“I wanna be the one who makes every other girl fade away…” — Justine Blanchet’s “First Love”
Originally from the Montreal area. “I was raised in a family of four kids and learned a variety of instruments throughout my childhood. I was hospitalized when I was 11 years old for a burst appendix. After staying at the hospital for three weeks due to complications, I was able to go home and made the conscious decision of developing my talents.” What are some of the unique challenges and opportunities of being a Canadian country artist?
Being a Canadian country artist has its pros and cons just like any other country. Our network is a lot more spread out compared to the United States and our major cities are a lot further apart. Things like a radio tour require a little bit more driving. There’s so much amazing Canadian talent yet to be discovered!
Bachelor of Communication/Marketing degree. Launching Nova Media Agency, with a passion for music marketing and strategy for other emerging artists with their journeys. How has the industry changed since you started out?
Back when I started, “American” country music wasn’t as popular as it is today. Artists like Matt Lang helped make that popularity soar in the last few years. Country music has along taken a slight shift leaning towards sounding more pop.
“Women like Shania Twain, Reba, and Lady A all had an impact on my love for country music. I have to say that country music as a whole really impacted my songwriting.” What’s your songwriting process like?
Sometimes inspiration comes in the form of lyrics and sometimes in the form of melody. But more often than not, inspiration comes in the form of lyrics. It will resemble something cleverer — a new take on a popular saying. From there, I like to find a fun and original melody. Either I bring this idea in with another songwriter or I write the song myself if inspiration holds out the entirety of a song.
Perform in both English and French. What are some Canadian things (places, traditions, etc.) that you would love to see celebrated more in country music?
A lot of country songs talk about warmer places like the beach. It could be fun to introduce the idea of places with colder seasons and temperatures!
“Don’t mind me, just getting ready for a new era of music…” First visited Nashville at 14. Drawn to country music history and lyrics and now based in Music City. Who would be your dream collaboration?
I’d love to collaborate with Lainey Wilson, Reba McEntire, or Miranda Lambert!
“Hard To Love,” “This song is about wanting to love someone but because of their emotional unavailability, they don’t realize what’s in front of them. While I didn’t write this song, that feeling of falling for someone — who in turn makes it so difficult to truly love them — resonated with me.” Connecting to others through shared experiences. What is a common shared experience that you’d like to write about next?
I mostly write music based off my personal experiences and do my best to make them sound as common as possible in order to reach a wider audience. I’d love to write about moving away from home and having more distance with family you grew up with.
“I wanna be the one who makes every other girl fade away…” “First Love,” co-written by Emma-Lee, Blake Bollinger, and Claire Wright, includes vocals from Ben Chase. “I was drawn to record this song because it’s more emotional than the title might suggest. It’s really about the longing, sadness, and doubt that can arise from loving your significant other but knowing you aren’t their first love. It was relatable to me because I think there’s something very precious about being someone’s first love.” Speaking of a first time, can you share something special about the first time you wrote a song?
I remember my first song was inspired from a poster on my wall and I tried my best to also research and find some inspirational quotes from the internet. The song ended up being about the process of writing a song.
Finding balance. Enjoying morning walks, the outdoors, and traveling. Where are your bucket list destinations to visit?
I’d love to visit Europe one day along with places like the Bahamas and New Zealand. I want to see as much of the world as possible.