February Five Facts Friday
I wanted to do something special and different so I decided to write a blog called “February Five Facts Friday”. I asked my fans on my Facebook fan page to ask me anything they wanted to know about me. Many of you sent me questions and I picked the best ones. Here are the top 5 questions.
1. Has any previous musical experiences influenced who you have become today as a musician?
There were several defining moments. The very first defining moment was attending the Virgin Radio / Canadian Music Week Songwriting Workshop. That was I would say the greatest defining moment in my career as I feel it was the turning point. We had the chance to submit a demo and luckily mine was chosen for the critique session. That song was the demo version of my very 1st single “I Don’t Care”.
The 2nd defining moment was meeting Ralph Murphy a great songwriter/producer. He’s actually the one who gave the Songwriting Workshop mentioned above. After the workshop, I asked him what to do in order to pursue my career. He told me that I should attend festivals and music conferences such as the Canadian Music Week and that’s exactly what I did. And by following his advice, I had the opportunity to meet a lot of extremely influential industry people as well as meeting people I’ve been looking up to such as Max Martin and Johnny Wright.
2. Who are your influences in music?
So many people inspire me! I really look up to pop pioneers such as ABBA, Michael Jackson, and Madonna. But I’m also hugely influenced by Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry… Every artist out there is an influence in one-way or another. I grasp a little from everyone; there’s something to be learned from all artists.
3. What or who inspired you to become a singer?
Music has always been in my life. I can’t say that anyone has particularly inspired me to become a singer. I started playing violin at the age of 4. My mother is also a classically trained pianist; that definitely played a huge role in my life. I was brought up surrounded by music. Music was like a natural instinct. It’s never been something I questioned. It always came to me so naturally. The same thing goes to songwriting; it also just came to me.
4. What drives you to keep focusing on music & at the end of it all, what will be your defining moment?
I’ve been in arts my whole life in one-way or another. I did try to do other things but life always brought me back to arts and music. Music would literally keep me up at night because I would repress my burning desire to create music. What drives me now to keep on focusing on music is my love and passion I have for it as well as my thirst for success. I don’t see myself doing anything else. When I made the decision to give music my all, I then decided to go big or go home. I think that you can’t really know what will be your defining moment until you have actually reached it. I will know when I’ll know.
5. What do you like to do in your free time?
I love watching movies; I’m a huge movie buff. I love going to concerts and shows. In winter, I love going downhill skiing but I rarely get a chance to go. I’m also a travelista, I adore travelling as much as I can and as often as I can. I love trying out new restaurants and we’re so fortunate to be blessed with so many great restaurants in Montreal. I love going to the museum. I love spending time trying out new things or discovering new things. I also love extreme sports; my ultimate dream is to paraglide off the Mont-Blanc in Chamonix, France.
A big thank you to all of you who submitted me questions!
Love,
NJ XO
02/26/2016
