Interview: Jessica Sierra

Since making the top 10 on Season 4 of American Idol, singer/songwriter Jessica Sierra has been on quite a ride. After Idol, the Florida native sang on a 44-city sold-out arena tour with fellow Idol contestants, including Bo Bice, Constantine Maroulis and Carrie Underwood and performed for the U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait! But over time, Jessica had a few run-ins with the law...bringing her to Dr. Drew Pinsky in 2008 for VH-1's Celebrity Rehab. Today, Jessica is two years sober and raising her first child, Kayden, and is back in the music scene and ready to talk all about it! With her much anticipated album coming out this summer and the release of her new single, “Enough,” there's lots to share...keep reading for more.



What is the sound of the album?
The sound has a little bit of everything...rock, blues, soulful kind of music. I love all types of music so I wanted it to have the feel of all types of music. The album kind of tells a story and every song has a meaning, it is something that has happened to me. I co-wrote all of the songs with my producer.

Did you know what you wanted your sound to be on Idol or did you find it afterwords?
I think I would have to say after. I always knew what kind of music I wanted to sing but there wasn't really any music that connected with the music that I wanted to get out there. So connecting with people out here in LA and hearing so many different sounds, I have found it.

What was the most challenging song to write?
"I'm You" has to do with my mother and I think that song was hard to really dig deep and get it out on paper.

Now that you are a mother, how has your son, Kayden inspired and helped you?
Now that I'm a mom, everything I do from the way that I dress, speak, and present myself...he factors into all of that. I know I've done things in my past and I'm trying to move forward and I want him to see the positive things when he gets older. I want to be a positive role model.

Will you have him watch VH1's Celebrity Rehab when he gets older to see what you went through?
I have thought about that. I don't want to hide anything from him, so when he is old enough, if he wants to watch it he can and if he asks questions, I'll be there to answer. I don't want anything to be a big secret. People are going to say things so I want him to know the facts.

Did you have writer's block while writing the album?
It was really different for me to write sober and get in touch with my emotions. For the first year and a half - 2 years, really the past 6 months I have been able to sit down and really write. Before I was trying to force it and I was aggravated that I couldn't put what I wanted into words but after some time and working with my producer, I've snapped out of that.

Having toured the country with Idol, what city would you say you are most excited about visiting when you promote your album?
I'm excited to go back home to Florida and I really love New York!

For more information, visit Jessica Sierra's official website.