Natalie Jane is the pop-star that your playlists are missing, so allow us to introduce you! Natalie’s EP, Sick To My Stomach, is the perfect introduction project for anyone listening for the first time, and is going to make anyone who is already a fan even more so! We are looking at an artist who can hold her own with any of the main pop girls. If you’re a fan of artists like Tate McRae, Sabrina Carpenter, etc., then we think you’ll love Natalie Jane!
We were lucky enough to get to chat with Natalie about all things Sick To My Stomach, the Twisted Tummy Club, and so much more!
Listen to Sick To My Stomach here!
Hi Natalie! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat! To start us off, how would you describe the music you are making to someone who is tuning in for the first time?
I would call my music intense and energetic but will also throw a heartbreaking ballad in there to mix it up. Ballads are my favorite to sing because they are so dramatic, and I feel like they show off my voice the best.
Sick To My Stomach is coming in just about a month! How are you feeling leading up to this release?
I’m so, so excited. I think it truly encapsulates the feeling of anxiety and the emotions I don’t really understand. Like every single person has experienced butterflies at least once in their life and or anxiety that makes you kind of nauseous. Good things and bad things can make you feel sick to your stomach. That’s where the name came from. Also I love the saying, “hot girls have tummy issues”. Basically if a girl is hot or pretty, they have a sensitive stomach. I am gluten free and dairy free, so I get tummy aches quite often, so I thought ‘Sick To My Stomach’ was especially fitting.
The title track for the record is your newest release. Did the album title stem from the song, or did the song stem from the album title? And how do you think ‘Sick To My Stomach’ as a title ties the whole project together?
The song stemmed from the EP title. The EP title is actually based off the track called ‘yucky.’ That’s what inspired ‘Sick to My Stomach.’ ‘Yucky’ was actually suppose to be the title track. But a few weeks to the release, we wrote ‘Sick to My Stomach,’ and I instantly fell in love with it, so we rushed to get that one out instead. It definitely stressed out my label.
This EP is home to seven tracks, four of which we’ve heard. What goes into the decision of what to keep for the release, and what to share?
The three songs that are new are some of my absolute favorite songs I ever made. They are also so different from each other. One is just vocal with guitar, another is super intense, dramatic, cinematic vibes, and the third is very pop with a little twist. I wanted the listeners to have a lot of contrast on release day so they don’t get bored.
And playing on that, will we be getting another taste of the EP before release? Or will the three remaining songs stay a secret until the project is out?
There will be a taste of the EP before it comes out… I have a song called ‘The Top’ coming out September 13. I’m so, so excited for it because it is going to be my first song to get a sync in a movie. It is actually going to be in the Uglies movie coming out on Netflix the same day. It is a huge full circle moment for me because the movie is based off of my favorite book. I actually cried when my manager told me my song was going to be in this specific movie because when I first read the book, I would always look up to see what the characters looked like and if/when the movie would come out… So for my first sync to be this specific movie was such a big deal for me.
Your debut album Where Am I? came out almost a year ago. When you look back on that project and compare it to the work on Sick To My Stomach, where do you think is your biggest area of artistic growth?
I think I definitely see the most growth in the writing of this project versus my last one. The more I experience life and the more I grow, the more I have to write about. And I’ve been working with a bunch of new people who I feel really allowed me to elevate the lyricism and overall feel of the songs.
You worked with some regular collaborators of yours on this EP, like Doc Daniel and Pink Slip. How would you say working with people you’ve built a creative trust with makes you into a better artist?
I’ve been working with Doc since I was in high school. I would go to NYC from New Jersey after classes during the week for sessions to write and create. It’s crazy how far we have come together. Like I remember I met him before I had a million followers on TikTok. I think it’s so important (at least it is for me) to make sure I work with my crew because they truly understand the sound I hear or the way I like to write. I love working with new people, but I always make sure to keep my core group in rotation.
We know that crafting a multi-song project takes a village and that it can be hard to single yourself out and pat yourself on the back. But what is something you can point to during the crafting of this EP and say you are proud of yourself for?
When I work on a song, I’m heavily involved in the production process. I am terrible at using technology, but I always know exactly what I want to hear. A lot of the time, I’ll sing out a synth I hear or bang a specific drum pattern I love, and the producer I’m working with will convert my thoughts into the track. I love getting experimental in productions. You can hear that the most in ‘Tattoos’ and ‘Sick to My Stomach.’ When I listen to music, I’m listening for new sounds and productions that really make me feel something. It’s important for me to make sure listeners have at least one “wow” moment in each song.
We absolutely love the idea of the Twisted Tummy Club! Can you tell us where this idea spawned from?
I have a track on the project called ‘Yucky.’ That song actually inspired the whole title of the project, Sick To My Stomach. The idea behind the song is you hate who you become when you start to fall for someone new, you change the way you act around them, the way you speak- you just feel yucky about who you turn into. I love the idea of yucky because I realized how many things can make you feel yucky: anxiety, stress, or even positive things like butterflies that make your tummy a mess.
So the idea of the club is that it welcomes all people who have experienced that sort of anxiety or discomfort. There is also a saying that “hot girls have tummy issues.” It’s a trend where if your girlfriend is hot, or if a person is hot, it’s likely they have a f*cked up stomach. I love that trend, and I think it ties well into the Twisted Tummy Club. I think it’s because I’m gluten free and dairy free, so I do have tummy issues.
Once again, thank you so much, Natalie, for chatting with us! Before we let you go, what can fans look forward to as we close out 2024?
Fans can definitely look forward to a tour… 😉
Touring is, I think, my favorite part of this career path. Obviously, I love creating music and recording, but there’s something extremely special about singing those songs for people in person around the world. I also think it’s incredible because I can travel to so many places I probably would not go to otherwise. I also just love seeing the people who listen to my music because everything I do is on my phone. All I see are numbers on a screen, so for me to actually see faces in a crowd makes everything feel more real.
I am also obsessed with designing perfect merch for the road. The designer I work with and I go back-and-forth at least 100 times on mockups so I get it to a place where I’m obsessed with every item. I have always loved visual arts. There was a point in time where I thought I was going to go to college for painting. I love that I get to still use that part of me today.
Check out more of our exclusive interviews here!
We would love to hear from you! What did you think of our interview with Natalie Jane? Let us know by commenting down below or by tweeting us @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NATALIE JANE:
INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK
