There are some voices that stop you in your tracks as soon as you hear them, voices with a triple threat of power, beauty and uniqueness. JACOTÉNE, a future icon from Melbourne, possesses one such voice. It’s the kind that sounds instantly timeless and full of its own rich character and soul.
Winning comparisons to the greatest voices of our time and blowing minds with her powerful sound. JACOTÉNE garnered industry attention when her track ‘I Need Therapy’ was awarded the Unearthed High prize on Australian national radio station Triple J. This and a series of demos she shared in 2023 opened up a wealth of new opportunities, giving JACOTÉNE the room to experiment, invaluable to her growth as an artist. “That gave me a whole new level of confidence,” she shares. “I think it came from me just doing what I want and what I do best.” That experimentation continued through 2024, as the young artist focused on a quest for sound discovery.
Now, she’s ready to officially introduce herself to the world with ‘Stop Calling’, which ushers her into the spotlight in confident, commanding form. “It’s a song of independence and taking over,” she explains, her inimitable voice portraying someone fed up with a partner’s suspicious activity and leaving them in the dust. “Stop calling, stop calling / Boy, please get off my line,” she instructs, vocals effortlessly flipping from stunning falsetto to a soaring warning. ‘Stop Calling’ sets the scene for JACOTÉNE’s journey of exploration into adulthood, leaning into soulful sonics that are key to her creative expression. The first of a series of upcoming track releases, culminating in an EP in spring 2025. The music that’s to come, the star says, is united by “a force”: “The songs are really charged – some are relaxing, but the rest are ones to get you out of your seat and start dancing.”
Growing up, surrounded by classic artists thanks to her parents’ CD collection, the sounds of Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Michael Jackson never far from the speakers. “Every artist they played were just not mediocre,” she recalls, adding modern names like Alicia Keys, TEMS and Sault to her list of influences. “What I took away from it is to be your best. It really inspired me. JACOTÉNE doesn’t just want to be known just as a big voice, though. She’d like people her age to be able to relate to the stories she tells in her songs and to give them someone to look up to. “I want to be a role model and a superwoman,” she smiles. Even in her early days, she’s already on the right path.