybe offend a lot of people but he also said a lot of things that people appreciate. He's been working at this his entire life and he's given me great advice: be the best that you can be. I think I really appreciate him in this business. He's really helpful.
During your childhood, you lived all over the place, simply because you were a military brat. What value do you see in having so many diverse experiences?
Moving around really helped me, because it made me really, really strong. I always had to be the new girl. Once, I had to be the new girl three times in one year! [laughing] All of my different experiences forced me to meet new people. So it definitely helped. I was born in Italy, lived in Germany for a little while, lived in Iowa, Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana – I could name more. Now, I am able to be in any scenario, any situation and feel comfortable and make people feel comfortable. I think moving around really helped that.
Now that you are in the spotlight, you have instantly become a role model for countless young fans. Is there a message you want to send to your young, female fans in particular?
My advice is to not let anybody bring you down. I was brought down a lot in school and my advice is don't let anybody do that. My answer is never no. If someone makes you feel not pretty enough or not talented enough, take it as people who are insecure in themselves and are pushing you down to make themselves feel better. You can't listen to that. You are your own star. I think that girls can be very hateful in school. So many people being bullied these days and I was one of them. I think if I had listened to everybody, I wouldn't be where I am right now. It made me a lot stronger. So my advice to girls out there is don't take the abuse. Don't even listen to it. Do your own thing.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - wrhs
That interview is ridiculous. I went to highschool with Jessie and no one ever picked on her. The only drama she had to deal with was the lies she spread about people and the amount of bragging she did. We're all happy for her success we all know she is talented but no one will ever forget who she really is.
2 - ha!
Wow...Are you kidding me? Jessie WAS the bully in school. The only people who actually put up with her "I'm better than you" attitude were the ones who were hoping to use her if she ever got a record deal. She does have a nice voice, so congrats on to her on her success. I hope her voice at least gets her somewhere. However if it doesn't, her fake personality should.
3 - wrhs
i totally agree with never let people get you down, but i dont agree for a second that she was the one being put put down. im happy for her and all, she was never mean to me, but one of my friends got really close to her and ended up being back stabbed horribly. it was more like she was the one she is talking against in this interview.
4 - sbwr
I only hung out with her a couple of times and she always managed to make me feel like I was inadequate to the point that I didn't want to be around her anymore. I don't want to use this as beat on Jessie time though... I'm still very proud of her and will buy her CD's and support her all the way.
5 - ha!
she's pretty and im glad she's made it this far, but she always made me feel like i was a nobody. i won't buy her music.
6 - wr
yeah. i definitely agree with these comments. jessie and i were great friends until one day she just turned her back on me. complete b. i've always thought she was amazing and talented. I'm so glad that she is getting to do what she loves now and i know she will make it far, but i wish she would just stop with all the b.s. because its really getting old. she had friends and everyone loved her until she started talking about them behind her back. she always played the victim but truly was the cause of all the drama.
7 - WRHS
I also went to school with Jessie and i will agree SHE was the bully in school, she acted like it was an honor to be her friend, and for a good couple months i also thought it was an honor. But all she does is talk about people behind their backs and spread lies. Its sad, but i wish her the best of luck anyway.
8 - ha!
I only talked to her one time, but in that ONE conversation she basically told me that she already knew that she was going to make it big, and that she didn't have to "bother with things like college" (she was referring to me, as I had just told her I was in college). I didn't realize that college was such a waste. Maybe it's only good for us "not so important people".
9 - bwrhs
First I want to start off and say that I do think Wanted is a great song...I always listen to it when it plays on the radio. However, talent is not what you are remembered by when you actually do have the chance to get to know the person behind the curtains. I also went to high school with Jessie and although I wasn't a friend, I do have one memory of her I will never forget. She told one of my really good friends that she looked like an uglier version of Carrie Underwood, and meant it as a compliment. It's sad that a person with talent like Jessie has such a misconception of how people should be treated.
10 - wrhs
jessie and i were really good friends at wrhs in ga. i thought she was awesome and it was really cool being friends with someone so talented. until she started traveling and totally forgot about me. i really considered her one of my best friends and it was really sad to try so hard and get rejected like i was a nobody all of a sudden. i totally agree with these comments. we had a whole group we were all friends with and she found a way to make every single one of us hate her for a different reason each. it's really sad. she may be successful but it fades, who she is unfortunately never will.
11 - wrhs
Wow I clicked on the link to view her interview, I wouldn't be advertising this kind of publicity haha. I met her in Tennessee and she was a wench. Totally conceited it was sad, I even see it in this interview. People like her never last long.
12 - Jordan Richardson
Is her whole high school planning on dropping by and posting behind anonymous screen names?
13 - ha!
Not her whole high school, just the people that didn't like the way she treated them. :)
14 - wrhs
I didn't go to high school with her but I am guessing the people who did all have a point if they are all saying the same thing. I knew her from after high school and I feel the same way. I am guessing maybe these people, including me would rather not exploit their identity to the world, rather tell the world how she is if they're gonna be fans. Ive met many people that I thought were awesome before, and after meeting them I was no longer a fan, she was definitely one of them.
15 - Jordan Richardson
Why would "the world" need to know how she is (or was, according to you) if they want to be her fans? I don't understand the correlation, nor do I understand the obsession.
If you didn't like the way she treated you in high school, surely there are better ways to get over that than swarming an interview she's done.
Also, if you're hinging whether or not you're a fan of somebody on how "awesome" their personality might be, you're in for a lifetime of disappointment.
16 - wrhs
who ever said "need" to know? no one needs to. but you feel the need to defend someone that you obviously don't know. let her treat you the way shes treated everyone else on here. you wouldn't be acting like a hard ass then. and i believe the term swarm woulc account for one person posting all of these. and i highly doubt that is true. in truth my comment is just in reply to your naive one. im sure many people are dissapointed in people they have met that they were fans of, thats the cost of liking people you dont know. so why not give people a heads up, obviously you need one anyway, or maybe she just hasnt victimized you yet...
17 - wrhs
Thanks for the defense "wake up". I'm really not here to bash a girl's world but just don't lie in interviews where the people you hurt read them. It's mad to think she wouldn't have people angered by that.
18 - Jordan Richardson
Well, that went over your head(s).
19 - ha!
her rudeness covers up her talent.
20 - This is harsh-but true
I agree with all this. I get the impression that she thinks she's prettier than she is... I mean , she's a decent girl, but let's get real...not a natural beauty for sure. And there are THOUSANDS of other people out there who sound just as good if not way better. She portrays to be classy, but there isn't ANYthing classy about her. Def not a role model type - AT ALL. Lyrics are filthy. I def wouldn't want my little girl listening to her songs. Also sending nude pictures to people isn't classy either. And they will get out... ;) She'll last 5 minutes- 10 years from now ....no one will remember her name.
21 - This is harsh-but true
All this is true- I wend to high school with Jessie at WRHS...She was always trying to portray this "good girl" kind of image...just because you don't drink or party...doesn't make it okay to be a slut. She was such a whore. She'd do any guy that looked her way. I always felt like she was striving for attention because thats the only way she could get it... Pretty much BEG for it. I really feel bad for her...Maybe she doesn't get love or attention from her family- or mom and dad..so she try's to get it from others?? She has so much potential and I feel like she's wasting it on being a SLUT. There's still hope for her to turn her life around... But its hard for someone to change their ways after living one way for so long! But may God bless anyways... much love
22 - This is harsh-but true
went*
23 - Andrea just passin thru
wow to all the comments...I can see she has ticked off more people than pleased, and yes, personality is important in the industry as far as a loyal fan base. Shania was possibly the rudest person I've ever met for 5 minutes, (I was shocked and found out others had similar experiences with her) and if Jessie is like her then that is sad. Nobody is perfect and you can't please everybody AT ALL. But I hope if she sees this she will consider being more careful with how she treats the "little" people in the future and doesn't forget how blessed she is. I download songs I like, but I only BUY from singers I relate to and like in interviews and how they live and treat their fans. ie. Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson....NOT Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne.
24 - Andrea just passin thru
BTW, I am SO over every "celeb" claiming they were "picked on" and "bullied" in school and "look at me now!" Get over yourself. EVERYONE feels/felt that way at one point or another, but I HIGHLY doubt she was the victim nearly as often as she was the instigator of the trouble. Bullied is when you are a quiet, shy, self-conscious girl who gets talked about by cliquish groups because her teeth have a gap or her hair is frizzy or her clothes are cheap. And when she gets shoved down in the hall and then the people pretend they didn't do it and start laughing. And when people mimic her lisp or stutter while she's reading out loud. And when the yearbook staff cut her off of pictures. I saw my best friend in the world suffer that. Something tells me that Jessie does not know what it means to be "Bullied."
25 - Robert james
Well I am her Dad and it sounds like to me that she is just like her stuck up mother that thinks that she is better then GOD. Oh and as far as Jessica Rose James, she doesnt even talk to me and I am her father. [Personal contact info deleted]