In conversation with Mississauga’s Jade Hilton; a talented country artist who is reaching new audiences through her emotive voice and storyteller songwriting. She fuses earthy melodies over pop soundscapes. Although she has found her place within the country genre, Jade’s music has been described as country songwriting over perfectly delicate folk/pop landscapes. She is working on her first truly country album with producer Doug Romanow and many established co-writers. Jade recently performed a special preview of her unreleased EP at Toronto’s legendary El Mocambo. 

Rob Aguiar: Jade, after watching you perform at Celebration Square a few hours before the CMA Ontario awards gala, I knew I wanted to add you to this interview series. Thanks for taking the time to do this. I’m looking forward to diving into the role of emotion and vulnerability in your artistry, your song writing inspirations and processes, and your journey as a whole.

Jade Hilton: Thanks so much for having me Rob! I’m really excited to be here.

RA: Country artists are incredible storytellers and those stories generally come from the heart. What role does vulnerability play in your songwriting? How do you navigate being vulnerable in your lyrics while protecting your personal well being?

JH: When it comes to songwriting, it’s important to be authentic and let the listener in. For me, songwriting has always been my outlet for communicating my emotions. If I don’t know how to say something, I sing it. 

RA: Beyond personal life experiences, there have been various outside influences that have inspired your songs; a shocking old local double murder, and a college jersey for instance. Can you talk about the two songs I’m referring to and explain what you hope the takeaway message is in each of them?

JH: Absolutely! The first song “Evelyn” is based on the story of “Evelyn Dick” from Hamilton, Ontario. She’s infamous for murdering her husband and the long trial that occurred after that. My idea behind the song was asking Evelyn why she committed such dark acts. Was it because no one loved her growing up? 

The second song (coming out on my next album!) is called “Carolina Blue”. It’s based on my time as a college tennis athlete in the US. I used to compete for the University of Illinois. My time as a collegiate athlete brought me to many beautiful US college campuses. One of them was The University of North Carolina at Chappell Hill. I thought the beauty of Carolina made the perfect place for a nostalgic love story!

RA:  A good friend of mine who is enjoying generational success as a Realtor has something in common with you. He also received a tennis scholarship and went to study at an American university. He says that sports shaped his approach to life and business. 

Many of the people on his team and those he has affiliated himself with are former athletes. He told me that to perform at a high level you have to have tremendous physical and mental resilience as well as the ability to function in high pressure situations. How have these skills helped you face creative challenges and overcome the struggles and/or setbacks of the music industry? 

JH: Let me guess! Is that Sam McDadi? Being an athlete my whole life has definitely trained me to be resilient, disciplined, and work diligently toward everything I put my mind to. This definitely crosses over into the music industry. It’s one of the hardest industries to succeed in, but my love for music will always keep me going. 

RA: Jade, let’s pivot a bit and talk about a theme that always comes up when talking with musicians and songwriters; the importance of collaboration.  How do you navigate maintaining your personal artistic vision while being open to input from collaborators, such as producers and other musicians? Can you share a time when someone else’s perspective challenged you but ultimately made a song stronger?

JH: Collaboration is so important for growth. I’ve learned so much from working with other writers and producers. Ultimately, it is my artist vision when it comes to my music. I am assertive in making sure these collaborations are still me. When it comes to making a song stronger, I’m a big fan of different genres. I think for me, finding my sound has been fusing different elements together. 

RA: Before performing a song for us today, is there a particular song or lyric (either from an original or a cover) that you feel captures the essence of who you are as an artist? 

JH: DIVE BAR will be my first release of the year, and my first in country music! It was inspired after one of my first writing trips to Nashville. I was at my favourite “Dive Bar” called the Underdog and my favourite singer Kacey Musgraves was there just singing at the dive bar. I got to thinking that you can be the biggest star, and still be humble. This song is for anyone with a “dive bar” personality. 

RA: Welcome to the Glimpse family. Thanks for adding your voice to this interview series and I look forward to having you join our live music showcase on April 27th. It has been my pleasure to share a glimpse into your heart as a singer songwriter.

JH: Thanks so much for having me. I am so excited for the showcase! 

jadehilton.com