Imagine this: you’re belting it out in a dimly lit bar, same as every week with your band, when suddenly you get scouted—not by a record label, but by a professional baseball team. Overnight, your tip jar is traded for a stadium full of face-painted, beer-waving, pom-pom-swaying fans. That’s the real-life plot twist for Jenane, lead singer of Party Down (yes, she had the name long before things blew up). She was spotted by none other than the Savannah Bananas of the Banana Ball Championship League—a team whose mascot is exactly what it sounds like: a banana with a furrowed brow, bat slung over one shoulder, looking like it’s about to knock one clean out of the park. Since then, Jenane has been swapping late-night gigs for ballpark anthems with The Party Animals, while sliding her solo music into the mix. Her latest, ‘Feel It (Heartbeat),’ is a pop gem that playfully wonders if her crush not only knows they like her, but feels the same spark.
We caught up with her to talk about the new track, her role as the Bananas’ resident cool-girl frontwoman, and what it’s like to go from dive bars to diamond lights.
Your single ‘Feel It (Heartbeat)’ was co-written with Mark Demao and Alexander Johnson. What was that writing session like, and how did the song take shape?
The writing session actually began as a song meant for sync! We wanted to write something emotion-driven that would work well for movies and TV, and it actually turned into something I really loved playing live!
In the ‘Feel It (Heartbeat)’ music video, the color purple really stands out—from your shimmering eyeshadow to the purply-pink skies. What made you connect that color so strongly with the song?
I’ve just been really drawn to the glamour feel of pinks and lavenders lately! It gives that soft, feminine feel, and paired with something silvery, it provides a bit of edge that I think really reflects in my music.
The lyric “Can you feel my heartbeat?” is such a poetic way of asking someone if they know you like them. In your own life, what are the little tells that give away when you’re feeling a spark?
A lot of giggling and eye contact. If I’m into you, you’ll have my full attention.
The way your band, Party Down, ended up teaming with the Banana Ball baseball team feels almost serendipitous, like being “scouted” mid-journey. Do you have a favorite memory from that collaboration so far?
We have a lot of great memories with The Party Animals! I’d say St Paul was one of my favorite crowds – it was the first bananaball game played in Minnesota, and the crowd was so engaged and so incredibly fun to perform to.
You’ve gone from playing local bars to suddenly performing in stadiums for rowdy sports crowds—skipping a lot of the “usual” steps singers take. How did you train yourself to feel at home on stages that massive?
I think the trick is to think of it just like any bar stage, because your goal is the same: interact with the crowd and create the kind of energy on stage that they can’t help but engage with. It’s honestly a little easier with The Party Animals crowds because the fans LOVE to sing along!
You’ve said you enjoy not just holding the mic but stepping behind it—sharing fun commentary about things fans might not always notice, like the differences between Sabrina Carpenter’s studio ‘Espresso’ and her Tiny Desk version. What’s another detail about performing live versus recording in the studio that you think most fans overlook?
I think a lot of fans forget that recording is an ideal environment where you can take as many breaks and takes as you’d like. When you sing something live, you need to think about vocal health and endurance a lot more. So you may need to change the key, or choose some alternate parts to make sure your voice can last the whole show or tour!
You recently brought ‘Feel It (Heartbeat)’ into the sports world by performing it for a Party Animals gig. What was it like merging your two worlds?
It was an amazing feeling watching the fans dance to one of my own songs, even though they had never heard it before. I love singing covers, but when fans come up to me and tell me they loved my original, that really means the world to me.
The onstage looks for the Party Animals baseball gigs are so striking—paint-splattered pants, bold logo tees, numbers on display. Is there a creative decision you’ve pushed for in the band that you’re especially glad worked out?
We all had a lot of creative input when it came to our costumes, with each of us adding a little personal flair that still made us feel like a pop/rock band. I added the pink tutu to my costume in my second year with the Party Animals because I wanted something more eye-catching, and it definitely worked! I love seeing little girls dressed in tutus at games now.
A lot of celebrities have taken notice of your work with The Party Animals—Leona Lewis and Kristen Bell, among them. Do you have a standout celebrity story that really stuck with you?
I don’t have many celebrity stories related to The Party Animals, but I did get the opportunity to meet and sing background vocals for the Bacon Brothers a while back!
You’re nearly off-season—how do you plan to spend this time, and what’s next for you in your solo music bubble?
The goal in this off-season is to keep writing and making content around my original music! I’ll still be playing with Party Down in clubs pretty much every weekend, so I’ll definitely still be performing, but I really want to lock in on my own music in this coming year!
Got a favorite line from ‘Feel It (Heartbeat)’ stuck in your head—or maybe you’re always one bass drop away from breaking into a full-on Party Animals routine the second you step on a baseball field? 👀 We need to see those moves. Tag us and show off on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram—we’ll be cheering louder than the Bananas’ mascot with a bat on his shoulder. 🍌⚾
