Cerro was born in Sydney on 14 August 1995, and was raised in the Hills District. Her father Gus was a soccer/football player who played in the Australian National Soccer League, as well as for Negeri Sembilan FA and Pahang FA in Malaysia. Cerro has stated that her "ethnic background is a mixture of Argentinian, Spanish, Filipino and French".
2012–13: Career beginnings
Jessica Cerro was a Triple J Unearthed High School finalist in 2012 with her indie pop song "Anyone But Me" but waited until finishing high school to pursue her music career. In November 2012, Cerro signed a publishing deal with Albert Music and spent the following two years refining her songwriting skills under the guidance of Michael Szumowski. In late 2013, Cerro decided to adopt the moniker Montaigne, inspired by the 16th century philosopher and essayist Michel de Montaigne. Shortly after completing her HSC Montaigne began recording her debut EP with producer Tony Buchen.
2014–16: ''Glorious Heights''
In 2014, Montaigne released her first single "I Am Not an End", which was added to high rotation on Triple J. In July 2014 Montaigne signed a management and recording deal with Wonderlick Entertainment. On 21 November 2014, she performed "I Am Not an End" for the radio station's Like a Version segment, along with her cover of Sia's "Chandelier". The song was listed as its 36th most played song of 2014. The same day Montaigne also released her second single "I'm a Fantastic Wreck" in conjunction with the Life of Montaigne EP. "I'm a Fantastic Wreck" also received high rotation on Triple J and Sydney-based community radio stationFBi Radio, which also listed the song as its eighth most played song of 2014. Montaigne was selected by San Cisco as the support act for their Run tour in November 2014. Shortly after, she was also chosen by Megan Washington to be the main support for her February 2015 national There There tour. In January 2015, Montaigne won FBi Radio's Next Big Thing Award at its annual SMAC Awards, which recognises "the musicians, artists, performers, restaurants and events that shaped the Sydney's creative culture in 2014". Montaigne announced her first headline tour in February 2015, visiting Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth in April. In August 2015, she released "Clip My Wings", the first single from her debut studio album, Glorious Heights. In January 2016, Montaigne released "In the Dark", the second single from her debut album, along with the announcement of the In the Dark Tour. A music video for the song followed in March. The following month, she featured on Hilltop Hoods' song "1955", which reached number 2 in Australia. In June 2016, Montaigne released the third single from her debut album, titled "Because I Love You". The album, Glorious Heights, was released on 5 August 2016. On 30 July, "Because I Love You" debuted at number 98 on the ARIA Singles Chart, marking Montaigne's first solo chart appearance. In November 2016, at the ARIA Music Awards of 2016, Montaigne won the ARIA award for Breakthrough Artist – Release.
2017–present: ''Complex'' and ''Eurovision''
On 4 May 2017, Montaigne was featured on Akouo's single "Feel That". In 2018, she was featured on the track "The Best Freestylers in the World" from the Aunty Donna album, The Album. In November 2018 Montaigne released "For Your Love" as the lead single from her upcoming sophomore album. In June 2019, she released the second single "Ready" alongside the announcement that the album would be titled Complex. On 9 August 2019, the album's third single "Love Might Be Found " was released. The album was released on 30 August 2019, and debuted at #19 on the ARIA albums chart. On 6 December 2019, Montaigne, along with fellow singer Didirri, was announced as two out of the ten participating performers for Eurovision - Australia Decides the Australian national final in which the winner would represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Don't Break Me". On 8 February 2020, she won the competition, and would have competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, to be held in Rotterdam in May 2020, but on 18 March 2020, Eurovision announced that the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 has been cancelled due to the uncertainty created by the spread of COVID-19. On 19 March 2020, Montaigne made a Facebook post clarifying her feelings saying "I've had my cry. I spent a couple of hours paralysed in bed, despondently scrolling through the many lovely tweet mentions from people expressing their love and support. I imagine I'll probably have a lot more cries in the next little while, for me and for the wonderful team who were working with me to make our vision come to life." She stated that she agreed with the cancellation choice saying it is "the most responsible and ethical decision that the EBU could have made." On 2 April 2020, SBS confirmed Montaigne will represent Australia at the 2021 contest. On 16 February 2020, Montaigne appeared as part of the Hilltop Hoods' Fire Fight Australia set, joining them for "1955".
The APRA Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise composing and song writing skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards are annual awards, which recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
