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Jillian Rossi - Artist of the Week (05.09)

It has been quite the year for up and coming artist Jillian Rossi. She graduated early from Berklee College of Music and released two singles, “So What” and “under the weather”. “So What” went viral on TikTok and caught the attention of thousands as a new anthem for body positivity. On top of that, the “So What” music video, that features several other TikTok stars, landed her a feature in Rolling Stone India. “So What” has since amassed over 1 million streams on Spotify alone. Since the release, Jillian has been hard at work writing and creating new music with her friends, and has just released her newest and highly anticipated single, “Fever Dream”. I got the chance to hop on a video call to chat with Jillian about her whirlwind of a year, the release of “Fever Dream”, and what’s to come! 

“Fever Dream” is about a toxic relationship that Jillian has talked about before in an earlier single, “txt me when u get here”. She recalled, “The story is a way more dramatic version of ‘txt me when you get here’ in a really weird way. It’s the same guy, it's the same story, the same nights that I refer to for inspiration for some reason. We did it up and made it super sad.” The ballad is powerful and, as Jillian likes to say, the perfect song to scream in the car when you’re sad. Released on April 28th, “Fever Dream” immediately earned a place on the iTunes Top 100 Pop Songs in the US, as well as charts across the globe. 

You may also recognize Jillian Rossi from her TikTok videos showcasing her incredible vocal talent, which she credits to her classical training. “That just put my voice in a whole other territory. I was a good singer before, but being classically trained made me a great singer with a big range. It helped me learn how to breathe right”. On top of her training, she is also committed to treating her vocal chords properly by not smoking, drinking lots of tea, and making sure to do vocal warm ups before singing. 

While Jillian has seen a lot of success with her recent singles, she is the first person to credit all of the people who collaborated with her for these projects. That includes other songwriters from Berklee and TikTok, producers, and more. She told me, “Growing up I used to write solo, I had never done a session in my life. Since Berklee and being in certain classes, sometimes I’m the writer in the room for another person, but in these cases for my own project, I like to have people too because you never know who is gonna say what, or who might give an idea that you never thought of lyrically”.

Currently, Jillian is focused on her music more than ever, and is even moving out to LA to continue living out her dream. You can catch up with Jillian on TikTok and Instagram (@jillianxrossi), and be sure to check out her newest single, “Fever Dream”, available on all platforms now!

CONNECT WITH JILLIAN

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