Jessica Clemmons is an American singer-songwriter from Houston, Texas, United States. She is the lead singer of country rock band Jess and the Bandits. The group have had a successful career in the UK, and are considered to be one of the bands at the forefront of the rise in popularity of country music in the UK.
History
Jessica Clemmons appeared as a contestant on American Idol in 2005, but didn't make it to the final selection. She credits Paula Abdul's comment "One day we're going to see your name in lights" as the motivation she needed to continue her career as a recording artist. Since then Jessica has released two albums and an EP, and has gone on to support acts such as The Soldiers, The Stylistics, The Overtones and Boyzone.
Musical career
In 2007, Clemmons was introduced by her vocal coach Debbie Beinhorn to a UK-based Music Producer who suggested she travel to the UK to work with him in his London-based studio. Over the months that followed Jessica also travelled to Aarhus, Denmark, where she worked with Eurovision award-winning songwriter on what would become her debut album, Permanent. Once the final track-list was compiled Jessica travelled back to the US, where she finalised the vocal recordings and instrumentation. The album was mixed by Larry Sturm at Pressure Point Studios in Chicago, with additional string arrangements written by Carey Deadman and performed by the Chicago Philharmonic orchestra. The album was officially released in 2009, and included 4 single releases: Permanent, Relentless, Here I Am and I Can Do Anything With You. In 2011, Clemmons joined the British Forces group The Soldiers as the opening act of their 18 date UK and Ireland Theatre Tour. Additional support came from Italian singer Gianluca Paganelli. Later that year she took to the stage again as the only support act for legendary Philadelphia Soul Group, The Stylistics. Jessica joined the band for 24 dates of their UK tour performing songs from her debut album Permanent. Following several years of promotion and touring, she set to writing her second album, this time in both Chicago and London with acclaimed song-writing outfit Phrased Differently, based out of Shoreditch. The album, entitled Loving This Day was released independently in 2012 on Jessica's own record label, After Midnight Girl Entertainment having partnered with UK distribution and marketing company Absolute earlier that year. She released singles "Beautiful" and "Free" in the UK with support from Regional BBC radio stations nationwide, plus national radio support from Graham Norton and Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2. Jessica performed live on BBC Radio London on the JoAnne Good show. At the end of 2012, she was invited to join UK Vocal Harmony Group The Overtones as the only support act for their 27 date UK and Ireland theatre tour. Having spent the last few years co-writing songs that were predominantly pop in genre, Clemmons took some time out to reflect on her career. As a Texas Girl born and bred, Jessica felt that she had drifted from her roots and early inspirations founded from her love of country music. She travelled to Nashville where she focused on writing songs that were honest and reflective. Jessica spent time in the studio with multi-award winning songwriter Jeff Cohen, who won a BMI Award for his song Postcard From Paris, recorded by The Band Perry. Cohen's credits also include Sugarland, Josh Groban, Macy Gray, and Nick Lachey. Jeff introduce jessica to songwriter James T Slater, infamous for his Grammy nominated song In My Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride, and to Country Music star and writer Sherrie Austin. The resulting body of work became Jessica's EP What If, co-written with all three writers, produced by Jeff Cohen and recorded at the Beaird Studios in Nashville. Jessica returned to the UK at the end of 2013 to join Boyzone as the opening act for their critically acclaimed BZ20 20th Anniversary tour. In January 2014 she released her new single Single Tonight, taken from the What If EP. The single was added to the BBC Radio 2 Playlist, and supported by Terry Wogan, Simon Mayo and Vanessa Feltz. while also appearing several times in the background of popular British soap operaEmmerdale.
Critical reception
Clemmons has been compared to Whitney Houston, Kelly Clarkson and Faith Hill. "Loving This Day is an album that has seen Jessica Clemmons experiment with her sound and she has been confident to not go down the same path as her debut record." FemaleFirst "One for grown ups who still want to dance." The Rocker "If this is a heartbreak album, she's strong and upbeat enough to sing with a wry smile at least." Chimeo "Emotion packed and soulful, Jessica isn't a name that I'll be forgetting anytime soon, and if there's any justice in the world, she'll become a household name sooner rather than later." FemaleFirst "The truth is, it might have crept up with little fuss but this EP is a huge step up in Jessica's career and a gamechanger. More of this please, Clemmons." Sonic Reverie "This is a wonderful EP. Clemmons is well worth following. Personally I'm very much looking forward to the release of an album from her in the near future." Review Graveyard
