Two years ago, 18 year-old Jax was the most charismatic, captivating and capable Idolist in Idol’s penultimate season, and on her way to a third place finish – a result two places lower than it should have been.
And not long after that, she was an 19 year-old with 12 cancerous tumors on her thyroid.
Now, Jax is a 20 year-old with successful surgery to remove her thyroid behind her and more importantly, a very enjoyable six-song EP Funny that dropped on Friday.
Your friendly neighborhood Muser is here to report that the qualities that made Jax such a compelling Idolist are on full display in Funny with the added advantage of hearing those qualities through original work rather than Idol’s enhanced karaoke.[1] Funny has:
- Beats: the tropical, EDM-ish Kickin’ & Screamin’
- Bounce: Sleep Like a Baby which wittily begins with Brahms’ Lullaby
- Ballads: the inspirational-overcome-your-adversity Stars and the dark L.S.D.
- Brash: the big, angry kiss-off song Wrong Girl which gets an assist from the surgery which left her already distinctive voice with a slight, yet appealing rasp
- [couldn’t find an appropriate B word] Funny which mischievously focuses on “f-u” as she spells f-u-n-n-y.
One of the things I always worry about when I hear the Idolists talk about their post-Idol projects – most of which don’t come to fruition in any meaningful way – is their desire to write their own music. While Funny doesn’t break any new ground musically, it does have a radio-friendly credibility. Beyond that, Jax does two things well at this point: she puts her distinctive voice and singing style front and center; and she’s a very clever – yes, funny – lyricist.
I was a Jax fan from her first moments on Idol. She has a style all her own – vocally, personality, fashion and looks. Her fans were able to get Funny to chart in the top ten on iTunes[2]. She should be proud of this debut release. It’s a solid foundation upon which hopefully she can build an increasingly successful career.
And I’m so hoping she’ll play a show somewhere in the D.C. area. If I’m in town, I’ll be there.
P.S. At the risk of taking anything away from Funny, I feel compelled to include this link to her featured vocals on a dance track by Askery that I ABSOLUTELY love: https://soundcloud.com/askerymusic/askery-jax-castle
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[1] Which Jax took some clever shots at in her video La-La Land released in January 2016 https://youtu.be/5R4T0Nc4jig
[2] Must have been cool for her to see her name on the same screen as Beyonce and Bruno Mars.
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