When your sister is Britney Spears it must make it pretty difficult for you to be taken seriously in the spotlight. 23-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears first started to carve her own path with her own Nickelodeon show Zoey 101 in 2005. That show came to an end when a then 16-year-old Jamie announced she was pregnant. When it comes to music Jamie has dipped her toe in the water over the years but mostly left singing to her big sister. Now Jamie is forging her own music career as a country artist with the release of her debut EP The Journey.
Prior to the release of The Journey, Jamie has found success with its lead single How Could I Want More. The gentle acoustic song made people take notice and took us all by surprise. It proved to be a moderate hit on the US Country Chart and Jamie showed there’s much more to her than just being Britney’s little sister. The vocal on the track is strong and the lyrics emotionally honest.
The Journey features a selection of 5 tracks showcasing Jamie as a versatile artist that’s capable of competing with the best in the world of country. The EP opens with the uptempo country twang of Run which puts Jamie’s husky voice at the centre of the production. It’s completely different to How Could I Want More and immediately highlights that Jamie is no one-trick-pony.
Elsewhere on the EP Jamie gets autobiographical on Shotgun Wedding where she addresses having a baby at a young age. The song is certainly the boldest on the record and we could never imagine Britney laying her heart out in the same emotionally honest way. The EP comes to a close with the summery Mandolin Summer Sun and the piano ballad Big Bad World. Both songs are packed with memorable hooks and show off Jamie’s voice in different ways.
Whatever your preconceptions are ignore the fact that Jamie is a Spears. What she serves up musically is surprisingly substantial and nothing at all like her world-famous older sister. This is one artist who knows what direction she wants to go in and country certainly plays to her strengths. If this is the beginning of her journey then we can’t wait to see what Jamie does next.
