Justene

Singer/songwriter Justene Whyte is at the forefront of a new wave of artists that combine both style and substance. Her new EP, “Love Life”  is out now and is available for any price, including free. She is currently playing numerous dates around the UK. The official video for “Falling From Love”, the lead single from the EP is out now. The song was also featured on SBTV to great acclaim.

Bio

London may be the hub for the music industry but it looks like people’s attention is soon to be turning to the East Midlands for some new UK talent from 24 year old, Justene.

The Leicester born and bred singer-songwriter is bringing a distinctively pure sound of midnight soul and R&B tones mixed with a sultry edge, that delivers an undeniably real approach to modern music.

From growing up in a heavily musical family within her house of seven, Justene’s involvement in exploring her talents as a musician came naturally. Barely through Primary school, Justene was expressing a passion for performing whether it be singing in a tribute band to the Spice Girls with her school friends, or practising riffs and harmonies with her brother, Justene was preparing to take to the stage. And rightly so as from a young age the aspiring singer was surrounded by a record collection full of the greats.

“When I was younger I was inspiring by the artists played around the house. There was always a lot of gospel playing such as Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond and Donald Lawrence. But we absolutely loved our girl power anthems from the likes of Brownstone, En Vogue,
Toni Braxton and Whitney Houston”

This was just the beginning of Justene’s musical repertoire and as she grew into her teens Justene gravitated towards powerful modern female artists such as Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child and bands like Coldplay and Keane, which, have now become a significant influence on her music today.

With a batch of these musical giants to refer to Justene took about putting her own stamp on modern music, this began with placing her many thoughts, emotions and ideas to paper. Though her first experience of song writing was a mishap.

“I would jump from talking about relationships, to school, to religion then back to relationships again and that was just the chorus alone. I couldn’t even talk about relationships, I was 10!”-

Justene persevered on. Taking inspiration from the people and environment around her. Justene creates songs with the idea that;

“I want people to feel comforted through my lyrics. I want the listener to know that other people go through the same problems they are facing but also that they can become empowered enough to do something about these problems”.

Now mature and with many experiences behind her Justene is able to draw from situations and emotions to compose a song that is not just worthy of your undivided attention but will no doubt grab it. In knowing this Justene took her powerful voice and ever-evolving lyrical content to the internet to showcase her talent.

Beginning with covers, Justene’s renditions of popular pop songs such as The Script ‘For The First
Time’, Rihanna’s ‘California King Bed’ and Beyonce’s ‘Party’ were just the starting point to unleashing her talent.

“The Beyonce cover was my favourite. I did my own version of the song be re-writing the lyrics. It reminded me of the 90s R&B that I absolutely love and embody in my own music.”

Then a video with number one youth broadcaster SBTV began to spark interest as Justene performed her original song ‘Falling From Love’ illustrating her immensely poetic style of writing and melodic harmonies that lead to waves of positive comments and reactions.

“The support was amazing. It makes me happy to know that people liked it because it is my favourite song that we’ve written so far”.

With her now growing buzz Justene went on to display a harder side of herself with the track “Gone” featuring Nijah. The song produced by Justene’s management and long time collaborators, the producers and writers Soulace Music, showed a gritty side of Justene as she embraces the tougher sounds of production but also in keeping with her signature need for soul.

“Soulace are so innovative, creative and they think outside the box on every production which is why I enjoy working with them so much”.

This was another stepping stone in Justene’s career as from here she went on to support acts such as Tinchy Stryder and N Dubz at London’s biggest indoor festival LiveFest 2011, solidifying her rightful position on the stage as a confident performer.

With these achievements under her belt and creating and moulding her individual sound over the past 3 years, Justene is ready to take those next important steps in her career. With an EP on the way and album out next year full of her signature rich-in-soul vocals, clever production and a retro 90s twang – Justene is set to push boundaries to become a key stand out member of modern music, with this girl you’re either on board, or you can be made to be.

Written by Leanne Joseph

Trivia

Started singing at the age of 7 at school and also at church with my brother (half of production duo The Soulace) Aearon.

Is the 4th child of 6 children (1 sister and 4 brothers) from a single-parent family

Very musical family- all either (or used to) sing, rap or play an instrument

Also loves to dance

Love to spend time having ‘B.T’ (Bonding Time) with her girls

Enjoys reading. Favourite books include ‘Cupcake Brown’ and ‘Gifted Hands’

Favourite magazines are RWD/Look/More

Favourite genre of film is comedy/romcoms ie Superbad and anything with Michael Cera or Jack Black

Loves Friends- Favourite character=Ross

Loves The Inbetweeners and Pete Versus Life

Values loyalty, honesty, trustworthiness and a good sense of humour

Can’t live without tea

3 essential items in my make-up kit= mascara, concealer and Vaseline

Favourite snack= mini cheddars followed by peanut M&Ms washed down with a can of black grape KA

Hates green peas and brussel sprouts

Favourite colour= Purple

ABSOLUTELY LOVES high heels! Heeeey lol!

Favourite soap – Eastenders

Favourite British comedian – Ricky Gervais

When I’m not busy, I spend my time dancing around my room to music in my heels and pretend to be performing at a concert/ or in a music video (everyone does it..no?ok)

Influences

Growing up in a Christian home, I listened (and sung along!) to various Gospel artists such as Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond as well as some of the greats like Dorinda Clarke-Cole and Vanessa Bell-Armstrong. My mum listened to artists like Sade, Toni Braxton, Deborah Cox and Whitney Houston so they were all a part of my ‘vocal lessons’. She was also into the timeless legends and was forever listening to Barry White.

In my early teenage years I began listening to more RnB music, my favourite group being B2K (heeey! Girls you know what I’m talking about wink wink)

Always very mature for my age (yes I was) my taste in music was also and I LOVE the Motown and the Disco eras (Aretha Franklin, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Earth, Wind & Fire). My favourite singer of this time is Beyonce-I LOVE HER! I sing along to all her albums everyday studying her riffs, tone, emotion, phrasing, pronunciation -just everything!

As a songwriter I love how artists/groups like Coldplay, The Script and James Morrison write their songs. More recently I’ve become a huge fan of Jazmine Sullivan who writes very emotional lyrics but is able to execute them every time whether it’s on CD or a live performance. My all time favourite artist has to be Michael Jackson who had lyrical content, an amazing vocal range and the best dance moves (people have told me I dance like him!) – the ultimate performer.

The artists that I listen to regularly at the moment ranges through from Hip-Hop (Kano, Drake) to RnB (Beyonce, Jazmine Sullivan, John Legend, Ryan Leslie) to Indie/Rock (Kings of Leon, Coldplay, Keane, The Script, James Morrison) to Jazzy Soul (Corinne Bailey-Rae) and the list goes on..