Giovanna Jayne

She was born with a hole in her heart, a rebel fighter she recovered and grew up in an unorthodox single parent home with just her father. Giovanna-Jayne was raised as a tom-boy listening to Ray Charles and Mariah Carey. So aggressive and rebellious she was expelled from school aged 4 for fighting boys and was sent to a behaviour unit some call centre, for 3 years. No school in the county of Croydon wanted to take the troubled child. Born a rebel she continued to struggle through education and pave a way to move forward. She managed to get into mainstream schools and develop as one of the brightest and musically talented children in the schools she went to, gaining awards at each juncture. She didn’t grow up with a silver spoon either, there were no carpets on the floors and she learned how to make bread from flour and yeast. She didn’t realise what she didn’t have as her father never made an issue of it. Not until she noticed Nikes in school and the children in school noticed that she didn’t have a pair. ‘with my first pay cheque from acting I remember I bought a real tracksuit and trainers, those were the days’. Through diverse situations she remains determined as she takes on the challenge of getting music and messages across to new ears.

She longs to get her music out and playing on sound systems around the world. And to have the best home cinema and sound system! Right now she is dealing with laptop speakers and a portable TV in her front room that she bought with pocket money when she was 15 years old on 3 pounds per week.

‘It has always been me and dad so when it came to chores we would split it, Saturday morning he would play an eclectic array of tunes through the house from Ray Charles, The Drifters to Pavarotti and The Kinks. He (GJ’s Father) says when I was 4 years old I would mimic what I heard and sing the high opera notes. So I am guessing that’s how I learned to sing! I was taught by some of the best, Ray Charles & Mariah Carey. The only time I would get new music was when my uncle would bring me a CD he didn’t want anymore. It is through him that I REALLY got to know Michael Jackson ‘Bad’ & Mariah Carey ‘Honey’. Those albums are so significant to me because I was able to play them in my room, read the lyrics and really spend time learning and feeling the music. When I say I want my music to be playing off sound systems around the world I primarily mean 3 ways, banging in someone’s car so that pedestrians and passengers can rock out or learn about it, in festivals everyone drinking and partying to my music feeling things together in real time and in someone’s room where my music can inspire a new mind, creation and emotion. That’s what I got, I developed ability and get the pleasure of expression and sharing, I want to give back that inspiration and see what happens in someone else’s hands. I have struggled, developed myself into a good woman without the guidance of a mother. As much as I have gone through pain and darkness, I have also seen the light and beauty of life. It’s never too late to do something or to give back.’

Musical Journey

She began at 10 years old in a local state funded youth theatre studying Musical Theatre. At 9 years old she used the yellow pages to find local theatres, with the intension of becoming an actress. She wrote to them to find out how to get involved and later managed to join a couple years earlier than expected. Her plan was to get acting lessons and become an actress, but her age kept her from the class and 13 was the minimum age. In her enthusiasm for performance she studied dance to pass the time and at 12 she was old enough to join group-singing classes. Hiding in the shadows unaware of her voice she spent two months listening to lead singers perform roles she felt adequate to fill. After being singled out by the choir director Viv Berry, she was asked to audition solo. After this push from a teacher, Giovanna-Jayne landed many main parts and grew within the theatre to be a great lead singer and lead actress. At 14 years old Giovanna-Jayne saw an advert for classical music school and decided that admission was going to be her goal for the following year. To raise money for singing lessons she knocked on her neighbour’s doors and began a mini car washing business armed with a bucket, soap and sponge. Success came form her triumphs to be able to fund 3 months of her singing lessons in preparation for the Trinity audition. After singing Summertime and Unbreak My Heart she won a full scholarship to Trinity College of Music.

Since 16 she has been experimenting with the vocalisations within gospel Choirs and Jazz workshops finding her feet in Soul expression. She really mastered her craft when starting her own soulful hip hop band between the ages of 17-20 years old. Spending time rehearsing, writing, performing and recording. She fully earned her strips on the live London underground scene by producing a live showcase in Notting Hill whi