Jai'Len Josey Recently Released Her Debut Album 'Serial Romantic'

You're set to release Serial Romantic in just a few days, and currently, fans have four singles from the album to listen to. What was the process of picking these tracks to be the singles like?

Jai’Len: Not only does it represent the album, but it represents myself. I originally produced and wrote these songs. It's basically me, and I needed to stamp my sound first, and I think that was a great introduction.

Serial Romantic centers on emotional honesty—what was the hardest moment to translate into a song?

Jai’Len: I think the hardest moment was translating all these moments into songs that were actual experiences. I feel like I had to go through actual life experiences in order to write these songs. By the time it's written, it's like a release, and I can finally put that memory down. Put it on paper and give it out to people so they can have a little therapy, as it was to me.

How did your experience on Broadway help inform or shape the decision to write and release your own music?

Jai’Len: Being on Broadway I'm just dramatic, I'm a big bubbly person. My personality shows up in my music, conversations and how I give myself to people. I think this album depicts that story. I do know that when I was on Broadway in my dressing room creating my beats. I was like, okay, if I'm creating my music and I have to go on stage and sing someone else's music. I should be able to go on stage and sing my music. Being on Broadway gave me the courage to leave Broadway in order to pursue my own career in music. In the context of Serial Romantic Broadway allows me to be dramatic in my everyday life, so I can be dramatic on stage, with lyrics or any way I have to show up musically. Without Broadway, I don’t know where my personality would be, but I do know that, as dramatic as I am, Serial Romantic is definitely dramatic because of Broadway.

You previously mentioned that the Serial Romantic title was inspired by a trait in The Sims; now that the project is coming to life, do you feel like you’ve moved past that cycle of giving your heart away, or is the album about finding peace within it?

Jai’Len: The album is definitely about being selfish after being selfless for so long. Being a serial romantic, yes, in the Sims means being a serial dater. In my aspect, being a serial romantic means all of the trials that you go through in different relationships and through different experiences, whether it's with family or whoever you give your heart to. Knowing that at the end of the day, you can't pour into someone's cup without having anything to pour. I do believe this album signifies the beauty of being selfish for once in your life after you've been selfless for a very long time.

What are some unusual places you draw inspiration from for your creative process?

Jai’Len: I've been drawing inspiration from the feeling I get when I'm in my jeep by myself at 6 am, going to the gym. I think it's an experience in itself where you really have to force yourself to get out of bed and go. I relate that to my music because the experiences you have when you're by yourself, the most personal, are the ones you truly don't get to speak about. I needed to speak about them in music right now. I know my album is about being selfless. The stuff I'm creating now, after all this music has been created, is about liberation. The feeling that I get when it's the earliest crack of dawn is spiritual in a way. I'm at my most heightened, that is the place I love drawing my emotion from, writing lyrics from and journaling from is when it's quiet, and I have to force myself to get up.

Each of your eras/releases are defined by very specific visuals—what can we expect from the look, feel, and fashion of the Serial Romantic era? Where are you finding inspiration?

Jai’Len: I'm finding inspiration through the lens of an author and the take of how the different characters would look. Basically, Serial Romantic is based on an author writing this book, Serial Romantic, and it's all of the characters she has to portray in order to procure love. At the end, she becomes selfish and realizes it's one character that needs to be at the forefront. All of these characters come together. These are different people the author feels like she has to portray, but they are all her at the end of the day. My inspiration is pulled from who she thought she had to be in order to get this person or the next person. The real character is herself; the inspiration is the author.

When you’re creating, do you usually start with a feeling, a lyric, or a sound first? How did that process show up while making Serial Romantic?

Jai’Len: It depends. Sometimes, I'll hear something in my head, and the only way to get it out is to mumble it on the mic. Or maybe I'll start on a drum beat so that I can feel a tempo that I can see and portray outward. Or start with BGB’s, and I'll color it in that way, where I layer something and then dive into the song. I've already crafted the outline, and I just have to fill in everything. It really depends on how I feel or what I've heard in my head. But truly, the only way I can get it out of my head is to mumble it on a mic. That's really sometimes how it starts, or on a drum beat.

The release of Serial Romantic is approaching. Is there a moment while creating this album that is memorable and/ or impactful for you?

Jai’Len: After it was done, I looked at the tracklist and was able to play it for my family. Because this was the first time I was working with a super producer, I think the biggest moment was after it was done, where I could truly sit back and just understand that this is my first album. I was emotional, I did a big girl thing and actually got it done. I was nervous to play it for my family, my mom is a big critic and worked in the industry. I was nervous to play it for people because I was unsure, but after I saw her expression and seeing my mom have nothing but great things to say about it. I literally hear her play it almost every day. She'll hum it and sing it herself; she knows it by heart. Knowing that my mom loves it is probably the best moment. It keeps happening; she plays it in the car, and my family got the leak already. Just knowing that I did something that my mom really, really loves is the best moment.