Jaida Aneese: More to the Story

Taylor Harrington 9/6/2021 6:03pm EST

Jaida Aneese is a talented singer and songwriter whose single, “Liquid”, just dropped on August 20th. With over 250,000 followers and 4,000,000 likes on TikTok, Jaida brings her powerful vocals and peaceful fun-loving vibes to the forefront of her music, and we can’t wait to share her story with you!

Thank you so much for being here today, Jaida! What is your writing process for your music, and specifically, what was the writing process for your new single, “Liquid”?

Thank you for having me! Honestly, I write a lot of sad and depressing songs, but “Liquid” is totally different than what I naturally write. “Liquid” actually started off as a sad song, but I wanted a change. I didn’t want to keep writing sad songs. We were in the studio and we had a melody but we had just recorded three sad songs, so we decided to switch it up, you know? We wanted to have some happy vibes so that we weren’t all sitting there in our feelings about to cry. I went to the hotel that night and just kind of took the same melody and totally changed the concept of it. I wanted to make it happy, so I made it about love, because how is love not happy? So that’s really my process– when I feel something, or when I’m talking to a friend or something, and they’re explaining to me what they’re going through. I’m very understanding and so what you’re saying to me, I’m not just listening. I can put myself in their shoes and truly feel because I actually care about what they’re saying to me. That’s another part of my writing process is paying attention to feelings all around. Whenever I’m starting to feel something, I make myself feel it 100 times more. I’m a deep thinker, so I make a situation deeper than it is usually, to put myself in that mindset to be able to truly feel and express the concept that I’m going for.

That’s amazing, because you’re then putting your all into the song, and it’s transparent. You’re the person feeling this so deeply, and therefore your audience is that much more connected to it.

Yes, yes, that’s the goal. That’s also another reason, because I feel some stuff that a lot of people feel but don’t necessarily put out there. A concept in one of my songs is portraying yourself to be tough and not so soft. I think that’s something so many people do. I do it myself. To actually be able to listen to something that’s truly what you feel and not really have to tell anybody or say it, but yet you can listen to it and know that you can relate to it, that’s definitely a goal of mine to connect to people in that way.

Yeah. You truly are breaking grounds when it comes to connecting with people. I know you have a massive following on TikTok with over 225,000 followers right now and over 4 million likes, which is mind-blowing! When did you start your TikTok and what kind of things do you share over there?

Honestly, I have to shout my little sister out because she was begging for me to make TikToks for a long time. Finally, I did and just started making little dance videos with her and stuff, and then as we got into it, I started making videos with my boyfriend. We started doing trends and little dances, just the fun stuff. I had always been able to talk in the Siri voice and I’m like, ‘Dude, we need to do this!’ I set up a little prank on my boyfriend while we were in the car. I told him I got a shot and that the doctor chipped me and then he was like, ‘What?!’ The whole controversy about being chipped and turning into a robot or whatever, I kind of took it as a joke. I used my Siri voice and it “turned me into a robot”. I started talking in the Siri voice in the prank and that’s kind of just how it happened. It was really cool to be able to take that ability and use it in a creative way.

Who would you say were your musical influences growing up?

My influences growing up, um, I listened to a lot of old-school stuff from my parents. Boyz II Men, Alicia Keys, Chris Brown, Usher, and just a lot of the r&b influences. Obviously, I loved Justin Bieber as a kid and all that stuff as well.

How has quarantine affected your musical journey?

I record in Houston, Texas, and so that was one thing. It was around the beginning of lockdown that I had a trip planned and my flight got switched. Other than that, I honestly just write in my bedroom, and then whenever I get to Houston, we make it come to life, so not much has changed for me. I’m obviously having more time on my hands and being able to write more which has helped for sure, but like I said, I’m more of an emotional writer. If I’m not necessarily going through anything, or feeling anything, or having the ability to necessarily talk to other people who are going through things, I might not get a song concept. I kind of just write off of an instinct, that’s how that works for me.

Is there someone in your life that you would want to thank for really pushing you and believing in you?

I would say the person that pushes me the most would be my father. There have been times, and sometimes still are, where I’m like, ‘I want to give up because of this or that’, and he is just like, ‘Dude, we haven’t even released a single yet’ It’s just frustrating, the growth process and learning, but at the same time, it’s just amazing being able to do this. Here in Ohio, I did recordings at some home studios when I was younger just to start making connections, but each experience has taught me a lot. There have been so many people throughout this process that have believed in me and are helping me through everything.

Where would you like to see yourself in five years, both personally and professionally?

Hmm. When I think ahead into the future, I get really anxious. I’ve actually been trying to not think so far ahead, but I do want to reach all of my goals that I have now. I want to continue growing mentally, have great self-care, all of that stuff. I’m at the point where different things happen, and you kind of start to realize a little bit about life. You start to see things, how different people act, and what can happen with family and friends. I just think it’s just a whole learning process. I think in five years, I kind of not necessarily want to be out of that process, but just have more of an understanding of everything that I’m learning now. Musically, I would love to have an album. I don’t necessarily feel far away from that goal now that I dropped my first single. Then maybe even a tour, who knows where life will take me? I just hope in five years, my music goes further and I’m doing big things.

Amen. Amen. With your positivity and your voice, you are able to connect with all different types of people. I really see big success in your future. How can our listeners or readers find you to follow your journey and music?

I actually have one link in my Instagram bio, you can click that and find all of the links on there. It’s really easy and can be found at @Jaida_Aneese.

Wonderful! Thanks again for joining us, Jaida!

Originally from Edison, New Jersey, Taylor won the 2005 “Middlesex County Caring Award”, and hasn’t stopped caring since. When she is not writing or hosting More to the Story, Taylor can be found chasing her two mutts around Athens, Ohio where she currently resides with her husband. Moving to Appalachia has made a huge impact on her life, and she can’t wait to share some of her stories, laughs, and (mis)adventures with you!

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