You are going to want to remember this name: Jeanine DeLuca, better known by her stage name “JADE.” She is a sophomore majoring in music industry, and is working with Blue Hawk Records both recording original music mixed with another passion of hers—photography.
DeLuca first got into music at a young age, starting with the piano at just three years old. She began writing her own lyrics just three years later at age six and started to play guitar at 11. She has been actively releasing music since 2019 and can be found under the name JADE. on all streaming services.
While she did get into music at a young age, she got her start from attending a Mayday Parade concert in 2019. Since then, she has met artists such as Blake Roses, a vocalist of the band Oh, Weatherly, which opened for the concert she attended. She describes her experiences writing songs over FaceTime with him and getting her start in recording her first EP at 16 years old. She later on began working with the guitarist from Mayday Parade, Brooks Betts, who mentored her with songwriting. She soon began playing shows and recording her second EP with Roses and Betts.
DeLuca described her experience working with such big names in alternative and rock music, “That’s such an important part of being in music today. The connections that you are able to make.”
Blue Hawk Records has been pivotal in Jeanine’s development as an artist and at Monmouth University. “Working with Blue Hawk Records has been a great way for me to get my music to a whole different group of people,” she said. Since the pandemic, Jeanine has been used to promoting her music online since she hasn’t been able to perform live music like usual. “I feel like being a part of Blue Hawk Records is a way for it to be more personal and to connect with more musicians and get my music out there,” she said.
Joe Rapolla, Specialist Professor and Chair of the Music and Theatre Arts Department, has been a great influence on Jeanine, especially in her Record Label Strategies class. Learning about the business side of music has helped her in being able to promote her own work and understand the industry. Her experience with both her classes and Blue Hawk Records have helped her develop her music in unimaginable ways, especially in the midst of a pandemic.
Rapolla said that DeLuca has the skills necessary to thrive in any function within the music industry. “Jeanine brings a degree of experience and a get-it-done mindset to Blue Hawk Records that adds real value to the team and really helps to move our projects forward,” he said.
When listening to JADE. you can feel the influence that rock music such as Green Day and Incubus have, as well as Jeanine’s songwriting inspirations such as Taylor Swift. Rock music isn’t the only genre DeLuca can successfully perform, but can do the same with pop. Rapolla said, “The song she contributed to this semester’s compilation, “Waste Forever” is as catchy and driving as any good song on the current Pop charts.”
Not only is she able to pull off such a unique musical style, but she also works a lot with other art forms such as photography. A big part of promoting her music has been through visual content. In high school, she took a video editing class that helped her improve how she is able to showcase her other artforms. Not only this, but DeLuca finds that her audience can feel more connected when she is releasing visual content alongside her music. She is also working with Blue Hawk Records by starting the Artists Spotlight series, creating reels of artists on the upcoming album to get a feel of the artists behind the music
If you are looking to get into music production and or even just making your own music, DeLuca advised, “Just go for it but also do it on your own terms. Try not to give in to the pressure of anyone who is telling you to release music in a certain time frame. I feel like you should take advantage of your own creative freedom and really do what you want with your music. Have confidence in it because everyone has their own strengths.”
Check out JADE. on all social media platforms (@jadetheband) and Blue Hawk Records (@bluehawkrecords) on Instagram to stay in the loop of the artists and the upcoming album release. Rapolla encourages any student who is interested in any aspect of the music industry, whether it’s as a songwriter, content creator, or in promotions, to get involved with Blue Hawk Records.
